Central American News

Feb 16, 2022

Dear Readers,

Former President of Honduras Juan Orlando Hernandez has been arrested yesterday following a extradition request by the U.S. for drug-trafficking charges, and many Hondurans are celebrating it. They frame it as "justice being served."

In Honduras, Hernandez has been accused of contributing to a narco-state, electoral fraud, increasing authoritarianism, and negligence in responding to crises such as COVID-19 and the 2020 hurricanes.

Also in Honduras, the Guapinol water defenders, protesting an iron-oxide mine, have been acquitted from charges. However, at the time of writing, six of these activists are still detained despite the ruling.

In other prison-related news, Nicaragua continues its trials against government critics and activists by way of a cyber-crime law. Twelve trials against political prisoners are taking place this week, while 18 other political prisoners have been sentenced last week. The death of a former Sandinista leader in prison sparked discussions on prisoners' health and treatment.

Check out our curated good reads, including a superb photo-essay by a Salvadoran-American photographer, below the headlines!

Salú,

Melissa, Jalileh (Honduras News Curator) and the team

JOH in shackles, Feb. 15 2022. Photo by BBC/Getty.

Headlines

Migration

📰 Migrants in Limbo: After migrants were admitted last year in the U.S. without an immigration court hearing, asylum seekers feel “left in limbo” and the government is having challenges tracking them down.

📰 New Detention Facility: Activists in Georgia express frustration with the Biden administration as a new immigrant detention facility is confirmed to be built in the state.

📰 'A Day Without Immigrants': Advocates across the U.S. participated in “Day Without Immigrants” demonstrations to push for immigration reform.

📰 Isthmian Migrations: Venezuelan migrants are the largest group to migrate through Panama. // Climate change-related disaster has been pushing indigenous Miskitu peoples to migrate from Nicaragua to Costa Rica.

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Belize

📰 Education: Dian Maheia (from the Ministry of Education) addressed concerns of some 224 Guatemalan students who are enrolled in Belize, as hybrid learning resumed. She explained how the ministry is ensuring that these students are not disenfranchised.

📰 Passing: Sir Manuel Esquivel, Belize’s first Prime Minister following Belize’s Independence in 1984 and 1993 has passed away.

📰 Politics: Belizean opposition leaders Shyne Barrow and Tracy Panton will run for leadership of the United Democratic Party on March 27.

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El Salvador

📰 Corruption Allegation: El Salvador's parliament removed the immunity of two Nuevas Ideas deputies who have been accused by the Public Prosecutor of bribery with businessman Roy García. They may now be sued before the courts.

📰 Courts: On Feb. 8, 11 magistrates removed the administrative powers of the president of the Supreme Court, Óscar Alberto López Jerez. For El Faro, "everything indicates that this decision entails a loss of confidence on the part of the Presidential House."

📰 Reproductive Rights: After ten years, Elsy, a woman sentenced to 30 years in prison for suffering an obstetric emergency, was freed. She is the fifth woman to be released.

📰 LGBTQ+: A study on the LGBTI population in El Salvador by Comcavis Trans and the Organization of Salvadoran Women for Peace, showed that 65% of its participants experienced discrimination, with the majority stemming from State institutions and the National Civil Police.

📰 El Mozote: Forensic experts began exhuming the remains of 16 victims from two mass graves belonging to the El Mozote Massacre. According to Cristosal, the remains are mostly of children.

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Guatemala

📰 Investigation: The Guatemalan government has been shaken by the publication of an investigation by El Faro, which brought to light the testimony of a protected witness who accuses President Alejandro Giammattei of receiving a $2.6 million bribe for his campaign. The story sparked reactions, including that of the president's spokesman, who said that there is no such investigation. Hours later, prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche filed a complaint to investigate who leaked the audio of the testimony against the president. This Twitter thread from Plaza Pública explains the details.

