Central America
Deal ends Honduran legislative crisis as rebel backs down
AFP
A legislative crisis that threatened the presidency of Honduras’ first woman President Xiomara Castro, was resolved on Monday after rebel lawmaker Jorge Calix signed a deal to withdraw his claim to be speaker of congress.
Calix had led a band of 17 dissidents from leftist Castro’s Libre party who refused to honor a pre-election agreement that helped the wife of former president Manuel Zelaya earn a history-making victory last November.
The presidential candidate of a rival party — Salvador Nasralla — agreed to withdraw his bid and support Castro in return for the position of vice president if she won.
But he also wanted a member of his Savior Party of Honduras (PSH) — Luis Redondo — to be speaker of congress.
In the lead-up to Castro’s inauguration, Calix complicated matters as 17 dissidents and the right-wing opposition elected him as the head of congress in a parallel session while the rest of the Libre party voted in Redondo, sparking the crisis.
“Even though at one time we did not share the planned strategy … we are prepared to respect the decision to support deputy Luis Redondo Guifarro to preside over the board of directors of the National Congress in compliance with our president’s mandate,” said the agreement signed by Zelaya, who is the Libre party coordinator, Calix and the other rebels.
Describing himself as a loyal servant, Calix said he was signing the deal not for his own political career but because it was “what is best for the Honduran people at this time.”
The right-wing National Party (PN) opposition “celebrated” the agreement but proposed that a new legislative vote be held to elect Redondo.
Libre is the single largest party in the 128-seat Congress but with 50 legislators does not enjoy a majority.
In fact, the right-wing PN (44 seats) and Liberal (22) parties — traditional opponents that long dominated Honduran politics — make up more than half of congress.
Central America
Arévalo accuses Porras and judge of undermining democracy in Guatemala
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo denounced a new attempt at a “coup” orchestrated by the Attorney General’s Office. He also requested an extraordinary session at the Organization of American States (OAS) to address the country’s ongoing political crisis.
The president has been at odds with Attorney General Consuelo Porras, who has been sanctioned by the United States and the European Union for being “corrupt” and “anti-democratic.” Since 2023, Arévalo has accused Porras of launching investigations against his party, Semilla, and the 2023 elections as part of a scheme to prevent his inauguration in January 2024.
From the presidential office, Arévalo has said he continues to “resist” the “coup plotters,” but tensions escalated last Friday when Judge Fredy Orellana, at the request of the Attorney General’s Office, ordered the electoral court to annul the Semilla party’s promoter group. Arévalo interpreted this as an attempt to revoke the positions won by the party.
“Orellana, a hitman who distorts the law in service of Consuelo Porras, is attempting to force […] the unconstitutional removal of a mayor, 23 elected deputies […], the vice president, and the president of the country,” Arévalo said in a televised address on Sunday.
“We call on the international community not to turn a blind eye to the coup being attempted in Guatemala,” he added, speaking alongside his cabinet and congressional members at the National Palace in Guatemala City.
Arévalo requested that the Organization of American States hold an extraordinary session to present “the serious threats” to the Guatemalan Constitution and democracy perpetrated by Porras and Orellana.
Yesterday, Guatemalan Foreign Minister Carlos Ramiro Martínez reaffirmed the president’s statements, emphasizing the need “to go and expose the situation” Guatemala has been facing since last week due to the actions of the Attorney General’s Office.
Central America
New dismembered bodies found in San Juan river days after mass killing in Palencia
On the morning of Monday, October 27, Guatemala’s Volunteer Firefighters confirmed the discovery of two bodies and two human heads inside plastic bags in the San Juan River, located in the Zacualpía village at kilometer 21 of the Atlantic Highway, in the jurisdiction of Palencia.
The remains were found by personnel from Companies 85, 50, and Central, who responded after receiving a report about suspicious bags floating in the water. The gruesome discovery was made just a few meters from the site where eight tortured bodies were found under the San Juan Bridge on Friday, October 24.
Local authorities do not rule out a connection between both incidents and suspect they may be tied to the same criminal organization. Investigators from the Public Ministry and the National Civil Police arrived at the scene to gather evidence and transfer the remains to the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (Inacif).
According to data from the National Economic Research Center (CIEN), Guatemala recorded 2,154 homicides between January and August 2025, an increase compared to the 1,816 reported during the same period in 2024.
Central America
Four guatemalan soldiers arrested for stealing weapons from Northern Air Command
Four soldiers were arrested in connection with the theft of weapons from the Northern Air Command of the Ministry of Defense in Petén, Guatemala, following operations conducted by the Public Ministry (Prosecutor’s Office).
“During the operations, criminal scenes were processed, analyzed, and documented photographically, possible escape routes were identified, surveillance cameras were located, and potential witnesses were interviewed,” the Prosecutor’s Office explained in a social media post.
The detained soldiers were identified as Ludwin Jónathan Cardona Baltazar, charged with illicit association, dereliction of duty, and aggravated theft; and Josué Israel Pérez Jerónimo, Alain Omar Marroquín Soch, and Carlos Ernesto Ibarra Corrales, charged with dereliction of duty, according to Guatemala’s Prensa Libre.
The military personnel reportedly stole 55 rifles, 14,420 rounds of 5.56 mm ammunition, 92 magazines of 35 rounds each, 19 magazines of 20 rounds each, and three grenade launchers, “which were allegedly moved from the arms warehouse to the outside for illicit sale.”
The Ministry of Defense stated that it will keep its internal control mechanisms active to prevent similar incidents.
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