Central America
President Bukele’s government inaugurates Phase II of the El Salvador Hospital
Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador, announced yesterday on national TV that on August 7, Phase II of the El Salvador Hospital had been inaugurated. The President said that there are already 25 patients being treated in this area.
“Many people wondered why we did not inaugurate Phase II of the El Salvador Hospital, and it was because the Director needed to use these beds immediately, since Phase I was already full. We did not organize an event, but the Salvadoran people inaugurated it,” said President Bukele.
The President added that 1,125 beds are available across the country’s public hospital network. “El Salvador has become the country with the most intensive-care beds in all of Central America. El Salvador has more ICU beds available than all the countries in Central America combined,” he added.
The country with the fewest COVID-19 cases
Despite no state of emergency and constant hold-ups by Deputies in the Legislative Assembly, El Salvador remains the country with the lowest number of coronavirus cases in Central America. Recent rates result from the early actions taken by President Nayib Bukele’s government.
To date, El Salvador has 20,423 confirmed cases. Costa Rica has 22,802 cases, Honduras 46,973, Guatemala 56,189 and Panama 73,651. In Nicaragua, the information available is limited and doubtful.
Among the early actions taken by President Bukele’s government, even before the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic, are: Health controls at seaports, airports and land borders. This made it possible to identify the first cases and to contain the spread of the virus.
The quarantine also proved to be an effective measure. While it was in force, the infection curve was flat. However, since the quarantine was lifted and legal resources were taken away from the Executive, cases have been on the rise, with an average of 400 cases per day over the past two weeks.
“Despite the rulings, we will continue to fight the pandemic with what we have,” said President Bukele.
Central America
Honduras Extends Voting by One Hour Amid High Turnout, CNE Announces
The National Electoral Council (CNE) announced that polling stations will remain open an extra hour due to the high voter turnout in Honduras’ general elections this Sunday.
These elections—the twelfth since the country returned to constitutional order in 1980 after nearly two decades of military governments—will now run until 6:00 p.m. local time (00:00 GMT), the CNE said in a statement.
The extension may only be applied for the additional hour established in the Electoral Law, and polling stations may close only after the last voter already in line at closing time has cast their ballot, ensuring that all those waiting are able to participate, the CNE added.
More than six million of Honduras’ ten million inhabitants were called to the polls to elect the successor to leftist President Xiomara Castro, as well as 298 municipal mayors, 128 members of the national Congress, and 20 representatives to the Central American Parliament.
The presidential race features Rixi Moncada, candidate of the ruling Liberty and Refoundation Party (Libre); Nasry Asfura of the National Party, the main opposition force—publicly endorsed by U.S. President Donald Trump—and Salvador Nasralla of the Liberal Party, also running from the opposition.
Before the extension was announced, the CNE had indicated it would release its first preliminary report around 9:00 p.m. local time (03:00 GMT) and a second one at 11:00 p.m. (05:00 GMT). Final results must be published within 30 days following the election.
Central America
Honduras’ China–Taiwan Future Hinges on Sunday’s Presidential Election
The future of Honduras’ diplomatic relations with China—or a possible reestablishment of ties with Taiwan—will hinge on the results of the presidential election taking place this Sunday, November 30. The ruling left-wing party is seeking to remain in power, while conservative parties aim to return to government.
If the ruling party’s candidate, Rixi Moncada of the Liberty and Refoundation (Libre) Party, secures victory, Honduras is expected to deepen its relationship with China. The country established formal diplomatic ties with Beijing in March 2023, cutting relations with Taiwan entirely under President Xiomara Castro.
However, the bilateral trade relationship with China has not yielded the expected benefits. Economic Development Minister Fredis Cerrato acknowledged that negotiating with Beijing has proven challenging. “We are proceeding with caution,” he said, referring to ongoing efforts to secure better conditions for Honduran exporters and business owners, who are demanding greater speed in technical agreements.
With Castro’s term ending in just two months, the long-anticipated free trade agreement with China has yet to be finalized. Despite this, Chinese companies have already secured multimillion-dollar contracts in infrastructure projects across the country, particularly in the energy sector.
Central America
Trump Pardons Former Honduran President Hernández and Warns of Aid Cuts Ahead of Election
On Friday, President Donald Trump granted a pardon to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández — who was convicted on drug trafficking charges — and threatened to cut U.S. aid to the Central American nation if his preferred candidate loses Sunday’s presidential election.
Trump announced the pardon for Hernández, who is currently serving a 45-year prison sentence in the United States, through a post on social media.
In the same message, the former U.S. president voiced his support for Nasry Asfura, the candidate representing Hernández’s right-wing party in the Honduran elections.
“If he doesn’t win, the United States will not waste any more money, because the wrong leader can only bring catastrophic results to a country, no matter which one it is,” Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social.
Asfura, a 67-year-old construction magnate and former mayor of Honduras’s capital, is competing in a tight race against attorney Rixi Moncada of the ruling leftist Libre party and television host Salvador Nasralla of the right-leaning Liberal Party.
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