📰 Prosecutors: Lawyer Leily Santizo, a former CICIG lawyer, was captured and sent to jail (where people whom she investigated are being held). Santizo's defender warned that her life is in danger. Eva Siomara Sosa, a former prosecutor, has also been involved in the case. This is considered as a revenge from the Attorney General and continued legal attacks against judges and prosecutors.

📰 Hospitals: One of the main and largest hospitals in Guatemala is completely out of supplies, even of acetaminophen. Internal medicine residents suspended work.

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Honduras

📰 Extradition: Following the U.S. request of extradition, former President Juan Orlando Hernandez (JOH) was arrested on Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 15) and taken to a special forces base, where he is awaiting his first hearing, following a U.S. request of extradition for his involvement in drug-trafficking. Many Hondurans see this as a first step in receiving justice after JOH's ill-perceived governance.

📰 Guapinol Defenders: All eight Guapinol defenders protesting an iron-oxide mine have been acquitted from charges through an appeals ruled on by the Supreme Court of Honduras. The initial court ruling had acquitted two defenders and given six defenders up to 14 years in prison. At the time of writing, these six defenders are still in arbitrary detention, despite the Supreme Court ruling.

📰 Corruption: A ruling by the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice confirmed the dismissal of the defendants in the Pandora corruption case. The case involved the embezzlement, money laundering, and forgery of public documents for 282 million lempiras. The Public Prosecutor's office said the process was arbitrary and fallacious.

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Nicaragua

📰 Political Trials: 12 trials against political prisoners are taking place this week. The evidence presented by the public ministry includes social media posts, retweets and whatsapp groups. 18 other political prisoners have already been condemned last week.

📰 Death in Prison: Former guerrillero and sandinista leader, Hugo Torres, died while in custody by the government. The OAS, UN Human Rights office, and several countries condemned this and demanded freedom for the political prisoners, as well as an independent investigation on how Torres died. Relatives of Torres say that “Our political prisoners are at risk of death” in Nicaragua.

📰 Indigenous Peoples: The Council of Elders of the Nicaraguan Mosquitia, the highest authority of this Indigenous population in the Caribbean, denounced that the regime of Daniel Ortega allows or promotes the extermination of Miskito communities.

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Panama

📰 Organized crime: A former assistant of a Supreme Court magistrate was arrested along with a citizen for their alleged involvement with organized crime. The former assistant is being investigated for leaking confidential information to leaders of the Clan del Golfo. More than 100 police officers are also being investigated for the same crimes.

📰 Football Win: Team Panama White won the Girls U17 Flag Football Championship at the Allegiant Stadium, at Las Vegas last week. The national team defeated the Texas Fury 6-0.

📰 Internal elections: After 12 years, the Indigenous Ngäbe-Buglé Comarca went to elections. Last Sunday, February 13, more than 160,000 people were called to elect their traditional authorities: one general cacique, three regional caciques and nine local caciques. With 89% of the tables counted, Elena Cruz Guerra is the virtual winner of the elections.

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Costa Rica

No news this week, our apologies.

A Salvadoran American photographer's work

A Salvadoran American photographer chronicles the lives of his transnational family members. (in Aperture)

Steven Molina Contreras, Mother Alma #3, She’ll hold you for a lifetime, United States, 2019 All photographs courtesy the artist

Quote

“School isn’t for me," says Amelia Domingo, a Guatemalan minor working to pay off smugglers who got her to the United States. See the full story of Amelia, who works in an Alabama poultry processing plant, on Reuters.

Good Reads

📌People-centered Journalism: In a Nieman Report op-ed, an immigration reporter encourages other journalists to center migrants’ stories rather than political parties who content with immigration policy.

📌 Costa Rican Elections and Asylum: Confidencial outlines the immigration views of Costa Rican presidential candidates as they relate to the Nicaraguan migrant community.

📌 'Border surveillance empire': Author and journalist Jean Guerrero warns that the expansion of the Biden administrations “border surveillance empire” has sinister implications for all people (in Los Angeles Times)

Events

📅 Feb. 25: The National Association of Indigenous Salvadorans (ANIS) will host a workshop about tracing Salvadoran genealogy.

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