18 politicians, feminists and former guerrilleros arrested

Jun 21, 2021

Dear Readers,

Nicaragua started its third week of persecution against opposition politicians, activists, feminists, former guerrilla leaders, and businesspeople in the name of the nation's sovereignty. Some detained people have gone missing as there is no visual proof of their detention in prison. There are 18 arrested people and counting, while journalists are also censored on the ground. There is no sign that Ortega-Murillo government will relent.

Meanwhile, the debate about bitcoin as a legal and mandatory currency in El Salvador rages on. Our podcast co-host José Martinez went to find out more by speaking with Dr. Campbell Harvey from Duke University, Nelson Rauda from El Faro, and Ricardo Castaneda from the Central American Institute for Fiscal Studies (ICEFI) for the first of our deep-dive series on the Central American News podcast! Have a listen and tell us what you think.

Salú,

Melissa

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Headlines

Migration

📰 Policy under Biden: The Biden administration dismantled a Trump-era office meant to investigate crimes perpetrated by immigrants. // The Central American Minors Program has been restarted and expanded to reunite Salvadoran, Guatemalan, and Honduran children with their families in the U.S. // U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris called for a pathway to citizenship for migrant youth in the U.S. // A Trump-era policy ruling limiting asylum on the basis of fears of domestic abuse or gang violence was overturned.

📰 Detention Facilities: Migrant children in detention have suffered from panic attacks, emphasizing levels of stress at shelters, many of which are unlicensed. // ICE locked down a Louisiana detention facility after detained women staged a protest in response to handling of tuberculosis exposure. // Federal jury weighs whether private prison company must pay minimum wage to detained workers in Washington state.

📰 Border Politics: Texas will provide a $250 million “down payment” to build border wall. // Despite Republican dissent, congressional investigators rule that Biden’s freeze of border wall funding is legal.

📰 Migrant Policing: After a Texas deputy tased a 16 year old asylum seeker, the deputy was placed on administrative leave. // Documents reveal that ICE surveilled and considered retaliation against prominent migrant justice groups and organizers.

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Nicaragua

📰 Political violence: The government opens investigations against 13 business leaders, including two bank CEOs. One of them, Luis Rivas Anduray, CEO of BANPRO, the nation’s largest commercial bank, was arrested and put in prison while investigation carries on. He is accused of “treason” to the nation. // 26 countries support the OAS's "condemnation" of the lack of real electoral reforms prior to the elections scheduled for November and of the repression that has intensified in recent weeks. // So far, 18 people of the opposition have been detained, some of whom have not been localized.

📰 Elections: Independent monitor “Open Urns” reports over 700 situations of political violence between October 2020 and May 2021; specially as diversion of power from the judicial function; collusion between the Criminal Justice System and the Executive Power; persecution of relevant magnitude and extrajudicial purposes.

📰 Free Trade Agreement: Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar introduced a bill that would require the Biden administration to re-examine an existing free trade agreement between the U.S. and Nicaragua after Ortega arrested political opponents.

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Belize

📰 Nurses Resign: Dozens of nurses have continued to show their dissatisfaction with their treatment during the pandemic, including the 10% cut to their salaries, by resigning from their places of work and possibly looking for work abroad.

📰 Land Rights: Maya villagers in Jalacte presented a case to the Supreme Court of wrongful land possession by the Belize government, who claimed it for the construction of a highway.

📰 Emancipation Day: The government has officially established August 1st as Belize's national celebration and recognition of Afro-Belizeans' history of struggle against slavery, dubbed Emancipation Day.

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Costa Rica

📰 The Cochinilla Case: President Carlos Alvarado ordered an intervention into a network of various businessmen and public officials in what’s being called the Cochinilla Case. The Public Ministry’s office for transparency and anti-corruption requested the financial criminal court for the preventative detention of 14 people and preventative measures against another 16 people involved in the corruption network.

📰 Saturated Hospitals: In recent weeks, Costa Rica has seen a 12% drop in COVID-19 cases but hospitals are still saturated with over 1,200 people hospitalized and more than 478 people in intensive care units while there are only 359 intensive care beds nationwide. So far, about 40% of the population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

📰 Clara Sola: Nathalie Álvarez Mesén’s “Clara Sola” stars Costa Rican actor Wendy Chinchilla who plays a dancer who has a special connection to God and is seen as a healer in her family and village. The film will be featured at the Director’s Fortnight for the Cannes Film Festival on July 6-17.

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Guatemala

📰 USAID: The head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Samantha Power, urged for the government to take an anti-corruption stance. Power officially launched the “Entrepreneurship and Development Innovation Initiative” in Guatemala, valued at $39 million.

📰 Eta and Iota: Congressman Orlando Blanco from the National Unity of Hope party (UNE) met with other officials to discuss the progress of the reconstruction plan for the Q6 billion damages caused by storms Eta and Iota. Currently, only 3.5% has been executed of the Q2,537 million for reconstruction.

