Central America
Nicaragua threatens Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama and R. Dominican Republic for impasse in the SICA
Nicaragua threatened Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama and the Dominican Republic with taking “some measures” against them for opposing the election of former Nicaraguan Chancellor Denis Moncada as the new secretary general of the Central American Integration System (SICA), according to an official statement released this Friday.
“We have received your disrespectful and taxing Joint Note of today, November 28, 2024, which highlights its continuous, illegal and inappropriate blockade of Nicaragua, according to all the Treaties and Regulations governing the Central American Integration System,” said Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Valdrack Jaentschke, in a note addressed to his colleagues from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama and the Dominican Republic, and to all SICA Governments.
“In the face of this unusual insubordination of Governments and Foreign Ministrys that do not respond to the Law that governs us according to the Jurisprudence of our System, Nicaragua is considering some measures that we will communicate in a timely manner, on the contempt in which the countries subscribing to the Note have shamefully fallen, which also deny, absolutely and insanely, the power of our country to designate our own candidates,” he continued.
According to Jaentschke, former Chancellor and retired general Denis Moncada “has had and has the recognition of Governments, peoples and countries of the World, recognition and respect that cannot be ignored and / or denied by those who subscribe to this absurd communication.”
They invite you to reconsider
“We call for reconsideration of what we consider to contravene all the Presidential Agreements that have governed and govern the SICA, including the national sovereignty of our countries,” urged the Nicaraguan Foreign Minister.
Referring to the note from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama and the Dominican Republic, Jaentschke indicated that it “exhibits a denialist, exclusionary and discriminatory position, which is unacceptable from all points of view and that we are forced to denounce.”
Three weeks ago, the Government chaired by Daniel Ortega proposed a new tern of candidates as the new general secretary of the SICA, headed by former Chancellor Moncada, and also integrated by the Sandinista deputy Arling Patricia Alonso Gómez, and the Minister of the Family, Johana Flores, after two previous ternas presented did not reach consensus.
The previous terna was composed of Deputy Alonso; the Minister of the Interior, María Amelia Coronel Kinloch, and the presidential advisor for health issues and former Minister of Health, Sonia Castro, all sanctioned by the United States and in Castro’s case also by Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, for violation of human rights.
The first terna, presented on November 16, 2023, was headed by Jaentschke himself and included Violeta Irías Nelson, from the Attorney General’s Office for the Defense of Human Rights, and the official deputy Irís Marina Montenegro Blandón.
One year without the General Secretary of the SICA
Nicaragua, which holds the temporary presidency of that body, had convened an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the SICA for last November 15 “in order to advance in this process”, present the new terna and interview the candidates proposed by Managua, which was not held due to lack of consensus.
The General Secretariat of the SICA has been vacant since in mid-November 2023 the Nicaraguan lawyer Werner Vargas resigned from the position for the period 2022-2026, for which he was appointed as a proposal for Nicaragua.
Nicaragua has also denounced and rejected the “usurpation” of the General Secretariat of the SICA by an “Executive Directorate” of that body, which according to Managua has asked the governments of the region “to analyze a proposal for a work agenda and a draft budget of a General Secretariat that does not exist because it is unbrainering.”
The SICA, created in Tegucigalpa in 1991, is integrated by Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic as full members, while Mexico, the United States and other countries have the category of regional observers.
Central America
Honduras: Zelaya Calls for Mobilization Amid Dispute Over Tegucigalpa Mayoral Race
Manuel Zelaya, general coordinator of Honduras’ ruling Liberty and Refoundation Party (Libre, left-wing), on Saturday called on party supporters to mobilize next Monday in support of Tegucigalpa Mayor Jorge Aldana, who claims he is being defrauded in his bid for re-election.
“If the people do not mobilize because it is Christmas, then Libre party militants, out of conscience, must mobilize this Monday at 4:00 p.m. (22:00 GMT) at the INFOP (National Institute for Professional Training) to support Aldana in a peaceful, non-violent and democratic resistance against what they are already applying as the ‘Trump Algorithm 2025 – Honduras-style elections,’” Zelaya wrote on social media platform X.
