Central American News

Mar 02, 2022

Dear Readers,

All Central American governments condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, except two: El Salvador and Nicaragua. Until now, El Salvador's foreign ministry has stayed silent and Nicaragua's diplomacy largely blamed NATO and Ukraine's "2014's coup d'Etat" for leading up to Russia's attack. Below the headlines, you can see a story that records the military cooperation between Russia and Nicaragua.

In other news, Honduras' Ministry of Energy, Natural Resources, Environment and Mines, declared all Honduran territory free of open-pit mining. Also, El Salvador's former President Alfredo Cristiani and former military officers will face trial for the 1989 Jesuit Case and El Salvador's parliament must now reform the Natural Person Name Law so that transgender people can change their name according to their gender identity.

Also: this is Central American News' #180 newsletter! Thanks for following us.

Salú,

Melissa and the team.

Headlines

Migration

📰 Migrant Surveillance: U.S. Democratic lawmakers urged the Biden administration to reduce the number of migrants enrolled in a surveillance program run by private company Isap.

📰 Black Migrants: Black migrants are an increasing population in the U.S. // Black migrants are also least likely than migrants of other racial groups to be granted citizenship.

📰 Border Grievances: As attention on mostly Central America migrants at the border continues, mostly Mexican American Latinos residing in South Texas are turning to the Republican Party to address their grievances on immigration.

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

Belize

📰 Free, Prior, Informed Consent: The Commissioner of Indigenous People’s Affairs, Greg Ch’oc,sent a letter to the Deputy Registrar of the Caribbean Court of Justice in an effort to refute the claims made by the Toledo Alcalde Association, the Maya Leaders Alliance and the Julian Cho Society that they had not been consulted prior to the government’s recent submission of the Free, Prior, Informed Consent protocol to the Caribbean Court of Justice.

📰 Tech: The Inter-American Development Bank, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology and Google are providing a free Google certificate in Data Analytics for Belizeans ages 14 to 29.

📰 CARICOM: Leaders of CARICOM are in Belize for the 33 Inter-Sessional meeting. Key regional matters are being discussed including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the advancement of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), climate change and the region’s security.

📰 Sports: The Belikin La Ruta Maya Belize River Challenge takes place March 4-7. La Ruta Maya is considered one of the longest canoe races in Central America that brings together professional and amateur paddlers from all over the world who take on the four day grueling challenge of paddling 175 miles of the Belize Old River against rapids and winds.

📰 Ukraine-Russia: Belize condemns Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

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

El Salvador

📰 1989 Massacre: Former President Alfredo Cristiani and other former military officers will face trial for the 1989 Jesuit Massacre, in which six Jesuit priests and two women were killed. According to prosecutors, the charges will include murder, terrorism and conspiracy.

📰 United States: President Joe Biden intends to nominate William H. Duncan as the next U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador. Duncan is currently a Senior Inspector in the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of State.

📰 Legislative Assembly: The Salvadoran Institute of Agrarian Transformation proposed a project to the Environment Commission asking for the transfer of protected coastal land so that it can be recovered and used for tourism. // The Constitutional Chamber ordered the Legislative Assembly to reform the Natural Person Name Law so that transgender people can change their name.

📰 Ukraine-Russia: El Salvador's government has not made any official statement regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The European Union is pressuring El Salvador to "defend Ukraine."

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

Guatemala

📰Vaccines: On February 28, 1,062,412 first doses of the Sputnik V vaccine expired, costing the government US$10.6 million. Despite this, the Ministry of Health has not intensified the vaccination process. Data non-profit Lab de Datos points out that "only around 5,000 doses" have been supplied every day for months.

📰Maternal Deaths: Covid-19 was the main cause of maternal deaths according to an investigation carried out by Agencia Ocote. From 1989 to 2020, hemorrhage had been the main threat to life during pregnancy, childbirth, or the puerperium; it is now second.

📰Corruption: Alejandra Carrillo, a former deputy of Congress, would have benefited from US$2,500 per month for the lease of a public building. A witness gave screen captures of chats that allegedly involve her.

📰 Ukraine-Russia: The Government of Guatemala condemned the invasion by the armed forces of the Russian Federation into Ukraine.

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

Honduras

📰 Open-Pit Mining Ban: The Ministry of Energy, Natural Resources, Environment and Mines, declared all Honduran territory free of open-pit mining. The government press release stated that the extractive projects are “harmful to the State of Honduras, threatening natural resources, public health and limits access to water as a human right.”

📰 State Finances: The Secretary of Finance, Rixi Moncada, denounced in her first report that the budget approved by the previous administration of 308 billion lempiras has a fiscal deficit of 35%.

