Central America
Panamanian university community demands repeal of mining contract
November 23 |
Professors, students, and administrative staff of the University of Panama marched this Wednesday to the Supreme Court of Justice of that country to demand the ruling of unconstitutionality of Law 406.
The rector of the university, Eduardo Flores, said that the protesters also intend to deliver an open letter, addressed to the authorities, in which they argue why the contract with Minera Panama, a branch of the Canadian company First Quantum Minerals, is unconstitutional.
The document states that “the legislative procedure followed for the approval of this contract-law violates the constitutional norms” since it can only be “approved or rejected”, “there is no power to return it in order to make modifications to its content, as it happened”.
The letter denounced that “the contract, contained in law 406, violates the constitutional norms on the ecological regime which oblige the State to guarantee that the population lives in a healthy environment free of contamination”, in reference to the fact that the area granted for this mining exploitation is within the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor.
The text argued that this is the largest open-pit copper mine in Central America, as well as that it “violates the human right of Panamanians to live in a healthy environment and implies the abandonment of the Panamanian State of the protection, preservation and improvement of that environment”.
Finally, the document urged the Supreme Court to “pronounce in a timely manner and in law, but also in accordance with the arguments made by the great majority of the Panamanian people in favor of the unconstitutionality and inconvenience of the referred mining contract”.
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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