A COVID-19 Surge in Central America?

Jul 19, 2021

Dear Readers,

Central America has been registering a third wave of the pandemic. Panama put curfews and quarantines again and Guatemala is nearly having its second highest peak ever, with Honduras closely behind theirs. Costa Rica has been dealing with a strong increase in cases since May, and so launched a massive vaccination campaign with vaccines donated by the U.S. Hundreds of people between 40 and 57 years old waited outside vaccination centers since 2 or 3AM in the hopes of getting their Pfizer shot over the weekend. In Nicaragua, emblematic patron saint festivities were canceled by the Catholic Church as the number of contagions rose. Still, the number of cases does not seem as high as before in most countries, except for Guatemala.

In Guatemala, the management of COVID-19 and vaccines (1.5% of the population has been completely vaccinated) has led to much discontent and spurred protests against the president himself, who in turn banned unauthorized protests in the name of social distancing. El Salvador is leading in the region in terms of vaccination rates as a fifth of the population has been completely vaccinated and spots are now open for people 18 and above.

In this newsletter, you'll also find arts, science and sports news below the headlines. You can also follow us on social media and podcast here. See you next week!

Salú,

Melissa

People started lining up at 2 a.m. to get one of the 600 shots available. Photo: Rafael Pacheco Granados/La Nacion

Help Central American News thrive!

We are looking for:

a Belize news curator (2h/week, volunteer)
a business-savvy person (2h/week, volunteer)

to help our innovative Central American media thrive! Send us a DM or an email to get in touch with us.

Headlines

Migration

📰 Detention: Migrants report experiencing trauma and abuse from wearing ankle monitors as mandated by the Biden administration. // U.S. House Democrats called for the release of transgender and HIV-positive migrants in ICE detention.

📰 The Border: The remains of forty-three migrants in the Arizona desert were found. // The U.S. is running thousands of radio ads a month to deter migration from Central America.

📰 Immigration Legislation: A federal judge in Texas ruled that the federal government can no longer accept new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). U.S. President Joe Biden plans to appeal the federal judge’s ruling and is pushing Congress to preserve DACA. // Democrats in Congress aim to pass immigration legislation that allows for a path to legalization and green cards for certain migrants in the U.S.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Belize

📰 UDP Recall Convention: Last week, the United Democratic Party held a Recall Convention to vote on whether Patrick Faber should be allowed to remain the UDP party leader--and the result is yes, Faber will retain his position. Anticipating tensions between Faber and Opposition Leader Shyne Barrow, Faber placed a gag order on "personal party matters" so that they may internally address what comes next.

📰 Shyne Barrow: Moses "Shyne" Barrow, son of former Prime Minister Dean Barrow, was chosen as the United Democratic Party's Opposition Leader in June. Now, he is expressing an interest in being elected Prime Minister.

📰 COVID-19: The Epsilon variant, another mutation of the COVID-19 virus, has been confirmed in Belize, although some scientists are saying it is currently a "variant of interest and not of concern".

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Costa Rica

📰 COVID-19: Costa Rica planned to administer 500,000 (U.S. donated) vaccine doses over 10 days beginning July 16 in a "mass vaccination effort." Vaccines will go to people above 40 and people at risk. People waited as from 2AM and formed long lines to get their vaccine.

📰 Femicide: The penal trial will start on July 19 for the man accused of killing Allison Bonilla in March 2020 after she returned from school.

📰 Drug-trafficking: Authorities seized 4.3 tons of cocaine in container transporting ceramic products, hailing from Colombia. This is the second largest drug seizure in Costa Rica's history made by the Drug Control Police.

📰 Mining: An international arbitration panel ruled that Costa Rica did not owe compensation to Canadian miner Infinito Gold after a mining project was canceled ten years ago. It had been fiercely opposed by environmental activists.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

El Salvador

📰 COVID-19: El Salvador began vaccinations for people over the age of 18. Because of rising COVID-19 cases, despite the country administering over 2 million first doses, the Legislative Assembly suspended all public and private gatherings for 90 days.

📰 Transparency: The Institute for Access to Public Information (IAPI) has not published reports assessing the State’s legal transparency for six months. Then, the Legislative Assembly received a law proposal from the government to reform the IAPI’s role and restrict Salvadorans from knowing specific data about how resources are allocated by public officials. Human rights organizations speak out against this proposal.// Former FMLN and ARENA deputies, Lorena Peña and Milena de Escalón, confessed that they took public money to fund their own NGOs.

📰 Violence: Human rights organizations filed charges against 25 Salvadoran officers for the murder of four Dutch journalists in 1982. // Human rights activists called out the Salvadoran government for their lack of action when it comes to enforced disappearances in past or present. They demand that the government approve the Comprehensive Reparation Law.

📰 Territorial Control Plan: As part of the Territorial Control Plan, the National Civil Police (PCN) recently deployed drones in certain areas to help “detect criminal acts.” The PCN also plans to purchase other equipment related to video surveillance, helicopters and boats.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Guatemala

📰 Protest ban: Dozens gathered on July 17 demanding President Giammattei’s resignation after he enacted a 15-day state of prevention aiming to limit “illegal” protests against him for sanitary reasons. The decree authorizes security forces to shut down protests without proper authorization. Many, including Vice President Guillermo Castillo, do not agree with the state of prevention. The Human Rights Ombudsman's Office and NGO Acción Ciudadana filed injunctions. The Ancestral Authorities of Guatemala issued a statement rejecting the state of prevention.