📰 Secrets Law, Repealed: The National Congress repealed the Public Documents Classification Law, colloquially known as the Secrets Law. This law had been approved in 2013, and allowed at least 17 state institutions from declaring public information. The law was seen as detrimental to the fight against corruption.

📰 Ukraine-Russia: The state of Honduras condemns of the use of force and military actions in Ukraine.

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

Nicaragua

📰 Civil Society: The Nicaraguan government has outlawed or closed about 114 civil organizations in recent years, which include universities, political parties and NGOs. Some of the organizations had their buildings and resources confiscated and many social projects have had to stop.

📰 Human Rights: The High Commissioner of Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, will denounce before the UN the application of repressive laws in Nicaragua, including ambiguous definitions of "terrorism" or "treason against the fatherland" that are incompatible with international law. Political prisoners suffer torture, have no access to proper legal defense, and have limited access to food, personal visits, or medical attention.

📰 Ukraine-Russia: The president of the Russia's Duma (Lower House of Parliament), Viacheslav Volodin, visited Nicaragua. On the same day Russia invaded Ukraine, he gave a speech in the Nicaraguan National Assembly. This is the second Russian official that visited Nicaragua in recent weeks: Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov stated in Managua that they are analyzing the possibilities of expanding cooperation with Nicaragua, including military and technological cooperation. // Nicaragua stated the respect of sovereignty for all nations, but also said that the “issue of Ukraine” started with a coup d’etat in 2014 and criticized sanctions against Russia.

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

Costa Rica

📰 Ukraine-Russia: Foreign Minister Roberto Solano condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine while reiterating his stance on Nicaragua. He said that foreign diplomats should not “extra-regionalize” the conflict, referring to a visit by the president of the Duma (Russia’s lower parliament) to Nicaragua and Cuba.

📰 CARICOM: President Carlos Alvarado will attend a summit of leaders from Central America and the Caribbean Community (Caricom) in Belize this week.

📰 2022 Presidential Election: The two presidential candidates running for the country’s highest office in the April runoff election represent two different worlds. Former president José María Figueres Olsen has been working to return to power for at least a decade while Rodrigo Chaves is seen as a disruptor.

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

Panama

📰 Pregnant minor: An eight-year-old girl, victim of sexual abuse resulting in pregnancy, is being treated at a hospital in the capital. She might receive a C-section. The alleged aggressor has been detained. Nearly 450 adolescents between 14 and 15 years of age gave birth in 2019. Citizens also demand that sexual and reproductive education classes be taught in schools.

📰 Dengue fever: Up to 106 cases of dengue fever have been reported so far this year. The Ministry of Health report indicates that the regions with the most cases are: Bocas del Toro (32), Chiriqui (16), Panama metro (15) and San Miguelito and Panama east register 14 cases each.

📰 Seafood Market: The mayor of the capital, José Luis Fábregas, faces public rejection for the construction of a new "Seafood Market”. Citizens denounce the lack of community involvement during the public consultation period. Only 22 people attended the consultation out of a total of 1.23 million citizens of the capital district. The project would cost between $40 and $50 million and has already been approved.

📰 Ukraine-Russia: Panama's ambassador to the United Nations, Markova Concepcion, called for an end to hostilities and condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Ortega, the "anti-imperialist", surrenders to Russian interests

This story analyzes the military cooperation between Nicaragua Ortega and Russia throughout the years. (Confidencial)

Berta Cáceres

March 2 marks the sixth year of Lenca indigenous leader, Honduran feminist and environmental activist Berta Cáceres' assassination. In July 2021, David Castillo, an executive of energy company DESA, was found guilty of being the mastermind of her murder.

COPINH @COPINHHONDURAS

6 años de impunidad y resiliencias. Les invitamos a apoyar la Causa Berta Cáceres usando esta imagen conmemorativa, compartir los mensajes de lucha y exigir justicia para Berta! #6AñosJuntoABerta #JusticiaParaBerta #Honduras

The Sivargirls Case

Sivargirls: the network of 16,000 men who shared intimate content of Salvadoran women. (Revista Factum)

Nicaraguan Perspectives

Sofía Dvoynos, a Ukrainian Nicaraguan, tells how she has experienced the Russian invasion. (Nicaragua Investiga)

Quote on Guatemala's 'Political Crusade'

"Guatemala is undergoing a hunt against prosecutors and judges in the context of a broad strategy that seeks to asphyxiate and neutralize those who have targeted corruption and inequality. A political and cultural crusade is being conducted to promote nationalism to the detriment of openness and dissidence," activist Álvaro Montenegro writes in El Faro.

Sports: Belikin 'La Ruta Maya' Challenge

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!