Attack Against Garifuna Activist
Central American News
In Brief
Hi Readers, Welcome back!
Here are this week’s highlights:
The network of trains collectively known as “The Beast” has resumed operations after 60 north-bound freight trains were halted last week due to safety concerns.
Ofraneh released a public statement announcing the attempted murder of Garífuna activist, Miriam Miranda.
President Bukele, during his speech at the U.N. General Assembly trumpeted over his gang crackdown efforts in El Salvador.
Greetings,
The Central American News Team
Headlines
Migration
📰Ferromex: Last week, Mexico's largest railroad, Ferromex, halted 60 north-bound freight trains due to safety concerns amidst rising numbers of Central and South American migrants using the trains to travel north. The network of trains collectively known as “The Beast” has resumed operations.
📰Shifting Migration: For the first time since Mexico has collected data, the number of South American migrants transiting the country are outpacing Central American migrants. Venezuelans and Ecuadorians are now the predominant nationalities traveling north to the United States.
📰Rodrigo Chaves Robles: The president of Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chaves Robles, is set to travel to Panama’s Darién Gap in a joint effort to contain the migrant crisis affecting both nations.
El Salvador
📰Independence Day: On Sept. 15, civil society organizations marched in San Salvador demanding the release of innocent people captured under the State of Exception while also protesting the reelection of President Nayib Bukele.
📰Election: The National Opposition Union of El Salvador signed a declaration of insurrection in regards to the reelection of Bukele. The organization says they will collect signatures from citizens who are against the president’s reelection and present a request to the Supreme Electoral Court in order to reject Bukele’s candidacy.
📰United Nations: During his speech at the U.N. General Assembly, Bukele trumpeted his gang crackdown efforts in El Salvador. Since the implementation of the State of Exception, over 72,000 people have been arrested.
Honduras
📰Migration: At least 3,334 unaccompanied children of Honduran descent have been reported to be under custody in the United States. The state of Honduras had the goal of reducing the amount of citizens from fleeing the country, but the number remains extremely high. It is currently one of the three countries with the largest number of people seeking asylum.
📰In Search of Justice: Copinh demands the Supreme Court to confirm sentences against the killers of environmentalist and indigenous Lenca leader, Berta Cáceres. In an attempt to silence the voices of the Lenca against the installation of a hydroelectric project, eight men carried out the plot to murder Cáceres the night of March 2, 2016. Seven years have passed since, but the community continues to demand justice.
📰OFRANEH: OFRANEH released a public statement announcing the attempted murder of Garífuna activist, Miriam Miranda. At least four heavily armed men, not belonging to the community of Vallecito, Colon, entered with the intent of harming Miranda. This targeting is part of a larger plan of genocide against the Garífuna that has been ongoing for years, through methods of threats, murder, and forced disappearances.
Nicaragua
📰Violations against human rights: Nicaragua continuously lack human rights guarantees for women and girls. The Central American country has the highest rate of teen births in Latin America and the Caribbean, with 85.6 such cases for every 1,000 adolescents (2022); and a high level of early marriages, with 1,192 minors in common law marriages in 2021.
📰Boric: Chilean President, Gabriel Boric, took advantage of his appearance before the Organization of American States (OAS) Permanent Council to defend democracy and once again made a harsh criticism of Daniel Ortega's dictatorship in Nicaragua. “Nicaragua grieves us as in the past Chile grieved you,” Boric declared.
📰Women political prisoners: The Nicaraguan authoritarian regime arbitrarily sentenced the political prisoners, Anielka García and Olesia Muñoz, to eight and ten years in prison, respectively, for “conspiracy to commit harm to the national integrity” and “propagation of false news.” The regime currently holds 89 political prisoners, 16 of these people are women and some are on hunger strike at La Esperanza women’s prison.
Guatemala
📰Democracy: “We are extremely concerned and are considering sanctions” says Kristina Rosales, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, about the actions of Guatemalan government executives that could hinder the presidential transition of power.
📰Elections | Transparency: The Public Ministry announced that it received more than a thousand complaints derived from the 2023 electoral process, including some presented by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.
📰Migration: Between Sept. 18 - 22, more than 1,200 Guatemalans were deported from Mexico and the United States. In the first semester of 2023, 32,596 Guatemalans were deported by air and land from Mexico and the United States.
