Central America
Guatemala’s anti-corruption commissioner, Santiago Palomo, says that the State is in a “critical” condition
The anti-corruption commissioner of the Government of Guatemala, Santiago Palomo, assures that the first months in office have been “a roller coaster” after having found a State “in critical conditions” in the face of the indications that between 2 billion and 3 billion dollars were embezzled during the presidency of Alejandro Giammattei (2020-2024).
Palomo, a 29-year-old lawyer graduated from Harvard University (USA), said during an interview with EFE that his first months in the position, appointed by the president, Bernardo Arévalo de León, have been “intense” and comparable to “a roller coaster.”
“We are trying to navigate in an Executive body that we receive in critical conditions. We identify a pattern when chatting with the new ministers and secretaries: they describe it as a dead rat in each drawer that is opened. This is how the conditions in which the Government was assumed are defined,” Palomo explains.
According to experts cited by local and international media, the Government of Giammattei could have embezzled up to 3 billion dollars between 2020 and 2024.
Precisely the Corruption Perception Index of 2023 placed Guatemala in 2023 among the five countries with the most embezzlement of state funds. Only behind Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Honduras.
Commissioner Palomo says that the corruption found operated under the same pattern. “Relevant financial disbursements from 70% to 90%” for the construction of “public works that are being thrown away, such as schools and roads, whose progress does not exceed 30% or 40%.”
According to the official, “this is how these corruption structures worked in the State, right now they are still trying to operate,” the official remarked.
The Government of Arévalo de León denounced Amelia Flores, former Minister of Health of Giammattei, before the courts of justice on April 4, for anomalies in the purchase of 16 million doses of the Russian Sputnik vaccine, in 2021 for a total amount of 615 million quetzals (79 million dollars).
According to various sources, many of the vaccines never reached the Central American country and others expired before their application.
“The case of vaccines shows that they were willing to pursue their own interests to the detriment of the most sacred thing, which was the health of the population, in the midst of a pandemic. It is a case that reflects how unscrupulous the degree of corruption of the previous Administration became,” says Palomo.
Last week Palomo, along with the Minister of Communications, Jazmín de la Vega, denounced two former officials for a possible fraud in the assignment of contracts to a company for the construction of 14 schools for an amount between 45 and 60 million quetzals (between five and seven million dollars approximately).
The anti-corruption tsar explains that it is up to the Executive Body to detect and prevent cases of corruption from occurring in its Administration. But that is the Public Ministry (Attorney’s Office) that “is responsible for investigating and prosecuting.”
“The Prosecutor’s Office does not have a real commitment to investigate serious cases of corruption,” it is not an ally in the fight against corruption,” which becomes a real challenge, Palomo recognizes, although, he said, the Administration of Arévalo does not intend to stop denouncing the anomalies that are found in the various ministries.
In 2023, the Prosecutor’s Office, led by Consuelo Porras Argueta, tried to stop the electoral victory of Arévalo de León in the general elections through various criminal cases and dozens of governments around the world sanctioned his action, including that of the United States and members of the European Union.
Arévalo de León surprisingly prevailed over the traditional politics of Guatemala thanks to his offer to heal the corruption of the State that has caused a significant democratic deterioration in the last 30 years.
Palomo concludes that assuming the anti-corruption arm of this Government for the next four years is “a great responsibility.” An “opportunity to improve the dignity of the public service.”
Central America
Panama confirms drug contamination of El Salvador coffee shipment occurred on its territory
A container originating from El Salvador and carrying coffee for export was contaminated with more than 1,152 packages of drugs while in transit through Panama, according to official information confirmed by the Panamanian government this Tuesday.
The case, which had previously generated political controversy in April 2025 after opposition sectors attempted to link the Salvadoran government to drug trafficking, has now been clarified through renewed investigations.
Authorities confirmed that the container departed from the port of Acajutla after being properly inspected, with no illicit substances detected at the time of export.
According to statements previously provided by El Salvador’s Minister of Defense, René Merino Monroy, the shipment traveled first to the port of Balboa in Panama, where it remained stored for several days before being transferred to another vessel bound for Manzanillo in Colón.
It was at that terminal that Panamanian authorities discovered the drugs and identified tampering with the container seals, indicating that the illicit alteration occurred during its transit in Panama rather than in Salvadoran territory.
The findings align with earlier explanations provided by Salvadoran officials and confirm that the contamination of the cargo took place outside of El Salvador’s jurisdiction.
Central America
Uber Eats adds Puntarenas and Turrialba to growing Costa Rica network
Uber Eats announced that it is continuing to expand its presence in Costa Rica with the launch of operations in the cities of Puntarenas and Turrialba, further strengthening the company’s growth in the country.
With this expansion, the delivery platform is now available across all seven Costa Rican provinces and works with more than 6,000 partner businesses. Its offerings include prepared food, supermarkets, pharmacies, pet stores, and other specialty retailers.
As part of the announcement, Uber Eats also introduced Marco Nannipieri as its new Regional General Manager for the Andean Region, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Nannipieri will oversee the company’s operations in Costa Rica along with seven other countries in the region.
“Costa Rica is a key market for Uber Eats in the region, with growing adoption of technology among users and businesses. Over the past five years, more than 1,000 restaurants and merchants have joined the app, and today we are entering a new stage of expansion that will allow us to reach more cities outside the Greater Metropolitan Area, creating new opportunities for entrepreneurs across the country,” Nannipieri said.
Central America
Report questions direction of Nasry Asfura after 100 days in office
The Center for the Study of Democracy warned Tuesday that the government of Nasry Asfura, which marks its first 100 days in office on Wednesday, has failed to show a “significant change in direction” and continues to follow a model characterized by exclusion, inequality, and external dependence.
In its report titled “100 Days of the Nasry Asfura Government: Concerns and Demands,” Cespad stated that the administration has maintained an economic and political model that prioritizes debt payments, the promotion of extractive projects, and the strengthening of the security apparatus over social investment.
The organization argued that the current policies have not addressed structural problems affecting large sectors of the Honduran population and warned that inequality and economic dependence remain key challenges for the country.
Nasry Asfura won the general elections held on November 30, 2025, in a process marked by allegations of fraud and delays in the vote count that lasted nearly a month due to a series of technological failures.
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