Central America
Honduras braces for trouble as election begins
AFP
Honduras braced for potential violence as polls opened on Sunday to elect a new president to replace Juan Orlando Hernandez, a controversial figure accused of drug trafficking in the United States.
Voters queued up from dawn at some polling stations before they opened officially at 7:30 am (1330 GMT).
“I call on everyone to proceed with this process in peace, calm, without fear and without violence,” said National Electoral Council president Kelvin Aguirre.
More than five million people are registered to vote in what is expected to be a tight race.
Leftist opposition candidate Xiomara Castro led opinion polls last month, but the ruling right-wing National Party (PN) — whose candidate is charismatic Tegucigalpa mayor Nasry Asfura — has had the benefit of better campaign organization and resources.
Opposition fears of a rigged poll and reports of pre-election intimidation have led to tension.
“If the PN wins the election, even legitimately, there will be a worrying level of violence,” political analyst Raul Pineda, a lawyer and former PN lawmaker, predicted to AFP.
Four years ago, Hernandez won an unconstitutional second successive term amid cries of fraud from the opposition and international observers.
That sparked a widespread month-long protest, with the subsequent government crackdown leaving more than 30 people dead.
“We are afraid because we work close to where the votes are counted,” Luis Andino, 27, a Tegucigalpa street vendor, told AFP.
“We’re afraid of losing our jobs if there are riots … and we get kicked out of here.”
– ‘Preparing for war’ –
The concerns come for a country already ravaged by violent gangs, drug trafficking and hurricanes, in which 59 percent of the population of 10 million live in poverty.
“A kind of paranoia has developed, people are preparing for war” by stocking up on food and water, said Pineda.
But he insists that pressure from Washington — which wants to reduce the triggers for mass Central American mass migration to the US — along with a large corps of international observers, should at least ensure a transparent vote.
The crucial moment will come three hours after polls close at 5:00 pm, when the National Electoral Council (CNE) is due to announce early results, Gustavo Irias, executive director of the Center for Democracy Studies, told AFP.
“To avoid (violence) will depend on the attitude taken by different political actors, election observers and the US embassy.”
Some 18,000 police and as many soldiers will be on duty around the country.
– ‘No narco-states, only narco-governments’ –
The PN has been in power since Manuel Zelaya — Castro’s husband — was ousted in a 2009 coup supported by the military, business elites and the political right.
Corruption and drug-trafficking scandals have engulfed Hernandez and many of his inner circle in recent years, including Asfura.
Hernandez’s brother Tony is serving a life sentence in a US prison for drug trafficking.
Drug barons that the president helped extradite to the US have accused him of involvement in the illicit trade.
Asfura was accused in 2020 of embezzling $700,000 of public money and was also linked in the Pandora Papers to influence-peddling in Costa Rica.
The third major candidate of 13 in the presidential race, the Liberal Party’s Yani Rosenthal, spent three years in a US jail after admitting to laundering drug-trafficking money.
These scandals have played into former first lady Castro’s hands.
“Honduras is internationally known as a narco-state but there are no narco-states, only narco-governments,” said analyst Pineda.
“People won’t vote for Xiomara (Castro), they will vote against Juan Orlando Hernandez and what he represents.”
Castro, of the LIBRE party, led some opinion polls in October by 12 to 17 percentage points.
Neighboring El Salvador’s populist President Nayib Bukele urged Hondurans on Twitter not to vote for Asfura.
– Unemployment –
For many voters, the main issue is jobs.
Unemployment jumped from 5.7 percent in 2019 to 10.9 percent in 2020, largely because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a study by the Autonomous University.
The country was also ravaged by two hurricanes in 2020.
As he begged for money at a traffic light with his eight-month-old daughter in his arms, Elvin Aguilar, 32, said he was hoping the new government would provide “work and everything else.”
Hondurans will also elect the 128 members of the National Congress and 20 representatives of the Central American parliament.
