Central America

Nicaragua dissolves 83 ‘foreign agent’ organizations

AFP

Nicaragua’s parliament on Tuesday dissolved 83 non-governmental organizations including the country’s language academy, accusing them of having violated a law on “foreign agents.”

Dominated by allies of President Daniel Ortega, parliament overwhelmingly approved the government’s request to dissolve the legal entity of these associations without even debating the bill.

The Nicaraguan Academy of Language, founded in 1928, works on Spanish grammar and the Spanish dictionary.

“The Nicaraguan Academy of Language deeply regrets the cancellation of the legal standing of an institution dedicated to the study of the language and the cultivation of Nicaraguan letters,” it said in a statement.

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The move will “hamper the functioning of an institution whose work has contributed to extolling the most precious asset of culture: language,” it added.

All the dissolved bodies are accused of failing to comply with a 2020 law obliging people and organizations receiving funds from abroad to register as “foreign agents” with the interior ministry.

They must also supply financial records to authorities.

The interior ministry said the 83 organizations had “violated and failed to respect their obligations” and had “obstructed the control and surveillance” of their activities.

Around 200 entities such as NGOs and humanitarian organizations have been dissolved by Ortega’s government since mass street protests against his rule in 2018.

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Authorities cracked down on the protests, leaving more than 350 people dead and thousands forced into exile, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

The government accuses NGOs that receive foreign funding of attempting to foment a coup d’etat backed by the United States.

Ortega, a 76-year-old former leftist guerrilla, won a fourth successive election last year after all his credible challengers were jailed, in a vote widely dismissed as a farce.

Central America

Guatemala Court Voids List of Candidates for Top Prosecutor Position

President of Guatemala cannot remove attorney general from office

Constitutional Court of Guatemala on Thursday annulled the shortlist of six candidates for attorney general and head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, ordering authorities to repeat the evaluation phase of the selection process.

The ruling came in response to a legal appeal filed by Raúl Amílcar Falla Ovalle, who challenged the way professional experience had been assessed for some applicants, particularly those with careers in the judiciary.

As a result of the decision, the selection process has been suspended, and the Postulation Commission must return to the stage in which the original 48 applicants were evaluated.

According to the ruling, the commission must reapply the grading criteria without automatically counting years served as judges as equivalent to the professional experience required for the position.

“The Postulation Commission for the election of the Attorney General and Head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office is ordered to reassess the applicants by strictly applying the approved grading table,” the resolution states.

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The Constitutional Court also stressed that the process must guarantee merit, competence, and suitability, while ensuring greater transparency in the assignment of scores.

Central America

U.S. extradites Iranian man over alleged sanctions evasion scheme

The United States has extradited from Panama an Iranian national accused of evading economic sanctions against Iran by illegally exporting U.S. technology. He is scheduled to appear this Monday before a court in Seattle.

Reza Dindar, 44, was extradited on April 17 after being detained in Panama since July 2025 on charges related to export control violations between 2011 and 2012, allegedly carried out through companies based in China.

The defendant appeared before a U.S. district court in Seattle, where he faces charges of violating sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran in 1995 during the administration of Bill Clinton. These sanctions prohibit the unauthorized export, re-export, or supply—directly or indirectly—of U.S. goods, technology, or services to Iran or its government.

According to the indictment, between 2010 and 2014, Dindar led the company New Port Sourcing Solutions in Xi’an, China, which allegedly concealed the procurement of U.S. products for shipment to clients in Iran.

Central America

Bukele administration surpasses 1,100 homicide-free days amid ongoing crackdown

El Salvador's PNC adds 85 days without murders and April is on track to be the safest in Salvadoran history

On Saturday, April 18, the Policía Nacional Civil (PNC) reported that no homicides were recorded in El Salvador, bringing the total to 17 days without murders.

With this update, the country has accumulated 91 homicide-free days so far in 2026. January closed with 27 such days, followed by 24 in February and 23 in March, according to police data.

During the administration of President Nayib Bukele, a total of 1,193 days without homicides have been registered. Of those, 1,079 have occurred since the implementation of the state of exception.

This extraordinary security measure has been extended 49 times by the Asamblea Legislativa de El Salvador, with the latest extension in effect from April 1 to April 30, 2026. Under the measure, more than 91,700 gang members and collaborators have been detained and prosecuted for illicit association.