Central America

President Bukele’s government inaugurates Phase II of the El Salvador Hospital

Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador, announced yesterday on national TV that on August 7, Phase II of the El Salvador Hospital had been inaugurated. The President said that there are already 25 patients being treated in this area.

“Many people wondered why we did not inaugurate Phase II of the El Salvador Hospital, and it was because the Director needed to use these beds immediately, since Phase I was already full. We did not organize an event, but the Salvadoran people inaugurated it,” said President Bukele.

The President added that 1,125 beds are available across the country’s public hospital network. “El Salvador has become the country with the most intensive-care beds in all of Central America. El Salvador has more ICU beds available than all the countries in Central America combined,” he added.

The country with the fewest COVID-19 cases

Despite no state of emergency and constant hold-ups by Deputies in the Legislative Assembly, El Salvador remains the country with the lowest number of coronavirus cases in Central America. Recent rates result from the early actions taken by President Nayib Bukele’s government.

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To date, El Salvador has 20,423 confirmed cases. Costa Rica has 22,802 cases, Honduras 46,973, Guatemala 56,189 and Panama 73,651. In Nicaragua, the information available is limited and doubtful.

Among the early actions taken by President Bukele’s government, even before the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic, are: Health controls at seaports, airports and land borders. This made it possible to identify the first cases and to contain the spread of the virus.

The quarantine also proved to be an effective measure. While it was in force, the infection curve was flat. However, since the quarantine was lifted and legal resources were taken away from the Executive, cases have been on the rise, with an average of 400 cases per day over the past two weeks.

“Despite the rulings, we will continue to fight the pandemic with what we have,” said President Bukele.

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Central America

Guatemala Court Voids List of Candidates for Top Prosecutor Position

President of Guatemala cannot remove attorney general from office

Constitutional Court of Guatemala on Thursday annulled the shortlist of six candidates for attorney general and head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, ordering authorities to repeat the evaluation phase of the selection process.

The ruling came in response to a legal appeal filed by Raúl Amílcar Falla Ovalle, who challenged the way professional experience had been assessed for some applicants, particularly those with careers in the judiciary.

As a result of the decision, the selection process has been suspended, and the Postulation Commission must return to the stage in which the original 48 applicants were evaluated.

According to the ruling, the commission must reapply the grading criteria without automatically counting years served as judges as equivalent to the professional experience required for the position.

“The Postulation Commission for the election of the Attorney General and Head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office is ordered to reassess the applicants by strictly applying the approved grading table,” the resolution states.

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The Constitutional Court also stressed that the process must guarantee merit, competence, and suitability, while ensuring greater transparency in the assignment of scores.

Central America

U.S. extradites Iranian man over alleged sanctions evasion scheme

The United States has extradited from Panama an Iranian national accused of evading economic sanctions against Iran by illegally exporting U.S. technology. He is scheduled to appear this Monday before a court in Seattle.

Reza Dindar, 44, was extradited on April 17 after being detained in Panama since July 2025 on charges related to export control violations between 2011 and 2012, allegedly carried out through companies based in China.

The defendant appeared before a U.S. district court in Seattle, where he faces charges of violating sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran in 1995 during the administration of Bill Clinton. These sanctions prohibit the unauthorized export, re-export, or supply—directly or indirectly—of U.S. goods, technology, or services to Iran or its government.

According to the indictment, between 2010 and 2014, Dindar led the company New Port Sourcing Solutions in Xi’an, China, which allegedly concealed the procurement of U.S. products for shipment to clients in Iran.

Central America

Bukele administration surpasses 1,100 homicide-free days amid ongoing crackdown

El Salvador's PNC adds 85 days without murders and April is on track to be the safest in Salvadoran history

On Saturday, April 18, the Policía Nacional Civil (PNC) reported that no homicides were recorded in El Salvador, bringing the total to 17 days without murders.

With this update, the country has accumulated 91 homicide-free days so far in 2026. January closed with 27 such days, followed by 24 in February and 23 in March, according to police data.

During the administration of President Nayib Bukele, a total of 1,193 days without homicides have been registered. Of those, 1,079 have occurred since the implementation of the state of exception.

This extraordinary security measure has been extended 49 times by the Asamblea Legislativa de El Salvador, with the latest extension in effect from April 1 to April 30, 2026. Under the measure, more than 91,700 gang members and collaborators have been detained and prosecuted for illicit association.