Central America
Biden to receive President Chaves of Costa Rica next week
August 25|
The presidents of the United States, Joe Biden, and Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chaves Robles, will meet in Washington on August 29 to discuss bilateral issues such as the economy, regional migration and cybersecurity, among others, the White House announced in a statement.
“The two leaders will discuss how our two countries can build inclusive and sustainable economies, including through the Partnership of the Americas for Economic Prosperity, promote democratic values in the region, promote orderly and safe migration in accordance with the principles of the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection, as well as address regional security challenges,” the statement said.
For its part, the Costa Rican government, in announcing Chaves’ visit to the United States, thanked “the most recent collaboration of General Laura Richardson, Commander of the United States Southern Command”.
Richardson visited San José this Monday and met with the Costa Rican president to establish a three-year security collaboration agreement that provides the Central American nation with an amount of 9.8 million dollars, which “will strengthen Costa Rica’s cyber defense capacity”, said the Southern Command in a statement.
Biden and Chaves will also discuss what the United States sees as China’s growing influence in the region, Administration officials in Washington told Reuters. The United States and China have been on a path of tense relations for several years on issues such as security, trade tariffs, Taiwan, the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, technology, human rights and espionage.
Costa Rica has for years been one of the transit countries for thousands of migrants moving northward in the region seeking to enter the United States.
Months ago, in coordination with the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), one of the Secure Mobility Offices was established in Costa Rica, which seeks to accelerate the processing of refugees to the United States.
In this Central American country, where the process of registration of refugee applications began through invitations, UNHCR marked the arrival of 4,500 people, of which more than 1,300 migrants were referred to the US refugee program, reported last week Marta Youth, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration of the Department of State.
Focusing on the migration issue, the State Department announced on Wednesday the award of $16 million in humanitarian assistance for the initiative called the Western Hemisphere Regional Migration Program (WHP).
Focusing on the migration issue, the State Department announced on Wednesday the award of $16 million in humanitarian assistance for the initiative called the Western Hemisphere Regional Migration Program (WHP).
The program is coordinated with the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The WHP was established in 2011 and “provides critical support to partner countries in the region to address unprecedented levels of forced displacement and irregular migration,” the U.S. Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
In addition, this initiative is focused on addressing the actions of human smugglers.
Central America
El Salvador to host World Cup qualifiers vs. Guatemala and Panama at Estadio Cuscatlán
El Salvador’s national football team will host its final round World Cup qualifying matches against Guatemala and Panama at Estadio Cuscatlán, the honorary president of the National Sports Institute (INDES), Yamil Bukele, announced Thursday via a statement on his X account.
The official explained that this decision comes after the American rock band Guns N’ Roses, originally scheduled to perform at Estadio Cuscatlán on Saturday, October 4, will now hold their concert at Estadio Jorge “El Mágico” González. This change allows both of La Selecta’s qualifying matches to be played at the “Coloso de Monserrat.”
“After a series of efforts and in response to popular demand, we are pleased to announce that our senior national team’s CONCACAF World Cup qualifying matches next October (Oct. 10 vs. Panama and Oct. 14 vs. Guatemala) will take place at Estadio Cuscatlán,” the statement reads.
Bukele also thanked the event promoters and the band for agreeing to the stadium change. “We sincerely thank Guns N’ Roses and StarTicket for agreeing to move the concert originally scheduled for October 4 at Estadio Cuscatlán,” the statement adds.
Additionally, Bukele expressed gratitude to the FESFUT Regularization Commission for their efforts with CONCACAF to make this possible, and he urged fans to stay tuned to official channels to purchase tickets and support La Selecta in their World Cup qualifying campaign.
Central America
Honduran president Xiomara Castro suspends activities due to influenza
Honduran President Xiomara Castro announced on Thursday that she has “temporarily” suspended her public activities due to a severe influenza virus.
“A strong influenza virus requires me to rest, trusting that I will be fully recovered for the grand celebration of our National Independence Day” next Monday, Castro stated on the social media platform X.
The president had planned to participate in several inaugurations across the northern, central, and eastern regions of the country throughout the week. She added that “these events will be rescheduled for new dates.”
Central America
Nicaragua’s government expels bishops, priests, and nuns in religious persecution
At least 261 religious figures, including the president of the Nicaraguan Episcopal Conference, Carlos Enrique Herrera, have been expelled as part of the persecution by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo’s regime against the Catholic Church, reported the NGO Colectivo Nicaragua Nunca Más in its report Faith Under Fire.
The report details that among those expelled are bishops Silvio Báez, Rolando Álvarez, Isidoro Mora, as well as the Apostolic Nuncio in Managua, Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag, along with approximately 140 priests, over 90 nuns, ten seminarians, and three deacons from different dioceses in the country.
“Since the expulsion of Nuncio Sommertag in March 2022, relations between Nicaragua and the Vatican have significantly deteriorated,” the NGO noted.
The report also documents the closure of 5,609 non-profit organizations, of which 1,294 were religious, including churches, universities, schools, clinics, and humanitarian organizations. Most of these had their assets confiscated by the Sandinista government. Additionally, the telecommunications regulator TELCOR shut down 54 media outlets, including 22 religious radio stations and TV channels.
Repression has extended to other religious denominations, with forced disappearances and criminalization of evangelical pastors, control over temples, media censorship, fiscal pressure, property confiscation, and the cancellation of legal status for the Moravian Church. Pastor Rudy Palacios remains in detention as part of this pattern of persecution.
The NGO emphasized that churches, especially the Catholic Church, played a key role in the 2018 national dialogue, denouncing abuses and providing refuge to injured protesters, which fueled the government’s hostility.
In 2023, Pope Francis described Ortega’s regime as a “blatant dictatorship”, to which the Nicaraguan president responded by dissolving the Society of Jesus and labeling the Church as a “mafia” and “anti-democratic.”
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