Central America
Panamanian union calls for protests against mining contract
October 23 |
The Single Union of Construction Workers (Suntracs) of Panama called this Saturday to popular sectors to new mobilizations in rejection of the Mining Contract, approved the day before by the National Assembly and then by the Executive.
Through a communiqué, the leader of the union, Saúl Méndez, said that the organization will continue fighting against the agreement and urged union, student and civil society groups to continue with the protests.
Méndez emphasized that the Mining Contract – which he categorized as a contract that sells the homeland – allows the plundering of natural resources and damages human health and the environment.
He stated that it is time to take to the streets so that the people can put order before those who are inclined to sell out Panama. He added that in the next few hours they will announce the actions that will be part of the new days of struggle, which will be decided in a national union council to be organized for this Sunday at the Suntracs headquarters.
He held responsible for what he called an affront to the homeland the Council of Ministers, the 44 deputies who voted for it this Friday, the magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice who endorsed it and President Laurentino Cortizo, who signed it after its approval by the Legislative.
He compared their endorsement of the referred agreement with the attitude of the Panamanian authorities in 1903, when they handed over to the United States the transoceanic Canal, which rightfully belonged to the Panamanian people.
The approval of the contract with the Canadian transnational First Quantum Minerals was also rejected this Saturday by the National Workers Central of Panama, the Ecological Ecclesial Network Mesoamerica-Panama and the Polo Ciudadano movement.
In their statements, they emphasized that the opinions of important sectors of society were not taken into account to sign the agreement, which they point out for the environmental damage, the harm to the communities and the extraordinary concessions made to the foreign company. Some of these concessions are catalogued as violating the law and the Constitution and limiting national sovereignty.
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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