📰 Justice: Intercepted emails in the “Villarejo Case” between Spanish shipping businessmen and Guatemalan officials reveal how "a collection of bribes" were forged to favor a contract at Portuaria Quetzal. There would have been a millionaire bribe payment by Spanish businessmen to Otto Perez Molina's government.

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Honduras

📰 State Violence: State security forces responded with force and repression to the residents of the Chamelecon sector who protested the state neglect in rebuilding the levees after the passage of the hurricanes Eta and Iota.

📰 Prisons: A violent incident allegedly between the MS-13 and the 18 Street Gang took place in the Tolva prison, leaving 30 injured and 3 dead, according to preliminary data. Family members are demanding an immediate intervention in the prisons, while the UN High Commissioner’s Office has asked authorities to conduct an investigation of the arms used in the incident.

📰 ZEDE: A town hall scheduled for June 19 in La Ceiba to discuss whether or not the city approved the installation of the Employment and Economic Development Zone (ZEDE) was postponed by the mayor of the city. // The Movement for Dignity and Justice said that the ZEDEs threaten the sovereignty, environmental and cultural biodiversity of Atlantida. // Municipal authorities of Tela reject the installation of ZEDEs.

📰 Corruption: The seven former officials implicated in the corruption case “Hermes” were indicted this week. They are prosecuted for contracting company services for amounts that cannot be justified.

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Panama

📰 Migration in Panama: The Public Security Authorities of Panama plan to allocate $7.6 million dollars for a year to provide 3 balanced and nutritious meals everyday to migrants coming through the Panama-Colombian border.

📰 Economy: The 2nd largest Panamanian harvester and exporter of the papaya fruit, Don Danny Farm, will begin exports to Canada. The company predicts 80 new jobs in the Barú district of Chiriqui Province.

📰 COVID-19: Panama reports 376, 215 patients who recovered from COVID-19, 978 new positive COVID-10 cases, and two deaths counting for a total of 6,468 deaths in the country.

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El Salvador

📰 Water Law: Government submitted the draft Water Law to the Legislative Assembly and assures that the distribution of drinking water will not be privatized. Organized youth demand transparency of presidential water law proposal. The Catholic church and civil society hope to be included in the discussion.

📰 Ernesto Muyshondt: Former mayor of San Salvador, Ernesto Muyshondt, was transferred to Mariona Prison along with former municipal treasurer. The officials are prosecuted for misappropriation of withholding taxes. Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez points to "an onslaught" on behalf of the State against Muyshondt.

📰 Bitcoin: The World Bank refused to help the country implement bitcoin as legal tender. While there has been a relatively high use of bitcoin in El Salvador, there is concern over possible use of it to finance future election campaigns. FMLN proposes reforming the Bitcoin Law to prevent it from being mandatory. The Salvadoran government discusses whether salaries will be paid with bitcoin.

📰 Workers' Rights: Former workers of Industria Florenzi called for the solidarity of the brands for which the maquila produced and left 210 people unemployed in 2020 without subsidies. The brands include PUMA, Reebok, Happy Fella, Disney, Barco and Pierre Carin.

Awarded Indigenous CentAm Journalist

The Committee to Protect Journalists awarded Anastasia Mejía, from Guatemala, with its Press Freedom Awards. Mejía is a radio journalist who directs Xolabaj Radio and Xolabaj TV through Facebook and YouTube. She was arrested for five weeks in 2020 during her coverage.

Quote of the Week

"If the arrest of these 13 oppositions leaders is a tactic for Ortega-Murillo to demoralize the Nicaraguan opposition, then rest assured that the Nicaraguan youth will continue to urge the change this country needs."

Youth activist Yunova Vargas, part of Nicaragua's Civic Alliance (ACN), told Anais Gonzalez, Nicaraguan activist in the diaspora (Global Voices)

Good Reads

📌What are the ZEDES? A country within a country. This story reviews how the ZEDES came to be the “Improvement of dispossession mechanisms in Honduras.” (Expediente Público)

📌Hell for Migrants from Haiti: On Refugee Day (June 20), a rare report focusing on the case of six Haitian minors traveling through Honduras. (Reportar Sin Miedo)

📌Vaccines: Why can’t Nicaragua get the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines? (Confidencial)

📌Guatemala: A devastating story on the aftermath of last year's hurricanes, climate change, and the trauma it induces in women's lives and bodies. (Devex)

Facts

While the number of violent deaths decreases in other parts of the world, Central America continues to rank high in number and rates of violent deaths of men and women, according to data collected by the Small Arms Survey. (Small Arms Survey)

Central American Voices

✍️ A Panamanian-American Perspective on Migration: Anthony Doe’s article highlights his point of view on the current flow of migration through the Panama-Colombian border from an economic and historical perspective (Medium).

🎥 What is Happening in Nicaragua? El Hilo podcast reports on what is the situation in Nicaragua after the latest imprisonment of political leaders and the political campaign against journalists. (El Hilo)

La Saloma de Panamá

Read about La Saloma, a Panamanian musical genre influenced by Indigenous and African legacies. Listen to a piece here.

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