Central America
Guatemala Declares Highest Alert in Areas Affected by Fuego Volcano Eruption
Guatemalan authorities declared a red alert, the highest level of danger, on Tuesday in areas affected by the eruption of the Fuego Volcano, located about 35 kilometers from the country’s capital.
The most active volcano in Central America entered an eruptive phase on Monday morning, and its activity intensified overnight with lava emissions and large columns of gas and ash.
No fatalities have been reported, but the volcanic activity forced the evacuation of around 500 people as a precautionary measure.
The National Coordination for Disaster Reduction (Conred) declared a state of emergency in the departments of Sacatepéquez, Chimaltenango and Escuintla, the agency announced through its official X account.
The affected regions are home to approximately 1.6 million people. However, ashfall has so far impacted only about five municipalities.
Despite the increase in the alert level, authorities reopened a road leading to the city of Antigua, the country’s main tourist destination, after evaluating safety conditions in the area.
The Fuego Volcano is one of Guatemala’s most active geological formations and has a history of frequent eruptions, requiring continuous monitoring by national emergency agencies.
Central America
U.S. Defense Secretary to Close Multinational Military Exercises in Panama to Protect Canal
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will travel to Panama next week to close multinational military exercises involving more than 20 countries aimed at strengthening security measures for the Panama Canal against potential threats, a Panamanian government official announced Monday.
This will mark Hegseth’s second visit to Panama. The U.S. defense chief is expected to arrive on August 13 for the closing ceremony of the military drills, which began this week and have been conducted in the Central American country for more than two decades to support the protection of the interoceanic waterway, according to Panama’s Security Minister Frank Ábrego.
The exercises include participation from the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru and the United Kingdom, among other nations.
“The canal is a strategic infrastructure that connects markets and supports global supply chains. Its security and uninterrupted operation are of fundamental importance for Panama, the United States and the international community,” said U.S. Ambassador to Panama Kevin Marino Cabrera.
The drills include maritime training operations, exercises in jungle areas surrounding the canal, as well as virtual simulations focused on cybersecurity and strategic planning.
The Panama Canal, one of the world’s most important trade routes, handles approximately 5% of global maritime commerce, making its security a priority for international trade and logistics networks.
Ábrego emphasized that preparedness and international coordination are essential to maintaining stability.
“The best way to preserve peace and guarantee the continuity of global trade is to be prepared to respond in a coordinated and effective manner to any threat,” the Panamanian official said.
Central America
Prosecutors Accuse Ex-Defense Minister of Undermining Press Freedom in Honduras
Honduras’ Public Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday filed criminal charges against retired General Roosevelt Hernández, the country’s former defense minister and former chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, over his alleged role in actions that prosecutors say undermined press freedom and freedom of expression.
Prosecutors said the case was brought by the Special Prosecutor’s Office for the Protection of Journalists, Social Communicators, Human Rights Defenders and Justice Officials following an investigation into content published between 2025 and 2026 on a digital media platform operated by the Honduran Armed Forces.
According to the investigation, the publications were reported by journalists and the Honduran Journalists Association (CPH), which described them as part of an alleged campaign to discredit members of the press and media organizations.
The case dates back to May 2025, when the CPH filed complaints with national and international organizations after the Armed Forces referred to three journalists as “hitmen” in an article published by FF.AA. Digital. The association argued that the publication endangered the journalists’ safety and constituted an attack on press freedom.
The journalists identified in the publication as “hitmen of the truth” were Rodrigo Wong Arévalo, director of the television news program Abriendo Brecha; Dagoberto Rodríguez, director of Radio Cadena Voces; and Juan Carlos Sierra, president of the Honduran Journalists Association. The article also included photographs of the three journalists and the CPH’s logo.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office said the case file includes formal complaints, pretrial investigative proceedings, a specialized forensic analysis of audiovisual and digital material, and witness testimony gathered during the investigation to determine whether the publications violated freedom of expression and the exercise of journalism.
Authorities emphasized that freedom of the press and freedom of expression are protected under the Honduran Constitution as well as international treaties ratified by the country.
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