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.

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“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.

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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.

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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

Seven arrested in Guatemala over disappearance of six near Mexico border

Authorities in Guatemala arrested seven individuals allegedly linked to the disappearance of six Guatemalans, including a 16-year-old minor, according to a police statement.

The arrests took place in the border city of Malacatán, near the nearly 1,000-kilometer frontier shared with Mexico, a region increasingly affected by criminal activity.

Police reported that ten firearms were seized from the suspects, who are believed to be connected to the disappearance of the six victims. According to witness accounts, the missing individuals worked on a farm in Malacatán and were taken away in a vehicle whose license plate matches that of the one used by those detained.

The border area has seen escalating violence involving organized crime groups. In August 2024, following the unprecedented displacement of Mexican farmers into Guatemala to escape clashes between rival drug cartels, both countries agreed to carry out joint security operations along the shared border.

Despite this cooperation, tensions have arisen. On June 8, security forces from the Mexican state of Chiapas crossed into Guatemalan territory during an anti-crime operation that left four suspected criminals dead. The incident prompted a formal protest from Guatemala, after which Mexico issued an apology.

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Central America

Gunfire and protests mark controversial rector reelection at Guatemala’s USAC

University of San Carlos of Guatemala (USAC), which serves around 200,000 students, plays a key role in the selection of top judicial authorities in Guatemala, including positions within the prosecutor’s office and other institutions often questioned over corruption.

The reelection of the university’s rector on Wednesday was marred by gunfire and clashes outside the hotel where the vote took place in Antigua Guatemala, west of the capital. Authorities reported no injuries following the unrest.

The electoral process, which granted a new term to Walter Mazariegos, was criticized by the Organization of American States, which described it as a “flawed process.”

USAC holds significant influence in Guatemala’s institutional framework, as it appoints two magistrates to the Constitutional Court—the country’s highest judicial body—and participates in the selection of members of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, both processes carried out earlier this year.

Videos shared by local media showed an individual firing a weapon into the air inside the hotel during the vote. Academic representatives and students gathered at the venue, while hundreds of protesters demonstrated outside, denouncing the exclusion of some delegates in what they claimed was an effort to favor Mazariegos.

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The unrest escalated after alleged security personnel used fire extinguishers against police officers attempting to enter the hotel alongside a judge, who sought to verify reports that opposition voters were being held inside, according to local press reports.

“The election was illegitimate,” said Rodolfo Chang through a loudspeaker after being declared “legitimate rector” in a separate vote held outside the venue.

A day earlier, the Organization of American States had urged authorities to act to “prevent the completion of a flawed process.”

Central America

Honduras coffee exports jump nearly 30% in March despite price drop

Coffee exports from Honduras rose by 29.6% year-on-year in March, according to data released Monday by the Instituto Hondureño del Café.

During the third month of the 2025–2026 harvest season, Honduras exported 1,373,817 46-kilogram bags of coffee, up from 1,059,744 bags shipped in March of the previous cycle.

Despite the increase in volume, the average price per bag fell to $307.55, compared to $364.70 recorded in the prior harvest.

Between October and March, total export revenues reached $1.36 billion, representing a 32% increase from the $1.032 billion reported during the same period of the 2024–2025 season.

The United States remained the main destination for Honduran coffee, accounting for 36.5% of total shipments. It was followed by Germany with 16.1% and Belgium with 12.4%.