Central America
Nicaragua dissident jailed under Ortega dies in prison: family
AFP
Former guerrilla Hugo Torres Jimenez, one of 46 opposition figures jailed since last year by the Nicaraguan government of President Daniel Ortega, died on Saturday, his family said in a statement.
He was 73.
The statement offered few details on Torres’ death but expressed his children’s “deep pain over the death of our beloved father.” It was released by the opposition coalition Blue and White National Unity (UNAB), of which Torres was a member.
A former Sandinista dissident, Torres had been held since June 13, 2021, in El Chipote prison, before being transferred in December to a hospital for treatment, sources said.
Torres had been vice president of the opposition Democratic Renovation Union (Unamos), formerly the Sandinista Renovation Movement, established in 1995 by militants unhappy with Ortega’s leadership.
A retired army general, Torres in 1974 undertook a risky operation to free a group of jailed politicians — including Ortega — being held under the Somoza dictatorship.
But Ortega, who himself has grown increasingly dictatorial as president and as head of the Sandinista National Liberation Front, has accused dozens of opposition figures of conspiring against his government with US backing.
Torres was hailed on Saturday as a “hero” by ex-guerrilla and exiled Sandinista dissident Monica Baltodano.
She told news website 100% Noticias that Torres was “a true hero of the struggles against the dictatorships that have dominated Nicaragua — the dictatorship of Somoza and now the dictatorship of Ortega, which is a brutal and criminal dictatorship.”
Unamos in January had reported that Torres’ health was deteriorating and demanded details from the government. It offered none.
The Washington-based Organization of American States said it “considers the fact of keeping political prisoners, with terminal illnesses and without necessary medical assistance, an abominable act.”
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said that for months Torres was “denied freedom in inhumane conditions and subjected to a legal process with no guarantees.”
Torres was one of 46 opposition figures detained last year, most of them before November elections in which Ortega was re-elected for a fourth consecutive term. Among the 46 were seven who had planned to run against Ortega.
All have been accused of undermining national integrity and promoting foreign interference in Nicaragua.
Eighteen have been found guilty in the past two weeks, and seven have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from eight to 13 years.
Central America
Panama confirms drug contamination of El Salvador coffee shipment occurred on its territory
A container originating from El Salvador and carrying coffee for export was contaminated with more than 1,152 packages of drugs while in transit through Panama, according to official information confirmed by the Panamanian government this Tuesday.
The case, which had previously generated political controversy in April 2025 after opposition sectors attempted to link the Salvadoran government to drug trafficking, has now been clarified through renewed investigations.
Authorities confirmed that the container departed from the port of Acajutla after being properly inspected, with no illicit substances detected at the time of export.
According to statements previously provided by El Salvador’s Minister of Defense, René Merino Monroy, the shipment traveled first to the port of Balboa in Panama, where it remained stored for several days before being transferred to another vessel bound for Manzanillo in Colón.
It was at that terminal that Panamanian authorities discovered the drugs and identified tampering with the container seals, indicating that the illicit alteration occurred during its transit in Panama rather than in Salvadoran territory.
The findings align with earlier explanations provided by Salvadoran officials and confirm that the contamination of the cargo took place outside of El Salvador’s jurisdiction.
Central America
Uber Eats adds Puntarenas and Turrialba to growing Costa Rica network
Uber Eats announced that it is continuing to expand its presence in Costa Rica with the launch of operations in the cities of Puntarenas and Turrialba, further strengthening the company’s growth in the country.
With this expansion, the delivery platform is now available across all seven Costa Rican provinces and works with more than 6,000 partner businesses. Its offerings include prepared food, supermarkets, pharmacies, pet stores, and other specialty retailers.
As part of the announcement, Uber Eats also introduced Marco Nannipieri as its new Regional General Manager for the Andean Region, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Nannipieri will oversee the company’s operations in Costa Rica along with seven other countries in the region.
“Costa Rica is a key market for Uber Eats in the region, with growing adoption of technology among users and businesses. Over the past five years, more than 1,000 restaurants and merchants have joined the app, and today we are entering a new stage of expansion that will allow us to reach more cities outside the Greater Metropolitan Area, creating new opportunities for entrepreneurs across the country,” Nannipieri said.
Central America
Report questions direction of Nasry Asfura after 100 days in office
The Center for the Study of Democracy warned Tuesday that the government of Nasry Asfura, which marks its first 100 days in office on Wednesday, has failed to show a “significant change in direction” and continues to follow a model characterized by exclusion, inequality, and external dependence.
In its report titled “100 Days of the Nasry Asfura Government: Concerns and Demands,” Cespad stated that the administration has maintained an economic and political model that prioritizes debt payments, the promotion of extractive projects, and the strengthening of the security apparatus over social investment.
The organization argued that the current policies have not addressed structural problems affecting large sectors of the Honduran population and warned that inequality and economic dependence remain key challenges for the country.
Nasry Asfura won the general elections held on November 30, 2025, in a process marked by allegations of fraud and delays in the vote count that lasted nearly a month due to a series of technological failures.
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