Aldana, who considers himself the winner of the capital’s mayoral race following the general elections held on November 30, has been camping for 19 days outside the INFOP facilities, where all election materials are stored under military and police protection. The National Electoral Council (CNE) has already declared Nasry Asfura, of the conservative National Party, president-elect.
According to Aldana, who is seeking re-election under the Libre banner, the tally sheets in his possession confirm his victory. However, National Party mayoral candidate Juan Diego Zelaya is reportedly leading by a margin of around 600 votes.
While acknowledging that the margin is extremely narrow, Aldana is demanding a full review of more than 400 tally sheets, which he believes will ultimately confirm his win.
On Friday, Aldana told EFE that the protest camp was established “to raise a voice of protest, grounded in truth.” He added, “I am a journalist, and journalism teaches us to report truthfully, to live by the truth and to die for the truth. Here I am with the tally sheets in hand and the 492 inconsistencies identified by the CNE.”
Although uncertainty surrounding the presidential election results has subsided after Asfura—who is backed by U.S. President Donald Trump—was declared president-elect, tensions persist in municipal and legislative races due to inconsistencies in tally sheets across several of Honduras’ 18 departments.
The situation remains highly complex, as the special vote count has been paralyzed for three consecutive days. The process, which began on December 18 with a five-day delay, involves 2,792 tally sheets with reported inconsistencies.
According to CNE council members Ana Paola Hall (president) and Cossette López, representatives of the Liberal and National parties respectively, the paralysis is the result of a political party “boycott” at the Electoral Logistics Center (CLE).
The full CNE board, which also includes Marlon Ochoa of the Libre Party, held meetings on Friday and again on Saturday, virtually, to address delays in the special count of municipal and legislative election results.
Central America
International leaders congratulate Honduras’ president-elect Asfura
The United States government was among the first to congratulate the president-elect, through Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a press briefing that Beijing “is willing to work with Honduras to jointly promote the continued development of bilateral relations.”
The European Union also expressed its commitment and interest in working with Asfura to advance “shared priorities aimed at deepening bilateral ties.”
In addition, the foreign ministries of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay issued messages congratulating the president-elect.
Presidents from Panama and Paraguay, as well as the government of Chile, also extended their congratulations to Asfura. Furthermore, the governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and the Dominican Republic released a joint statement saying: “We reaffirm our solidarity with the Honduran people and express our hope that the transition will take place in a peaceful and orderly manner.”
Central America
Guatemala arrests 92 salvadoran gang members in 2025
Between January 1 and December 25, 2025, a total of 92 Salvadoran gang members were arrested in Guatemala, according to a report released by that country’s National Civil Police (PNC).
The arrests were carried out as part of border control operations and efforts to combat transnational crime, aimed at preventing members of terrorist criminal structures from entering or remaining in Guatemala after fleeing El Salvador’s state of emergency, which has been in force since March 27, 2022.
The Guatemalan PNC reported that 46 of those detained were expelled and handed over to Salvadoran authorities at the four land border crossings between the two countries.
According to official information, Guatemala’s Interpol National Central Office (NCB) and the Salvadoran National Civil Police maintain close coordination and information-sharing mechanisms to verify the criminal records of gang members.
The 46 individuals expelled to El Salvador were wanted on charges including illicit association, extortion, homicide, drug trafficking, illegal restriction of freedom of movement, and other forms of organized and complex crime.
Guatemalan police transferred the suspects to their Salvadoran counterparts, who then referred them to the courts seeking their arrest. The most recent detainee was Melvin Antonio Mejía Rivas, alias “Porky,” a member of the 18th Street gang, who was apprehended in Zone 16 of Guatemala City. He has been wanted for illicit association since November 4, 2019.
Another arrest involved Judith Cristina Cáceres de Rivera, originally from Ahuachapán, who was detained in Zone 3 of San José Pinula on extortion charges. Authorities said she demanded 7,000 quetzales per week from a local व्याप merchant.
Guatemalan police also reported that 46 Salvadorans have been arrested in the country for committing various criminal offenses.
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