Central America
Honduras rejects minister’s inclusion in list of alleged corrupt officials
December 22 |
The Honduran Secretary of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Enrique Renia, rejected Thursday the inclusion of the Minister of Strategic Planning, Ricardo Salgado, in a report prepared by the US State Department with political and business actors of Central America allegedly linked to corruption cases.
“Honduras on principle rejects any unilateral measure contrary to international law, whether these are blockades, sanctions or lists drawn up in a subjective manner, as they are imposed mechanisms against sovereign countries,” the foreign minister stated through his X account.
He also expressed his solidarity with Salgado and condemned such “action for purely ideological reasons”. “It is absurd,” he pointed out.
For his part, Salgado published a statement in which he asserted that “the U.S. government has always been aligned with the corruption and impunity of the National Party and the Liberal Party in Honduras.”
“My inclusion in the Engel list only demonstrates that it is made under political criteria and does not defend democracy or honesty,” he declared.
In addition, he expressed his pride at being included in a list for political reasons, “for being on the side of the Honduran people and for ratifying my unwavering anti-imperialist condition”.
Former President Manuel Zelaya (2006-2009) joined the rejection of the unilateral U.S. list. Through X, the former president stated that “to include Salgado in the list of sanctioned persons of the United States, in spite of the fact that she has never had a visa, represents an absurdity in its imperialist policy against leaders of the Latin American left”.
In the opinion of Zelaya, who had to abandon the Presidency due to a coup d’état carried out in complicity with the White House, “the world has advanced in its ideas, while the United States has remained frozen”.
The White House included four Nicaraguans, four Guatemalans, three Hondurans and three Salvadorans in a new list prepared unilaterally and without any semblance of legitimacy.
They were included in this sanctioning list under the presumption that they are corrupt and anti-democratic actors, an aspect contained in Section 353, a tool that supposedly contributes to governance and institutional transparency.
On the Honduran side, in addition to Salgado, businessmen Mohamed Yusuf Amdani Bai and Cristian Adolfo Sánchez were included.
The list began with a total of 21 Hondurans; then 15 more were added in 2022. In 2023, another 13 officials, former officials and political figures were included.
Central America
El Salvador to host World Cup qualifiers vs. Guatemala and Panama at Estadio Cuscatlán
El Salvador’s national football team will host its final round World Cup qualifying matches against Guatemala and Panama at Estadio Cuscatlán, the honorary president of the National Sports Institute (INDES), Yamil Bukele, announced Thursday via a statement on his X account.
The official explained that this decision comes after the American rock band Guns N’ Roses, originally scheduled to perform at Estadio Cuscatlán on Saturday, October 4, will now hold their concert at Estadio Jorge “El Mágico” González. This change allows both of La Selecta’s qualifying matches to be played at the “Coloso de Monserrat.”
“After a series of efforts and in response to popular demand, we are pleased to announce that our senior national team’s CONCACAF World Cup qualifying matches next October (Oct. 10 vs. Panama and Oct. 14 vs. Guatemala) will take place at Estadio Cuscatlán,” the statement reads.
Bukele also thanked the event promoters and the band for agreeing to the stadium change. “We sincerely thank Guns N’ Roses and StarTicket for agreeing to move the concert originally scheduled for October 4 at Estadio Cuscatlán,” the statement adds.
Additionally, Bukele expressed gratitude to the FESFUT Regularization Commission for their efforts with CONCACAF to make this possible, and he urged fans to stay tuned to official channels to purchase tickets and support La Selecta in their World Cup qualifying campaign.
Central America
Honduran president Xiomara Castro suspends activities due to influenza
Honduran President Xiomara Castro announced on Thursday that she has “temporarily” suspended her public activities due to a severe influenza virus.
“A strong influenza virus requires me to rest, trusting that I will be fully recovered for the grand celebration of our National Independence Day” next Monday, Castro stated on the social media platform X.
The president had planned to participate in several inaugurations across the northern, central, and eastern regions of the country throughout the week. She added that “these events will be rescheduled for new dates.”
Central America
Nicaragua’s government expels bishops, priests, and nuns in religious persecution
At least 261 religious figures, including the president of the Nicaraguan Episcopal Conference, Carlos Enrique Herrera, have been expelled as part of the persecution by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo’s regime against the Catholic Church, reported the NGO Colectivo Nicaragua Nunca Más in its report Faith Under Fire.
The report details that among those expelled are bishops Silvio Báez, Rolando Álvarez, Isidoro Mora, as well as the Apostolic Nuncio in Managua, Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag, along with approximately 140 priests, over 90 nuns, ten seminarians, and three deacons from different dioceses in the country.
“Since the expulsion of Nuncio Sommertag in March 2022, relations between Nicaragua and the Vatican have significantly deteriorated,” the NGO noted.
The report also documents the closure of 5,609 non-profit organizations, of which 1,294 were religious, including churches, universities, schools, clinics, and humanitarian organizations. Most of these had their assets confiscated by the Sandinista government. Additionally, the telecommunications regulator TELCOR shut down 54 media outlets, including 22 religious radio stations and TV channels.
Repression has extended to other religious denominations, with forced disappearances and criminalization of evangelical pastors, control over temples, media censorship, fiscal pressure, property confiscation, and the cancellation of legal status for the Moravian Church. Pastor Rudy Palacios remains in detention as part of this pattern of persecution.
The NGO emphasized that churches, especially the Catholic Church, played a key role in the 2018 national dialogue, denouncing abuses and providing refuge to injured protesters, which fueled the government’s hostility.
In 2023, Pope Francis described Ortega’s regime as a “blatant dictatorship”, to which the Nicaraguan president responded by dissolving the Society of Jesus and labeling the Church as a “mafia” and “anti-democratic.”
Trump: U.S. has hit three venezuelan narco boats in Caribbean
Ecuador’s Noboa declares State of Emergency in seven provinces amid fuel price protests
Trump files $15 billion defamation suit against The New York Times
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
-
International5 days agoJair Bolsonaro sentenced for leading armed criminal plot after 2022 election loss
-
International5 days agoAuthorities capture CJNG financial chief in international airport operation
-
International2 days ago20th Festival Salvadoreñísimo brings together thousands of salvadorans in Houston
-
International3 days ago22-Year-Old Suspect Arrested After 33-Hour Manhunt in Small Western U.S. Town
-
International2 days agoEl Salvador unveils 2025-2029 National Reintegration Plan for returned migrants
-
International13 hours agoEcuador’s Noboa declares State of Emergency in seven provinces amid fuel price protests
-
Sin categoría13 hours agoTrump files $15 billion defamation suit against The New York Times
-
International13 hours agoTrump: U.S. has hit three venezuelan narco boats in Caribbean
-
International13 hours agoColombia’s special peace tribunal hands down first sentence against former FARC leaders