Central America
UN complaint filed against Costa Rica over detention of migrant children
A group of human rights lawyers has filed a complaint against Costa Rica, alleging that the Central American nation violated the rights of dozens of migrant children by detaining them in a rural facility for nearly two months after they were deported from the United States in February.
The children — some as young as 2 years old — are part of a larger group of migrants, mainly from Afghanistan, China, Russia, and other Asian countries, who were deported from the U.S. as part of a broader immigration crackdown under former President Donald Trump.
Many had hoped to seek asylum in the U.S. and expressed fear about returning to their home countries. Instead, they were dropped off in Costa Rica and Panama, where they do not speak the local language. Originally intended as brief transit points, these countries have become a state of limbo, with migrants stuck for over 50 days.
Critics argue this is part of a U.S. strategy to “export” its deportation process, while human rights advocates warn that Costa Rica and Panama are becoming a “black hole” for deported migrants.
In Costa Rica, around 200 migrants — including 81 children — were taken to a rural migrant processing center near the border with Panama and held in a building that once served as a factory.
The complaint, filed Thursday night by the Global Strategic Litigation Council (GSLC) and other human rights groups, was submitted to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, alleging that Costa Rica breached international agreements under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Silvia Serna Román, one of the attorneys involved, said the migrants were detained without legal status and had no access to education or mental health services in their native languages. The prolonged detention is raising concerns about long-term psychological effects on the children, as many parents report signs of emotional distress such as isolation and sadness.
“These children are in a very crucial stage of development, and they’ve already fled difficult conditions in their home countries,” Serna Román said on Friday. “Now, they’re being subjected to prolonged detention and inhumane treatment. Parents are worried.”
Serna Román also said the migrants have had little access to legal counsel. The Costa Rican government has stated that detainees can leave the facility if they agree to return to their countries of origin or apply for asylum in Costa Rica.
Central America
Costa Rica faces historic vote on lifting presidential immunity for Rodrigo Chaves
Costa Rica, a country internationally recognized for its democratic and political stability, is heading toward an unprecedented decision: whether to lift President Rodrigo Chaves’s immunity so he can face a criminal trial over alleged irregular management of funds from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI).
On Wednesday, the Legislative Assembly formed a commission of three lawmakers to analyze the accusation against the president, which was forwarded earlier this month by the Supreme Court of Justice. The commission has 20 days, extendable for another 20, to issue a report so that the full Assembly can vote on whether to lift the president’s immunity.
Lifting the immunity would require 38 votes — two-thirds of the legislature — which is largely composed of opposition parties.
If immunity is removed, prosecutors would be able to continue their investigation and potentially question the president. If the motion fails, the case would return to the judiciary and remain pending until Chaves’s term ends in May 2026.
Since the country’s last civil war in 1948 and the abolition of the army later that year, Costa Rica has held uninterrupted elections, every president has completed their term without major issues, and none has ever had their immunity lifted — although several have faced judicial proceedings.
Central America
Honduras sees ongoing killings of land defenders and attacks on press, warns NGO
The Association for Participatory Citizenship (ACI PARTICIPA) denounced on Thursday that killings of land defenders and attacks aimed at silencing the press continue in Honduras.
“We continue to see murders of defenders of land and territory, as well as aggressions to silence the press. In 2024, there were 490 attacks and aggressions that constitute human rights violations,” said ACI PARTICIPA’s executive director, Hedme Castro, during the presentation of the 2024 Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in Honduras.
Castro noted that the aggressions range “from attempts on lives, threats, harassment, intimidation, and smear campaigns, which have become very frequent, to obstruction of work, surveillance, and criminalization.”
She highlighted that, although only seven defenders were killed in 2024 compared to 24 in 2023, “last year we saw a significantly high number of women murdered, and cases of missing children.”
Moreover, Castro criticized the authorities for failing to address the violence. “There is no response from the authorities to reduce the violence in the country; in fact, I believe that the ‘fathers of the nation’ (members of Parliament) are not setting the right example, and the situation in the Legislative branch is actually fueling violence,” she added, referring to frequent violent incidents in Congress.
The ACI PARTICIPA report also notes that the government led by President Xiomara Castro has made “an important effort over the past two years to improve citizens’ access to basic rights, helping to cushion the effects of economic deterioration, although a decent standard of living has yet to be achieved for the majority of Hondurans.”
Central America
Daniel Ortega’s last historic sandinista ally detained in Managua
Former Sandinista revolutionary commander and presidential economic adviser Bayardo Arce Castaño was arrested on Thursday in Managua for alleged irregular transactions involving state-owned assets, according to local media reports.
The arrest was carried out by agents from the Special Operations Directorate of the Police, who raided his residence in the southern part of the Nicaraguan capital. The Attorney General’s Office (PGR) is investigating Arce for “transactions and/or negotiations” that, according to authorities, do not comply with current legal standards.
Arce, 76, was one of the nine historic commanders of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) who led the overthrow of dictator Anastasio Somoza in 1979. Since 2007, he had served as the economic adviser to dictator Daniel Ortega, and was the last of the historic commanders still aligned with the regime.
The Attorney General’s Office accused Arce of contempt after he refused to appear for questioning about properties registered in his name. Authorities allege that Ricardo Bonilla, Arce’s assistant, was also involved in questionable financial dealings and was jailed after failing to comply with a summons.
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