Central America
Young person will represent El Salvador at International Chemistry Olympiad in Switzerland
May 29 |
At the age of 18, Luis Ronaldo Chávez Escamilla is one of the three young people in the delegation that will represent El Salvador at the International Chemistry Olympiad.
The 55th edition of the international competition will take place from July 16 to 25 in Zurich, Switzerland.
“For me it is one of the most important things in my life. I see it not only as an academic achievement, but as a life experience. They have been shaping me as a person and have helped me discover what I am passionate about and what I want for my future,” she said.
He added that around 84 countries will participate in the Olympics, with approximately three to four representatives per country. There will be an average of 300 contestants in total.
This represents a challenge for the young man, who since he applied for the competition has dedicated himself to preparing for it. Luis is part of the Jóvenes Talento program, where he receives “training”, as he calls the classes. At home he also spends time solving math problems.
“It is the most difficult and needs many months of preparation, but this year, as I have already finished high school, I have dedicated myself to prepare for this; it is quite demanding,” he said.
His participation in the Olympics is part of his academic record. Luis, who since he was a child was very diligent in his studies, has competed in three more Olympiads, two of which are international and one national.
“Since I was a child I liked mathematics very much, but I had never discovered my passion as such, until fifth grade, when my dad came with the newspaper. Before, the National Math Olympiad was published in the newspaper and people who wanted to participate in the program had to solve certain problems and exams,” he told “Diario El Salvador”.
When he was 12 years old, his father came with the newspaper and proposed it to him as a challenge. With some trepidation she took the exams. “I passed the first stage and that’s when it caught my attention even more. I passed the second stage and qualified. That’s when I realized that I really had talent in the area of numbers,” he added.
In seventh grade, the young man took the exams for the Salvadoran Chemistry Olympiad (OSQ) for the first time. After his participation, he was able to enter the chemistry group in the Jóvenes Talento program.
“From seventh grade onwards, they allow participation in certain Olympic groups in each area of science. I was always interested in chemistry. My first class in the program was chemistry. In that group there are three levels: elementary, intermediate and advanced. Over the years I have moved up through the levels. Now I am in the advanced level, which is the highest level. Being part of these groups gives you the opportunity to take selective exams of all the classmates classified to participate in these international olympiads,” he said.
In 2021 and 2022 he had the opportunity to participate in the Salvadoran Olympiad and the Ibero-American Chemistry Olympiad. Although everything was virtual, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he won two bronze medals. A third silver medal was obtained by participating in the World Applied Chemistry Olympiad (WAChO), organized by the Indonesian scientific society.
According to the young man, he participated in the last Olympiad with a research project: “I won my silver medal with the sustainable chemistry project, which is the generation of electricity from wastewater,” he said.
In 2022, Luis won a half scholarship to study at the Monterrey Institute of Technology, a prestigious study center in Mexico, after obtaining a high score in the academic aptitude test.
Central America
Honduran President Xiomara Castro: Honduras should no longer be used as a drug trafficking bridge
Honduran President Xiomara Castro stated this Saturday that her country must no longer be used as a “bridge for drug trafficking,” and she pledged that the 2025 elections would be “clean, free, and transparent,” guaranteeing a peaceful transfer of power.
“Honduras should not continue to be used as a bridge for drug trafficking that feeds the addiction of developed countries,” Castro emphasized during a speech at a military ceremony, where she also highlighted the “example of struggle” set by national hero Francisco Morazán.
Castro called on Hondurans to “make their best efforts to combat organized crime and the drug cartels inherited from the previous regime,” stressing that “remaining silent constitutes treason to the homeland.”
According to official figures, over 21,400 kilos of cocaine and 500,000 coca plants have been seized so far in 2024 in various operations, mainly in Honduras’ Caribbean region.
Due to its geographical location, particularly its 700-kilometer Caribbean coastline, Honduras is used by international drug traffickers to ship cocaine to the United States.
Authorities have reported that much of the drugs arriving in Honduras by air and sea are transported overland through western Honduras, near the Guatemalan border, on their way to the United States.
Central America
Salvadoran ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms death of migrants in Chiapas incident
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms the death of two Salvadoran migrants, aged 57 and 17, in Villa Comaltitlán, Chiapas, on October 1st, at the hands of the Mexican Army. Authorities have requested a “thorough investigation of the case and a prompt clarification” from the Mexican government.
According to a statement from the Ministry, the victims were residents of San Vicente and La Libertad, respectively. The incident occurred last Tuesday on the Villa Comaltitlán-Huixtla highway when two members of the Army opened fire on migrants in Chiapas who were aboard a cargo truck, mistaking them for members of criminal groups. As a result, six migrants from El Salvador, Peru, and Egypt lost their lives, and 12 others were injured.
“In light of the events, the Ministry extends its deepest condolences to the families, who are receiving consular assistance, support, and accompaniment, according to our protocols in these cases,” the statement explains.
The Salvadoran government has been following the case closely since the tragedy occurred to identify the victims. The Ministry maintains contact with the Salvadoran consulate in Tapachula.
Central America
Legislative Assembly initiates process to elect new attorney general for 2025-2028 term
With 57 favorable votes, the Legislative Assembly began the process for selecting the new Attorney General of the Republic for the 2025-2028 term during this afternoon’s plenary session.
The legislative initiative, presented by the head of the Nuevas Ideas party, Christian Guevara, specifies that the term of the current Attorney General will end on January 5 of the coming year.
As a result, legislators decided to open the election process based on the Legislative Assembly’s internal regulations, which state that the process must begin at least 60 days before the end of the official’s term.
The bill stipulates that candidates must present their credentials and clearances from the Public Ministry institutions (GR, PGR, and PDDH), the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (confirming no political party affiliation), the Court of Accounts of the Republic (CCR), as well as a clearance from the Professional and Judicial Section of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ).
Caleb Navarro, deputy head of the Cian caucus and a member of the political commission, invited lawyers to participate in the election process and mentioned that, as in previous cases, the candidates will be publicly interviewed by the deputies.
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