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
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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