Central America

Audit Exposes Major Breaches in Panama Canal Port Concession, $300 Million Owed to State

The Comptroller General of Panama, Anel Flores, stated on Monday that the audit initiated last January on the Chinese company CK Hutchison’s subsidiary, which operates two ports around the Panama Canal, has revealed a series of breaches of contract, a multi-million dollar debt with the State, and irregularities in the automatic renewal of the concession.

“More than 300 million (dollars) are owed to us due to breaches in the contract,” Flores said, referring to Panama Ports Company (PPC), which operates the Balboa and Cristóbal ports located at the Pacific and Atlantic entrances of the Canal, respectively.

PPC has managed Balboa and Cristóbal, two of the five ports around the Canal, since 1997, when it was granted a 25-year concession contract that was automatically extended for another 25 years in June 2021, amid accusations of alleged corruption and unfavorable conditions for the Panamanian State, which holds a 10% stake.

In a press conference surrounded by auditors, the comptroller made a lengthy list of the unfavorable results for the Panamanian State from a modification to the concession conditions made in 2002, during the government of Mireya Moscoso (1999-2004).

These changes, which among other things eliminated a 22 million-dollar annual fee to the treasury, left the State with a fee based on container entries and included a series of tax exemptions, allowing the treasury to lose “about 1.2 billion dollars over two decades, at a rate of 55 million dollars per year.”

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“This situation is not the company’s fault,” Flores said, “but rather the fault of some ‘bad Panamanians’ who negotiated the concession contract very poorly.”

The automatic renewal of the PPC concession approved by the Board of Directors of the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) “did not meet all the legal requirements and also lacks the endorsement of the General Comptroller’s Office,” something the law mandates, Flores emphasized.

Central America

Guatemala sees road blockades amid protests against lawmaker pay hikes

At least 16 points are blocked in Guatemala on Monday by the Committee for the Development of Rural Communities (Codeca), which is protesting the salary increase for members of Congress. The lawmakers are set to receive their third paycheck since the salary adjustment was approved in November 2024.

Although the Congressional Board of Directors announced the suspension of the salary increase at the end of March through an official document, it was later stated that the measure must be ratified by the full legislative body, requiring the approval of at least 81 of the 160 members. No reversal of this decision has been made so far. The salary of lawmakers has risen from GTQ 29,150 ($3,784) to GTQ 66,300 ($8,607). Their third elevated salary will be issued on Monday, according to local media.

The 23 deputies from the Semilla party, with which Bernardo Arévalo won the presidency, did not vote in favor of the proposal when it was presented. However, reports suggest that this may have been part of a negotiation with the opposition to approve a reform to the Law Against Organized Crime, aimed at ending legal persecution against them, as reported by the media outlet República. “The government must remember that the people defended it and it must serve the people,” stated Codeca’s official post on X (formerly Twitter).

Other grievances raised by the protesters include the rising cost of basic goods, demands to halt water privatization, an end to forced evictions, and the resignation of Attorney General Consuelo Porras.

The Constitutional Court (CC) granted a provisional injunction on Sunday, ordering the government to allow free movement. While the court permitted the protest to proceed, it stated that the rights of the general public to mobility and access to commercial transport services should not be interrupted.

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Central America

Nicaragua’s Ortega and Murillo Mourn Pope Francis, Acknowledge ‘Difficult’ Relationship

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo, who also serve as co-leaders of the country, expressed their condolences on Monday following the death of Pope Francis, acknowledging that their relationship with the late pontiff had been “difficult” and “troubled.” Nicaragua officially suspended diplomatic ties with the Vatican during his papacy.

“Our relationship, as Nicaraguans who are believers, devoted and faithful to the doctrine of Christ Jesus, was difficult and troubled—unfortunately shaped by adverse and painful circumstances that were not always understood,” Ortega and Murillo wrote in a message of condolence.

“Despite the complexity and hardships, despite the manipulation we all know occurred, despite everything, we kept our hope alive through Christian faith,” they continued. “We understood the distance, and above all, the complicated and strained communication that prevented better relations. We also recognized the confusion caused by strident voices that disrupted any attempt at genuine interaction.”

Pope Francis had previously compared the Ortega regime to communist dictatorships and even to Hitler, a remark that further strained relations between Managua and the Holy See.

Central America

Cardinal Rodríguez to Attend Funeral of Pope Francis: “He Was Very Dear to Me”

Honduran Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez announced on Monday that he will attend the funeral services of Pope Francis, who passed away at the age of 88 at his residence in Casa Santa Marta due to a stroke.

“We will be there throughout the novena and then, God willing, at the burial,” Rodríguez said in a phone interview with HRN Radio in Tegucigalpa, apparently calling from Spain.

He added that the last time he saw Pope Francis was in October 2024, during and at the end of that year’s synod, and that they remained in contact through email. “Sometimes, the Pope would even call me,” said Rodríguez, who was born on December 29, 1942, and was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II on February 21, 2001.

Rodríguez expressed deep sorrow over the passing of Pope Francis, saying: “He was a very dear person to me.”
However, he also shared a message of hope, pointing out that the Holy Father passed away during Easter: “This is a sign. He gave his life completely like the Lord Jesus, and though he died, we believe in faith that he has risen, now with Christ in eternal life.”

Rodríguez, who for ten years coordinated the Vatican’s Council of Cardinals, was one of the eight cardinals selected by Pope Francis to help govern the Catholic Church and reform the Roman Curia.

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In January 2023, upon turning 80, Rodríguez stepped down as Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, and Pope Francis appointed Spanish priest José Vicente Nácher Tatay as his successor.