Nicaragua reduced the maximum highway speed limit from 100 to 50 kilometers per hour this past Tuesday, in a move ordered by presidential couple Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo as part of efforts to curb traffic accidents.

“We need a plan that prevents speeding on highways,” Ortega, a former guerrilla commander, said earlier this month during an official event.

According to a statement from the Nicaraguan police published in pro-government media, the new limit applies to private vehicles as well as public or private cargo and passenger transport. For motorcycles, the speed limit is even lower — capped at 40 km/h — and riders are now banned from carrying children as passengers.

The new measure sparked a wave of criticism and humor on social media. “At this pace, we might as well switch to bicycles,” one user joked. Others commented, “We’ll be back to using horse carts,” and “You’ll have to leave two days early just to arrive on time.”

Vice President Murillo confirmed that President Ortega had been in direct contact with Police Commissioner General Francisco Díaz, personally giving feedback on how to implement the new road safety measures.

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Murillo explained that the change will first be tested in practice before being formally written into Nicaragua’s traffic laws.

A Facebook user on the “Visión Policial Nicaragua” page called the measure “ridiculous,” adding, “The police will now have more excuses to fine people for exceeding that limit.”

Former workers of Central America’s largest open-pit copper mine, shut down in 2023 by Panama’s Supreme Court, called on Wednesday for the reactivation of operations, even though the country is under a mining moratorium.

The mine, operated by Canadian firm First Quantum Minerals, ceased production after Panama’s highest court declared the concession contract “unconstitutional,” following mass anti-mining protests that nearly brought the country to a standstill.

“There’s an unemployment crisis affecting the nation, and reopening the mine could bring back thousands of jobs, restoring the hope and dreams lost since the shutdown,” said Ilka Camargo, a former mine employee, to AFP.

Located on Panama’s Caribbean coast, the mine produced around 300,000 tons of copper concentrate annually, accounting for 75% of the country’s exports and 5% of its GDP. It directly and indirectly employed approximately 37,000 people.

Several unions backed the call for reopening on Wednesday, arguing that it would generate employment and boost economic growth amid growing dissatisfaction with conservative President José Raúl Mulino.

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“If reopening the mine helps generate new jobs, the government should make the decision to do it,” said Aniano Pinzón, Secretary-General of Panama’s General Workers’ Union.

“We have the right to work, and we believe in responsible mining that serves the Panamanian people and respects the environment,” stated Michael Camacho, leader of the former workers’ union.

Panama’s economy grew by just 2.9% in 2024, a sharp decline from 7.4% the previous year, when the mine was still operational. Meanwhile, unemployment stands at 9.5% and may rise further following the dismissal of 6,500 workers from U.S. banana company Chiquita Brands, which shut down operations amid protests in Bocas del Toro province.

Guatemala’s Constitutional Court upheld on Wednesday the measure of house arrest previously granted to journalist José Rubén Zamora. However, he will remain in prison due to another case opened by the controversial Public Prosecutor’s Office, according to his son.

Zamora, 68, has spent more than 1,000 days behind bars over an alleged money laundering case that international press freedom organizations have condemned as an attempt to silence him for exposing corruption during the previous right-wing administration.

The founder of the now-defunct newspaper El Periódico also faces separate charges of allegedly obstructing an investigation against him. In both cases, house arrest had been granted, but appeals courts later revoked the measures.

The Constitutional Court has now validated the house arrest by rejecting a motion filed by the Prosecutor’s Office, José Zamora, the journalist’s son, told AFP.