Central America
Panama government and protesters strike deals to clear key highway
AFP
Panama’s government and indigenous leaders reached a second deal Sunday to clear all remaining demonstrators from the Panamerican Highway in exchange for lower fuel prices, ending a two-week blockade that had stymied food deliveries.
The government released footage from the signing of an initial agreement in far-west Chiriqui province, where most of the Central American country’s food is produced, and of a blocked section of the highway being cleared.
Angered by high prices and corruption, protesters had clogged the highway linking Panama to the rest of Central America over the past two weeks. Large trucks and banner-waving demonstrators paralyzed the strategic route, making it hard for the country of 4.4 million to feed itself.
To avert the crisis, a second deal was signed later Sunday in Santiago de Veragua, a city 250 kilometers (155 miles) northwest of Panama City, the epicenter of the negotiations and a protester stronghold.
“Many Panamanians have suffered from these stoppages,” said Vice-President Jose Gabriel Carrizo after signing the agreement. “This is a huge government effort.”
The deal establishes the fixed price of fuel for 91 and 95 octane gasoline and diesel, and is effective from July 18.
“The traffic of cars and heavy equipment in Veraguas is free,” Eduardo Cortés, who participated in the demonstrations on the highway, told AFP by phone.
The proposal of 3.25 dollars per gallon (3.78 liters), was better than the 3.30 offered in the deal made earlier in the day with the indigenous community of the Ngabe-Bugle Comarca in Chiriqui.
“This has not been easy, we have made progress with (reducing the cost of) the basic food basket,” said Luis Sanchez, a spokesman for the organizations promoting the protests.
In Panama City, a hundred people gathered on the waterfront to demonstrate. They all wore black, in contrast with the white suits worn by lawmakers during official ceremonies.
Food costs are “higher than what is earned. We have a big social problem,” lawyer Jaqueline Hurtado told AFP. “People are fed up and have taken to the streets to demonstrate for things to change.”
Retiree Iliana Arango said: “In my 68 years of life, I am tired of seeing governments that promise, go up, steal, go down, the next one follows and here we are lacking everything, medicine, education, food.”
Year-on-year inflation in Panama of 4.2 percent was recorded in May, along with an unemployment rate of about 10 percent and fuel price hikes of nearly 50 percent since January.
Despite its dollarized economy and high growth figures, the country has a high rate of social inequality.
Economic woes have led to a shortage of fuel in some parts of the country, and stalls at food markets in the capital have run out of products to sell.
Central America
Panamanian farms take action to reduce jaguar attacks and promote coexistence
A growing number of farms in Panama are taking steps to reduce jaguar attacks on livestock, showing that coexistence between humans and these American felines is possible, a UN agency said on Friday.
The jaguar (Panthera onca) holds a prominent place in Mayan and Aztec mythology, but many farmers kill them after livestock attacks.
Ninety-six percent of jaguar deaths in Panama from 1989 to 2019 occurred following attacks on livestock, according to the NGO Fundación Yaguará. Additionally, the prized jaguar hide made them targets for poachers, causing the population to decline by 20 to 25% since 2000, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
“Conserving the jaguar is not just about protecting an iconic species; it also involves safeguarding and restoring critical ecosystems, and improving water management and biodiversity,” Juan Bello, Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), told AFP.
Fundación Yaguará, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and UNEP are running a program to “reduce conflicts between communities and wildlife” in Panama.
Through this innovative project, many farms have adopted measures to reduce livestock attacks and avoid retaliatory killings of jaguars, demonstrating that coexistence is indeed possible.
Central America
Police confirm multiple victims and fire after church shooting in Grand Blanc, Michigan
A new mass shooting shook the United States this Sunday, this time at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saintslocated on McCandlish Rd. in Grand Blanc, Michigan.
The Grand Blanc Township Police Department confirmed that there were multiple victims, though their identities and the extent of their injuries have not yet been disclosed. Authorities have not specified whether there are fatalities.
According to the official report, the attacker “is down” and the threat has been neutralized.
“There are multiple victims, and the shooter is down. There is NO threat to the public at this time. The church is actively on fire,” the department said in a statement.
In addition to the shooting, a fire is consuming the temple, prompting police to urge residents to avoid the area as emergency operations continue.
Central America
Bukele and Trump highlight joint fight against gangs and terrorism
U.S. President Donald Trump thanked the Government of El Salvador for its collaboration in imprisoning criminals who had entered U.S. territory irregularly. The Republican leader acknowledged the work of his ally during his address at the 80th United Nations General Assembly taking place this week in New York.
“I want to thank El Salvador for the successful and professional work it has done in receiving and imprisoning so many criminals who entered our country. Under the previous administration [of Joe Biden], the numbers reached record levels, and now we are expelling them all,” Trump stated.
For his part, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele expressed his gratitude to the U.S. leader for his remarks and for officially designating the 18th Street gang as a terrorist group.
“In El Salvador, we had already taken that step by formally labeling them terrorists, and although some organizations have criticized us, the majority of their members are currently imprisoned at Cecot, the Terrorism Confinement Center, designed specifically to confront these threats,” Bukele said.
He added that both countries share a common vision in the fight against terrorism. “We are convinced that cooperation between our nations is key to eradicating these criminal structures and ensuring a future of peace and security for our people,” Bukele emphasized.
Trump plans permanent federal cuts amid partial government shutdown
Trump administration warnings prompt Bad Bunny to skip U.S. stops on World Tour
Trump pledges to restore ‘Warrior Spirit’ of U.S. military in rare meeting with Top Officers
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
Central America4 days agoPolice confirm multiple victims and fire after church shooting in Grand Blanc, Michigan
-
International3 days agoTropical storm Imelda leaves one dead and thousands displaced in eastern Cuba
-
International2 days agoRenowned mexican stylist Miguel de la Mora fatally shot in Polanco
-
International2 days agoTrump pledges to restore ‘Warrior Spirit’ of U.S. military in rare meeting with Top Officers
-
International3 days agoU.S. President: Israel will have full support if Hamas rejects peace proposal
-
International4 days agoOutrage in US as Trump urges death penalty for tram murder suspect
-
Central America3 days agoPanamanian farms take action to reduce jaguar attacks and promote coexistence
-
International2 days agoMaduro to gain expanded defense powers in case of U.S. attack, government confirms
-
International3 days agoRussia to draft 135,000 young men for autumn military service, not Ukraine
-
International2 days agoUN Security Council expands Haiti mission into major anti-gang force
-
International5 hours agoTrump administration warnings prompt Bad Bunny to skip U.S. stops on World Tour
-
International5 hours agoTrump plans permanent federal cuts amid partial government shutdown