Central America
UN condemns closure of 1,500 NGOs in Nicaragua
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned on Tuesday the closure of 1,500 NGOs by Nicaraguan authorities, raising the total number of banned organizations, media outlets, and private universities in the country to over 5,000 since 2022.
According to the office led by High Commissioner Volker Türk, this mass closure of civil society organizations is “deeply alarming,” particularly in a country where civic space has been “severely eroded” in recent years.
The office also noted that undue restrictions are being imposed by the Nicaraguan government on religious freedom, as approximately half of the recently closed NGOs were religious associations.
“The severe impact of these measures on the rights to freedom of association and expression, as well as on religious freedom, is making it increasingly difficult to defend human rights in Nicaragua,” said UN spokesperson Liz Throssell.
She highlighted that many remaining civil society organizations in Nicaragua have opted for self-censorship or dissolution due to restrictive laws limiting their activities.
In light of this situation, the office reiterated its call for Nicaraguan authorities to stop imposing restrictions on civic and democratic spaces in the country and to ensure respect for human rights in accordance with their international obligations.
Nicaragua has been experiencing a political and social crisis since April 2018, which was exacerbated by the controversial general elections of 2021, where Daniel Ortega was re-elected for a fourth consecutive term, with his main opponents imprisoned, later expelled from the country, and stripped of their nationality.
Central America
U.S. and Regional Allies Back Panama Amid Dispute With China
The United States, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Guyana, Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago issued a joint statement in support of Panama’s sovereignty, arguing that China’s recent actions represent an attempt to politicize maritime trade and undermine the sovereignty of nations in the hemisphere.
“We are closely monitoring China’s selective economic pressure and recent actions affecting vessels flying the Panamanian flag,” the statement released Tuesday said. “Panama is a pillar of our maritime trading system and, as such, must remain free from undue external pressure.”
The statement comes amid growing tensions surrounding the Panama Canal and the operation of key ports linked to global trade.
At the end of January, Panama’s Supreme Court invalidated the legal framework supporting the 1997 concession that granted Panama Ports Company, a subsidiary of CK Hutchison, the right to operate the Balboa and Cristóbal terminals located on the Pacific and Atlantic entrances of the Panama Canal.
The ruling followed mounting pressure from the United States to curb Chinese influence around the strategic waterway, through which roughly 5% of global maritime trade passes.
CK Hutchison, which managed the ports for nearly three decades, rejected the court’s decision and accused Panamanian authorities of illegally confiscating its assets. The company has launched international arbitration proceedings against Panama, seeking more than $2 billion in damages.
Following the court ruling, reports emerged of increased detentions and inspections of Panamanian-flagged vessels in China, actions widely viewed as retaliatory measures.
On Wednesday, China’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the joint statement as “completely unfounded and misleading,” accusing the United States of politicizing port operations and warning that Beijing would take steps to protect its interests in Panama.
Central America
International Project Tackles Gender Violence in Indigenous Communities in Panama
Efforts to combat machismo and gender-based violence in Panama’s indigenous communities are advancing through international cooperation projects, including an initiative presented this week that is evolving from women’s empowerment toward a new phase focused on educating husbands and sons.
The project, led by the organization HIAS with support from the Spanish Cooperation Agency, is being implemented in the Emberá-Wounaan indigenous territory in the Darién jungle region near the Colombian border.
Originally created to bring state services closer to remote communities, the initiative focused on access to healthcare — particularly sexual and reproductive health services — but later expanded to promote broader access to fundamental rights.
“The project emerged from the understanding that strengthening the rights of the population as a whole was essential to achieving fairer, more cohesive and inclusive societies capable of fighting poverty,” Itziar González, general coordinator of Spanish Cooperation in Panama, told EFE.
HIAS Country Director in Panama Oliver Bush explained that the initiative includes “a very strong component of empowerment for women and adolescent girls in the Emberá-Wounaan communities, aimed at recovering the historical worldview in which women have always played a fundamental role in decision-making within their communities.”
The program also includes prevention, mitigation and response mechanisms against gender-based violence, an area that will be reinforced during the project’s second phase.
“It will include a component focused on positive masculinities, where we will work with men, because men are an important factor in the prevention and mitigation of gender violence,” Bush said.
According to Bush, the initiative seeks not only to eliminate stigmas and forms of everyday sexism that are often socially and culturally ingrained in men, but also to encourage men to recognize themselves as sensitive human beings capable of contributing to healthier and more equal communities.
Central America
Guatemala’s President to Hold Private Interviews for Attorney General Candidates
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo de León announced that he will privately interview the six candidates for attorney general this week, breaking with the public format used by former President Alejandro Giammattei.
Speaking during a press conference on Monday, Arévalo said the interviews would not be open to the public because he intends to question candidates about their plans to recover the Attorney General’s Office from what he described as “political-criminal networks.”
Under Guatemalan law, the president is responsible for appointing the country’s attorney general.
The position has been held since 2018 by Consuelo Porras, whose term is set to expire on May 16 after two consecutive terms marked by local and international allegations of corruption.
Arévalo is expected to select the new attorney general later this week from a shortlist recently submitted by a nomination commission.
The Guatemalan president has repeatedly criticized the Public Prosecutor’s Office, claiming it has been compromised by corrupt political interests.
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