Central America

Xiomara Castro becomes first woman president of Honduras

AFP

Leftist Xiomara Castro was sworn in Thursday as the first woman president of Honduras, vowing to reform the crime- and poverty-stricken nation into a “socialist and democratic state.”

Castro, 62, took the oath at a massive ceremony attended by international dignitaries after an embarrassing week of fighting within her party that challenged her authority.

In her first official address at the Tegucigalpa National Stadium, Castro denounced “the social and economic tragedy confronting Honduras” and promised to make work of improving education, healthcare, security and employment.

She said she was inheriting a “bankrupt” country which she intended to reshape into a “socialist and democratic state.”

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Honduras’s public debt is about $17 billion.

The oath was sworn before Judge Karla Romero, flanked by Castro’s choice of Congress president, Luis Redondo, who draped the presidential sash over his new boss before a crowd of about 29,000.

The guests included US Vice President Kamala Harris, King Felipe VI of Spain and Taiwan Vice President William Lai.

– ’12 years of struggle’ –

Castro’s election last November brought an end to 12 years of right-wing National Party (PN) rule that followed the ousting of her husband Manuel Zelaya as president in a 2009 coup.

“Twelve years of struggle, 12 years of resistance. Today the people’s government begins,” Castro said on Twitter Thursday.

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But the lead-up to the swearing-in was marred by a disruptive rivalry within her Libre party, which is in a majority alliance in Congress.

Libre factions split on who should be the legislature’s new president, coming to blows in the Congress chamber and then holding rival inaugural sittings.

Castro accused supporters of Redondo’s rival for the Congress presidency, Jorge Calix, of being in cahoots with the PN and other forces she said wanted to undermine her anti-corruption drive.

Juan Orlando Hernandez of the PN, her predecessor, is accused by US prosecutors of protecting drug traffickers in exchange for bribes.

– ‘Everyone wants to leave’ –

Castro assumes office with a full load of tasks ahead of her.

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Hondurans are fleeing the country in droves, often to the United States, in search of work and a better life.

Castro spoke of a poverty rate of 74 percent, a figure she said “in itself explains the caravans of thousands of people of all ages fleeing to the north — Mexico and the United States — looking for a place and a way to survive in spite of the risk to their lives” from gangs and smugglers along the way.

“Everyone wants to leave because there’s no work. If there were more job opportunities here, there would be no need to look for another country,” university student Jensi Davila told AFP in Tegucigalpa.

Adding to the exodus, Honduras’s murder rate is nearly 40 per 100,000 inhabitants.

Among the crowd celebrating Castro’s inauguration, seamstress Esther Lopez expressed hope that the situation “is going to change, because Xiomara has been supporting the cause of the poor for many years and because of ‘Mel’ Zelaya, who was a good president.”

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– Migration talks –

Harris urged Castro to fight corruption, seen as a root cause of Central American migration, in talks after the inauguration ceremony.

The first foreign official to have a bilateral meeting with Castro, Harris welcomed the priority the new president had placed “on countering corruption and impunity, including her intent to request the assistance of the United Nations in establishing an international anti-corruption commission,” a readout from Harris’s office said.

Castro needs international support to renegotiate foreign debt of $11 billion.

It is an issue, according to former prime minister Edgardo Paz, which requires agreement “with the multilateral institutions where Washington has a lot of influence.”

Castro also held a meeting with Lai, who conveyed Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s congratulations to Castro on becoming Honduras’s first woman leader, according to a statement from Tsai’s office.

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Honduras is one of just 14 countries to recognize Taiwan.

China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory, has spent decades encouraging the island’s allies to switch sides, with much success.

On the election campaign, Castro vowed to “immediately open diplomatic and commercial relations with mainland China” if she won.

According to the presidential statement, Lai — who came bearing a consignment of Covid-19 prevention supplies — said he invited Castro to visit the self-ruled island, adding that a meeting between Taiwan and Honduras’s first woman presidents would be a historic moment.

Separately, Harris and Lai had a brief exchange at the inauguration, Taiwan’s Central News Agency said, an encounter that will likely stoke US-China tensions.

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They shared “a simple greeting” in which both “spoke briefly,” the agency said.

