Central America
“I hope to leave an irreversible path for the development of El Salvador”: President Nayib Bukele
The political opposition attempts to halt the changes and transformations driven by the Executive, while organizations and the international community try to prevent sovereign decision-making, stated President Nayib Bukele in an open conversation on Space.
The President of the Republic, Nayib Bukele, expressed yesterday that, as a leader, his desire is not only to achieve the full development of El Salvador but also to pave the way for progress and prosperity that is irreversible, preventing the political opposition from undoing the achievements.
“I want to see a developed country, developed in the right way, and that we can be an example to the world,” said the president in the conversation held last night with thousands of people from the Latin American region who connected to the Space event through the X social network.
He reiterated that the Salvadoran political opposition could roll back the advances made by the current government if they return to power.
On February 4, presidential and legislative elections will be held in El Salvador, and voters will decide at the polls whether the political opposition (led by ARENA and FMLN) will regain power or if Nayib Bukele will be re-elected.
“I want El Salvador to be an example for the rest of the world. What I hope at the end of my term is to leave an irreversible path for El Salvador in its development, and there should be no way to return to the past,” reaffirmed the leader in the conversation, where participants were free to ask questions on various national and regional current affairs.
He pointed out that it has not been easy to drive changes and social transformations in El Salvador, especially due to the resistance encountered at the national level with the political opposition and at the international level with countries and organizations that try to influence politics and sovereign decisions.
In that sense, he specified that there are international organizations that fund individuals and media to influence political power directly or indirectly, promoting “harmful” agendas for countries like El Salvador, which seeks to overcome underdevelopment.
“They basically promote an agenda harmful to the world. Our countries are not only held hostage by their local problems but also by an international elite financed by people like George Soros, from the Open Society Foundation. There are more [people] promoting a civilizational destruction agenda with the aim of making money, as every world crisis is a business for them,” said Bukele.
He added that these organizations handle immense amounts of money and power, although their leaders have never been elected by populations. “There is a cohort of journalists, lawyers following this agenda. One of their fundamental pillars is these [media] outlets,” he said.
He argued that various bodies, such as the United Nations, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH), among others, also oppose poor nations developing their own agendas, contrary to the goals they claim to work towards.
For example, once the state of exception was implemented in March 2022, as a constitutional measure that strengthened the execution of the Territorial Control Plan, international organizations began criticizing, demanding an end to the implementation.
Likewise, when removing judges, politicians, and amending laws to eliminate conditions that fostered violence, international powers demanded a return to the previous “status quo,” even though our country was the most insecure in the world.
“Their argument was institutionality, the rule of law. What rule of law were they talking about? They simply protested, almost demanded, and required us to return to how the country was. Thank God our country is different now, and it was largely because we did not heed what these types of organizations and the international community were saying, which have never looked out for us,” he stated.
According to the president, the real goal of opposing historic changes is for populations in other countries to follow the example and replace the current politicians, as happened in El Salvador with the traditional parties ARENA and FMLN.
Central America
OAS urges swift recount in Honduras as election results remain uncertain
The Organization of American States (OAS) electoral observation mission in Honduras reported findings of a “lack of expertise” and “delays” in the vote-counting process, but stated that it found no indications that would cast doubt on the results of the November 30 general elections, according to a report presented to the organization’s Permanent Council.
The delay by electoral authorities in releasing the final results “is not justifiable,” said former Paraguayan foreign minister Eladio Loizaga while reading the report.
Honduras marked two weeks on Monday without knowing who its next president will be, following elections in which conservative candidate Nasry Asfura, backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, holds a lead of less than two percentage points over fellow right-wing contender Salvador Nasralla.
Accusations of fraud have dominated Honduras’ political landscape since polls closed on the last Sunday of November.
In addition to Nasralla’s complaints, the current government led by leftist President Xiomara Castro has described Trump’s support for Asfura as an “electoral coup.”
The U.S. president has warned of “serious consequences” if the current results were to change and strip Asfura, a 67-year-old businessman, of his lead.
Although more than 99 percent of the votes have been counted, nearly 2,800 tally sheets contain “inconsistencies” and must be reviewed through a special recount, the National Electoral Council (CNE) said.
“The Mission urgently calls on the electoral authorities to immediately begin the special recount and to pursue all possible avenues to obtain official results as quickly as possible. The current delay in processing and publishing the results is not justifiable,” the head of the OAS mission told members of the organization.
Central America
Panama seizes over three tons of drugs hidden in Caribbean port container
Panama’s National Air and Naval Service (Senan) reported on Sunday the seizure of more than three metric tons of drugs that were concealed inside a shipping container at a port terminal on the country’s Caribbean coast.
According to a statement posted on X, Panamanian aeronaval authorities confirmed the confiscation of 3,205 packages of a suspected illicit substance hidden inside a container in transit through Panama, at a port facility in the Caribbean province of Colón. Each package typically weighs approximately one kilogram.
Earlier this week, Senan agents also seized an additional 2.2 metric tons of drugs and arrested five individuals, including a Colombian national, in separate operations linked to drug trafficking activities.
Panama serves as a major transit route for drugs produced in South America and destined mainly for the United States — the world’s largest consumer of cocaine — and Europe. According to official figures, Panamanian authorities seized approximately 80 metric tons of illicit substances in 2024.
Central America
Honduras election crisis deepens as CNE president denounces intimidation attempts
Tegucigalpa remains engulfed in a deep post-electoral crisis, marked by the absence of final results from the general elections held on November 30. On Thursday, the presiding counselor of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Ana Paola Hall, publicly denounced acts of intimidation that she warned could jeopardize the final phase of the process.
Following a meeting with the G-16+ diplomatic corps, Hall expressed concern over two specific incidents: a call by former president Manuel Zelaya summoning supporters of the Libre Party to gather outside the INFOP facilities—where electoral records and materials are being safeguarded—and a statement issued by the Permanent Commission of Congress accusing her and counselor Cossette López of alleged electoral crimes, an action she described as “baseless and outside their jurisdiction.”
Hall reaffirmed her institutional commitment and warned that she will not allow interference in the announcement of the results. “Honduras comes first,” she emphasized, underscoring her intention to defend the electoral process as a cornerstone of democracy.
Meanwhile, the preliminary results place Nasry ‘Tito’ Asfura, candidate of the National Party, in the lead with 40.52%of the vote, followed closely by Salvador Nasralla of the Liberal Party, with 39.48%. The ruling party’s candidate, Rixi Moncada of Libre, is in third place with 19.29%. Around 0.6% of the tally sheets—many of them showing inconsistencies—have yet to be reviewed.
The Organization of American States (OAS) called an extraordinary session of its Permanent Council to analyze the situation, while civil organizations and governments such as Paraguay’s urged respect for the popular will.
Honduran President Xiomara Castro accused the United States, and specifically former president Donald Trump, of obstructing the process, while also denouncing threats from gangs against voters aligned with her party.
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