📰 COVID-19: The U.S. announced that it will make a second donation of 3 million doses of the Moderna vaccine to Guatemala as the country is experiencing one of the worst crises of the pandemic with an increase in infections, a lack of staff, and a lack of medicines for critical patients. Villa Nueva Specialized Hospital’s medical personnel shared videos showing how the few remaining personnel are overwhelmed with patients.

📰 Justice: The Public Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation against their own secretary general, Ángel Pineda. Local press had leaked information that Pineda allegedly hindered the capture of former Minister of Culture, Élder Súchite, and hindered investigations against congresswoman Alejandra Carrillo.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Honduras

📰 Garífuna Community: A year has elapsed since the forced disappearances of four Garífuna youth – Sneider, Suami, Milton, and Gerardo – by men wearing uniforms belonging to a Honduran police unit. The Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (Ofraneh) has been calling for justice and truth in the case, creating solidarity actions throughout this past weekend.

📰 Elections: The president of the National Electoral Council (CNE) noted that there will be elections in November. However, she insisted that the elections are at risk due to the lack of an approved budget.

📰 ZEDEs: Indigenous and campesino organizations announced that they are against the installation of the Special Economic Development Zones (ZEDEs) in a press conference. Additionally, they mentioned the impossibility of true agrarian reform with the installation of the ZEDEs.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Nicaragua

📰 COVID-19: Catholic Church suspended traditional patron saint festivities due to rise of COVID-19 cases. // In view of the celebrations of the 42nd anniversary of the Sandinista revolution, Vice President Rosario Murillo announced holding 5,000 political activities, despite an increase of COVID-19 cases. // 95 suspected coronavirus deaths occurred last week, according to the independent COVID-19 Citizen Observatory. Only 2.43% of the Nicaraguan population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

📰 Diplomacy: All Central American Integration System (SICA) member countries rejected the list of three candidates presented by the Ortega regime for the post of Secretary General of the regional organization. // Hundreds of European Nicaragua Solidarity activists from the 1980s issued a statement condemning repression, calling for release of political prisoners and free elections in Nicaragua. // After Russia offered to help Nicaragua's government, Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Moncada will meet with his Russian counterpart on July 19, making diplomatic ties closer with Putin. // Canada put sanctions on Camila Ortega Murillo and 14 other Ortega officials.

📰 In exile: More Nicaraguans seek asylum in Costa Rica during the regime's repressive wave in June.// Hundreds of Nicaraguans demonstrated in San José, Costa Rica, under the slogan "Nicaragua is not alone", demanding the release of more than 130 political prisoners.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Panama

📰 Deportation: After requesting asylum and spending a month sleeping in the Tocumen Airport in Panama’s capital, a Cuban family was deported to Havana, Cuba, on July 13.

📰 Business: An agreement between Panama and Energy Transfer, a Gas Company based in Dallas, TX, want to begin the first steps to construct two terminals connected to pipelines in order to receive, transport, and export liquified petroleum gas.

📰 Children's rights: In light of the pandemic and outrage over abuses detected in shelters under public custody, the government and legislative assembly will discuss a law proposal to provide protection for children and adolescents and punishment for abusers. The Public Ministry registered 2,450 reports of rape and sexual assaults of which 825 cases involved children between January and May this year.

Copa Oro

Honduras won the game against Panama 3-2 in the Concacaf Gold Cup, with the winning goal by player Romell Quioto, earning Honduras a seat in quarter finals. Mexico won against El Salvador (1-0) and Guatemala and Trinidad and Tobago finished on a tie (1-1).

Theater

The Guatemalan play "Retazos" tells the story of women working in maquiladoras, in the textile industry.

It aims "to put in a more and more graphic way the reality of the women who produce the clothes that we wear, that is, to make people understand that behind a garment and a label there is a story, mainly of an impoverished woman, plundered and violated in many ways." (RUDA)

Good Reads

📌Scholar Emil’ Keme discusses how the Maya K’iche writings, namely the Popul Vuh, was a key example of how colonization and Christianity failed to eliminate Maya spirituality. (Literary Hub)

📌 El Faro reveals conversations of President Nayib Bukele's brothers and informal advisers to install a national cryptocurrency system by the end of the year, preliminarily called the "Colón-Dollar". (El Faro)

📌 Are you familiar with the national Panamanian dress, la Pollera? Read an article on the history of and the different meanings of la Pollera in Panama. (La Estrella)

📌 Recent protests in Cuba polarized ideological discourses of the left in Central America. Nicaraguan journalist José Luis Rocha pleads to not have a simplistic view of Cuba's news and establishes parallels with Nicaragua. (Confidencial)

📌 A piece that explains how and why Costa Ricans are fed up with corruption in their country. (Delfino)

Science Wins

✨ Students Luis Edgardo Corea Morán and Naomy Susana Guerra Cantor, from the Young Talent Program of the University of El Salvador, obtained silver and bronze medals in the “Biology Challenge” Olympiad at the Royal Society of Biology in London. (El diario de hoy)

Patreon

By becoming a Patron, you help us pay for our newsletter website and so make it possible to send Central American news out for free every week. If you would like to see the newsletter grow, please consider becoming a supporter. Please support Central American news!