Their conversation was the first public interaction between US and Taiwanese vice presidents since Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, according to Fan Shih-ping, a political analyst at Taiwan’s National Normal University.

Castro announced part of her cabinet Thursday, with her son Hector Zelaya as private secretary and Jose Manuel Zelaya — her husband’s nephew — as defense minister.

Central America

International leaders congratulate Honduras’ president-elect Asfura

The United States government was among the first to congratulate the president-elect, through Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a press briefing that Beijing “is willing to work with Honduras to jointly promote the continued development of bilateral relations.”

The European Union also expressed its commitment and interest in working with Asfura to advance “shared priorities aimed at deepening bilateral ties.”

In addition, the foreign ministries of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay issued messages congratulating the president-elect.

Presidents from Panama and Paraguay, as well as the government of Chile, also extended their congratulations to Asfura. Furthermore, the governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and the Dominican Republic released a joint statement saying: “We reaffirm our solidarity with the Honduran people and express our hope that the transition will take place in a peaceful and orderly manner.”

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Central America

Guatemala arrests 92 salvadoran gang members in 2025

Between January 1 and December 25, 2025, a total of 92 Salvadoran gang members were arrested in Guatemala, according to a report released by that country’s National Civil Police (PNC).

The arrests were carried out as part of border control operations and efforts to combat transnational crime, aimed at preventing members of terrorist criminal structures from entering or remaining in Guatemala after fleeing El Salvador’s state of emergency, which has been in force since March 27, 2022.

The Guatemalan PNC reported that 46 of those detained were expelled and handed over to Salvadoran authorities at the four land border crossings between the two countries.

According to official information, Guatemala’s Interpol National Central Office (NCB) and the Salvadoran National Civil Police maintain close coordination and information-sharing mechanisms to verify the criminal records of gang members.

The 46 individuals expelled to El Salvador were wanted on charges including illicit association, extortion, homicide, drug trafficking, illegal restriction of freedom of movement, and other forms of organized and complex crime.

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Guatemalan police transferred the suspects to their Salvadoran counterparts, who then referred them to the courts seeking their arrest. The most recent detainee was Melvin Antonio Mejía Rivas, alias “Porky,” a member of the 18th Street gang, who was apprehended in Zone 16 of Guatemala City. He has been wanted for illicit association since November 4, 2019.

Another arrest involved Judith Cristina Cáceres de Rivera, originally from Ahuachapán, who was detained in Zone 3 of San José Pinula on extortion charges. Authorities said she demanded 7,000 quetzales per week from a local व्याप merchant.

Guatemalan police also reported that 46 Salvadorans have been arrested in the country for committing various criminal offenses.

Central America

Arrests and clashes in Tegucigalpa as vote count continues after Honduras election

Protesters affiliated with the ruling Liberty and Refoundation Party (Libre) gathered in a demonstration that led to several arrests, disturbances, the burning of tires, and left at least 15 people injured outside the center where votes from Honduras’ November 30 general election are still being counted.

The group assembled on Monday outside the National Institute for Professional Training (INFOP) in Tegucigalpa, after President Xiomara Castro called on supporters through social media, claiming that a “new coup d’état” was being plotted in Honduras.

“I call on the people, social movements, grassroots organizations, party militants and citizens to urgently and peacefully gather in Tegucigalpa to defend the popular mandate, reject any coup attempt and make it clear to the world that a new coup is taking shape here,” the president said.

Castro has stated that she does not recognize the partial election results, which currently place right-wing candidate Nasry Asfura in the lead with 40.54% of the vote, followed closely by liberal candidate Salvador Nasralla with 39.20%. The ruling party’s candidate, Rixi Moncada, remains in a distant third place with 19.30%, with no realistic chance of a comeback.

Both the Libre Party and the Liberal Party, led by Castro and Nasralla respectively, have alleged electoral fraud. On Tuesday, the two parties agreed to participate in the special review panels that the National Electoral Council (CNE) says will finalize the count by reexamining 1,081 polling records flagged for irregularities.

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Former president Manuel Zelaya, Castro’s husband and a senior figure within Libre, said last week that according to his party’s own nationwide tally of presidential ballots, Nasralla—a former Libre member—won the election.