Central America
Nicaragua detains four more opposition figures
AFP/Editor
Nicaraguan police said Sunday that they had detained four more opposition figures in a roundup ahead of November presidential elections in which four would-be challengers of long-serving leader Daniel Ortega have already been held.
Those arrested Sunday were top figures of the Unamos opposition party — its president Suyen Barahona Cuan, vice-president Hugo Torres, ex-guerilla Dora Maria Tellez and Ana Margarita Vigil Guardian, a police statement said.
It said the four were being investigated for “acts that undermine independence, sovereignty and self-determination, (and) inciting foreign interference in internal affairs,” among other crimes.
Unamos, formerly known as the Sandinista Renewal Movement (MRS), is made up largely of dissidents who split from Ortega’s Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) because they disagreed with his leadership.
The charges stem from a law initiated by Ortega’s government and approved by parliament in December to defend Nicaragua’s “sovereignty,” which has been criticized by opponents and rights bodies as a means of freezing out challengers.
Julie Chung, the top US diplomat for Latin America, called the arrests “arbitrary” and denounced Ortega’s “campaign of terror” in a tweet.
“OAS (Organization of American States) members must send a clear signal this week: enough repression. The region cannot stand by and wait to see who is next,” she added.
Among the latest detainees, Tellez, 65, has in recent years been a vocal critic of Ortega, a former comrade-in-arms.
They fought together as guerillas against the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza in the 1970s, and she later served as his health minister in the 1980s, before leaving in 1995 to co-found the MRS.
She was fiercely critical of the Ortega’s government clampdown on demonstrations that started in 2018 to demand his resignation, which according to rights groups claimed at least 328 lives.
Ortega governed Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990, returned to power in 2007 and has won two successive reelections since then.
Now 75, he is accused by the opposition and NGOs of increasing authoritarianism.
Ortega is widely expected to seek a fourth term in November elections, though he has not said so.
Since the beginning of the month, his forces have arrested about a dozen opposition figures, including four would-be presidential candidates, eliciting international condemnation and fresh US sanctions against Ortega allies.
Last month, Nicaragua’s legislature appointed a majority of governing party-aligned magistrates to the election body that will oversee the vote.
It has since disqualified two parties from participating.
Central America
Honduras: Zelaya Calls for Mobilization Amid Dispute Over Tegucigalpa Mayoral Race
Manuel Zelaya, general coordinator of Honduras’ ruling Liberty and Refoundation Party (Libre, left-wing), on Saturday called on party supporters to mobilize next Monday in support of Tegucigalpa Mayor Jorge Aldana, who claims he is being defrauded in his bid for re-election.
“If the people do not mobilize because it is Christmas, then Libre party militants, out of conscience, must mobilize this Monday at 4:00 p.m. (22:00 GMT) at the INFOP (National Institute for Professional Training) to support Aldana in a peaceful, non-violent and democratic resistance against what they are already applying as the ‘Trump Algorithm 2025 – Honduras-style elections,’” Zelaya wrote on social media platform X.
Aldana, who considers himself the winner of the capital’s mayoral race following the general elections held on November 30, has been camping for 19 days outside the INFOP facilities, where all election materials are stored under military and police protection. The National Electoral Council (CNE) has already declared Nasry Asfura, of the conservative National Party, president-elect.
According to Aldana, who is seeking re-election under the Libre banner, the tally sheets in his possession confirm his victory. However, National Party mayoral candidate Juan Diego Zelaya is reportedly leading by a margin of around 600 votes.
While acknowledging that the margin is extremely narrow, Aldana is demanding a full review of more than 400 tally sheets, which he believes will ultimately confirm his win.
On Friday, Aldana told EFE that the protest camp was established “to raise a voice of protest, grounded in truth.” He added, “I am a journalist, and journalism teaches us to report truthfully, to live by the truth and to die for the truth. Here I am with the tally sheets in hand and the 492 inconsistencies identified by the CNE.”
Although uncertainty surrounding the presidential election results has subsided after Asfura—who is backed by U.S. President Donald Trump—was declared president-elect, tensions persist in municipal and legislative races due to inconsistencies in tally sheets across several of Honduras’ 18 departments.
The situation remains highly complex, as the special vote count has been paralyzed for three consecutive days. The process, which began on December 18 with a five-day delay, involves 2,792 tally sheets with reported inconsistencies.
According to CNE council members Ana Paola Hall (president) and Cossette López, representatives of the Liberal and National parties respectively, the paralysis is the result of a political party “boycott” at the Electoral Logistics Center (CLE).
The full CNE board, which also includes Marlon Ochoa of the Libre Party, held meetings on Friday and again on Saturday, virtually, to address delays in the special count of municipal and legislative election results.
Central America
International leaders congratulate Honduras’ president-elect Asfura
The United States government was among the first to congratulate the president-elect, through Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a press briefing that Beijing “is willing to work with Honduras to jointly promote the continued development of bilateral relations.”
The European Union also expressed its commitment and interest in working with Asfura to advance “shared priorities aimed at deepening bilateral ties.”
In addition, the foreign ministries of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay issued messages congratulating the president-elect.
Presidents from Panama and Paraguay, as well as the government of Chile, also extended their congratulations to Asfura. Furthermore, the governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and the Dominican Republic released a joint statement saying: “We reaffirm our solidarity with the Honduran people and express our hope that the transition will take place in a peaceful and orderly manner.”
Central America
Guatemala arrests 92 salvadoran gang members in 2025
Between January 1 and December 25, 2025, a total of 92 Salvadoran gang members were arrested in Guatemala, according to a report released by that country’s National Civil Police (PNC).
The arrests were carried out as part of border control operations and efforts to combat transnational crime, aimed at preventing members of terrorist criminal structures from entering or remaining in Guatemala after fleeing El Salvador’s state of emergency, which has been in force since March 27, 2022.
The Guatemalan PNC reported that 46 of those detained were expelled and handed over to Salvadoran authorities at the four land border crossings between the two countries.
According to official information, Guatemala’s Interpol National Central Office (NCB) and the Salvadoran National Civil Police maintain close coordination and information-sharing mechanisms to verify the criminal records of gang members.
The 46 individuals expelled to El Salvador were wanted on charges including illicit association, extortion, homicide, drug trafficking, illegal restriction of freedom of movement, and other forms of organized and complex crime.
Guatemalan police transferred the suspects to their Salvadoran counterparts, who then referred them to the courts seeking their arrest. The most recent detainee was Melvin Antonio Mejía Rivas, alias “Porky,” a member of the 18th Street gang, who was apprehended in Zone 16 of Guatemala City. He has been wanted for illicit association since November 4, 2019.
Another arrest involved Judith Cristina Cáceres de Rivera, originally from Ahuachapán, who was detained in Zone 3 of San José Pinula on extortion charges. Authorities said she demanded 7,000 quetzales per week from a local व्याप merchant.
Guatemalan police also reported that 46 Salvadorans have been arrested in the country for committing various criminal offenses.
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