Central America
Honduras leader offers rebel deputy post to end congress crisis
AFP
Honduras’ president-elect Xiomara Castro made a last ditch attempt late Wednesday to solve a congressional crisis with hours left before her inauguration.
Last week two rival factions within her left wing Libre party elected their own duelling presidents of Congress.
Castro backs the claims of Luis Redondo of her coalition partner Savior Party of Honduras (PSH).
But Jorge Calix, a deputy within her own Libre party, has led a band of close to 20 rebels, with support from the right wing National and Liberal parties, to launch a rival claim.
Late on Wednesday, Castro tried to break the impasse by offering Calix a role in her cabinet.
“I proposed to Jorge Calix that he joins my government in the position of Cabinet Coordinator for the sake of uniting in the Reformation of Honduras,” Castro wrote on Twitter.
She did not, however, explain what the role entailed, although it appears to be something akin to a chief of staff.
“Thank you President @XiomaraCastroZ, it was a great pleasure speaking with you,” said Calix in a reply to her post on Twitter.
“For me and for anyone, it would be a great honor to form part of the government of resistence and national reconciliation. You will soon receive my answer,” he wrote.
The offer came a day after the two rival factions held competing first sessions presided over by their respective presidents.
Redondo took office as president of the Congress in the building that houses the legislative body.
In parallel and via video link, Calix was also installed as head of Congress by his own loyalist faction.
Calix was joined by around 70 deputies while only around 40 were in the parliament building, although the Redondo faction achieved a quorum as substitute lawmakers stood in for those that were absent.
The crisis broke out last week when a group of Libre dissidents ignored an agreement with the PSH, whose support was key to Castro winning the November elections.
Rival lawmakers came to blows in the dispute.
PSH leader Salvador Nasralla had agreed to withdraw his presidential candidacy and support Castro, in return for the position of vice president and a member of his party being named president of Congress.
But the dissidents argued that Congress should be led by the party with the most members — Libre has 50 deputies compared to just 10 for the Savior party.
Control of parliament is key to Castro’s anti-corruption and political reform platform in a country battered by poverty, migration and drug trafficking.
Central America
Guatemala cracks down on prison corruption with over 20 raids in recent weeks
The Guatemalan government warned on Monday that it will not tolerate corruption within the prison system, highlighting that more than 20 raids conducted in recent weeks have helped regain control over its penitentiaries.
“We will not tolerate any acts of corruption from our personnel,” said José Portillo, Deputy Minister of Security at the Ministry of the Interior, during a press conference.
According to Portillo, 21 raids were carried out in the last 15 days with support from security forces across the penitentiary system, and a total of 140 raids have been conducted so far in 2025.
These operations have resulted in the confiscation of dozens of household appliances and cell phones, as well as weapons and other prohibited items inside the prisons.
“We are firmly controlling bribery and corruption,” emphasized the recently appointed deputy minister, adding that “we will be strong and decisive within the penitentiary system.”
Portillo explained that the purpose of these raids is to tackle structural causes within prisons, which are the origin of much of the violence affecting the Central American country, including contract killings and extortions.
He stated that the recent operations have helped reduce crime and identify “hot spots” in the country.
“We are impacting criminal structures,” the official said.
Data released on June 6 by the Director of the National Civil Police, David Custodio Boteo, reported 1,385 homicides in the first five months of the year, representing a 15 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
Experts on the subject point out that thousands of Guatemalan merchants fall victim to extortions that originate precisely within the prisons.
Central America
First woman elected president in the Americas, Violeta Chamorro, dead at 95
Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, former president of Nicaragua and the first woman in the Americas to be democratically elected head of state, passed away this Saturday in Costa Rica at the age of 95. A pivotal figure in Nicaragua’s transition to democracy, Chamorro achieved a historic victory over Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega in the 1990 elections, heading a broad opposition coalition.
The Chamorro Barrios family confirmed her death in a statement:
“Our mother, Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, former president of Nicaragua, passed away today, June 14, 2025, at 2:21 a.m. (08:21 GMT) in San José, Costa Rica, at the age of 95, after a long illness.”
“Doña Violeta died peacefully, surrounded by the love and affection of her children and the extraordinary care of those who looked after her. She is now in the peace of the Lord,” her children Pedro Joaquín, Claudia Lucía, Cristiana, and Carlos Fernando Chamorro Barrios wrote.
Chamorro’s victory in 1990 marked a significant turning point in Central American politics, ending more than a decade of Sandinista rule and initiating a fragile but hopeful democratic chapter in Nicaragua’s history.
Central America
Nicaraguan exile coalition urges Costa Rica to receive U.S. deportees fleeing Ortega regime
The Coalition of Nicaraguans in Exile urged Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves on Sunday to receive opponents and critics of the Ortega-Murillo regime currently residing in the United States who may be deported by the administration of Donald Trump.
“We appeal to you, Mr. President, to kindly consider, as an act of humanity and in accordance with the principles of international refugee law, the reopening of entry and temporary reception pathways for Nicaraguan citizens deported from the United States,” the coalition stated in a letter addressed to Chaves.
They specifically requested the reopening of entry for those Nicaraguans who had previously sought asylum or refugee status in Costa Rica and who express a well-founded fear for their lives and personal safety if returned to Nicaragua.
The organization, which identifies itself as committed to defending and promoting the human rights of Nicaraguans “forced into exile by the repression of the Sandinista dictatorship,” expressed its appeal with “urgency and deep concern.”
In the letter, the coalition emphasized the dramatic situation faced by thousands of Nicaraguans who fled political persecution under Daniel Ortega’s regime and are now at risk of deportation from the United States.
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