Panama
📰Youth Assembly: Through social networks, the mother of a student participant of the Youth Assembly denounced that she was allegedly abused during the event organized by the Ministry of Education, the Electoral Tribunal and the National Assembly at the Panama Hotel. As the mother explained, the minor returned home with a psychotic diagnosis related to possible sexual abuse after spending a week at the event.
📰Anti-noise law: The National Assembly approved a bill establishing measures for noise control. The regulation establishes sound pressure levels in external and internal areas of different zones. It also prohibits the use of noise-generating pyrotechnics in residential areas.
📰Cancer: Panamanian occupational health specialist Sally Vergara told EFE that Panama is in an urgent situation regarding cancer treatment. Proof of this is that the leading cause of death in women in Panama is breast cancer and the second is cervical cancer. According to data from the WHO, in 2020 in Panama 299 women died from breast cancer and 1,076 new cases were diagnosed. The incidence and mortality from this disease is increasing by 2% annually.
Costa Rica
📰Chaves’ Criminal Case: Humberto Vargas Corrales, former deputy in the Christian Social Unity Party, refused to testify in front of the Electoral Finance Investigative Commission. He claims that he could be charged in president Rodrigo Chaves’ ongoing criminal financing case. It is reported that he owns a house that Chaves allegedly used during his presidential campaign.
📰Visa Work Scams: The U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica is issuing an alert to Costa Rican citizens about scammers who are making fraudulent job offers and visa opportunities in the U.S. through WhatsApp or video chat. The embassy said it does not communicate with visa applicants through these apps and directs them to the official website.
Belize
📰Land Redistribution: Belize's government is pursuing legal action against former Minister of Natural Resources Hugo Patt for alleged misconduct in the sale of twenty-six acres of government land to a private company in 2020. The land is now being divided and will be distributed transparently to Belize City residents, according to Area Representative Francis Fonseca.
📰Medical Advancement: The Belize Council for the Visually Impaired (B.C.V.I.) in Belize City recently performed its first vitrectomy surgeries, aiming to save the vision of patients who had suffered significant eye damage. The procedures were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic but are now underway with support from B.C.V.I. staff.
Central American Music
Guatemalan composer Ch’umilkaj released the song “Abuelas” which is a musical tribute that pays homage to the women of wisdom, resilience and strength who have enriched lives throughout history. The song is sung in Kaqchikel.
Good Reads
📌Central American Independence: Photos: Latino Angelenos celebrate independencia (DE LOS).
📌Tourism: El Salvador and Honduras, among the countries that showed the greatest tourism recovery: UNWTO (Forbes).
📌El Niño: El Niño is creating fear and mystery this year because it will be the strongest in years (Bloomberg).
Good News
✨Business Women: The first Regional Federation of businesswomen in Central America.
✨UN Contest: The United Nations awarded the Honduran Mayra Pinto in Italy for being part of the winners of the “Rural YouTubers and TikTokers Contest.”
✨Golf Open Champion: High School student Ауdаn Lіzаrrаgа bесame thе уоungеѕt Belize Golf Open chаmріоn іn thе tоurnаmеnt’ѕ hіѕtоrу.
Events
📅English Classes: The National Institute of Vocational Training (Infop) will be giving free face-to-face English courses to Hondurans in Tegucigalpa. Classes will begin on 9th October 2023.
Film
For this week’s film spotlight. We highlight Guatemalan director Andrés Rodríguez's film Roza. The film follows Hector and his experience returning to the Guatemalan highlands he calls home. Confronting internal issues surrounding his relationship with family members, Hector delves within to deconstruct the struggles.
The Team
Editor: Mindrid Tesucum
Coordinating team: Karla Saenz Porras, Kayla Alamilla, Shahrazad Encinias
Social media: Abigail Galvez-Aguirre
News curators: Pablo Arauz (Costa Rica), Kirsten Cintigo (El Salvador), Luna Cordóba (Nicaragua), Rodrigo Medina and Joan Collins (Panama), Allison Aguilar (Honduras), Rafael Padilla (Guatemala), Elliaz Luna (Belize), Oliver Martínez López (Migration)
Film curator: Robert Zuniga