Central America
Panama Canal traffic surges 30% in early fiscal 2025 amid recovery

The Panama Canal experienced a 30% increase in ship transits during the first eight months of fiscal year 2025 compared to the same period last year, the canal administration reported Wednesday, on the eve of the ninth anniversary of its expansion inauguration.
“The Panama Canal will commemorate on Thursday, June 26, the ninth anniversary of its expansion, marking a rise in transits and cargo tonnage during the first eight months of fiscal year 2025,” said an official statement.
Alongside the increase in transits, between October 2024 and May 2025, cargo tonnage rose by 22%, with 326 million Panama Canal/Universal Measurement System (PC/UMS) tons handled, according to the canal authority. The waterway handles about 3% of global trade.
“This growth has been made possible thanks to the recovery of the Gatún and Alajuela lake levels, which has allowed the Canal to offer safe, efficient, and reliable service to its clients,” the statement added.
A severe seasonal drought and the El Niño phenomenon caused a water crisis in the Canal between 2023 and part of 2024, forcing restrictions on the number of daily transits.
Central America
Two adults and a child die after landslide in northwestern Costa Rica

Two adults and a minor died after a landslide triggered by heavy rains buried their home in the province of Alajuela, in northwestern Costa Rica, the Red Cross reported on Sunday.
The incident was reported to emergency services late Saturday night following intense rainfall in the town of San Ramón, Alajuela.
“After more than five hours of intense search and rescue efforts, we recovered the bodies of two adults and a minor, who were found without vital signs at the scene,” the Red Cross said via its official WhatsApp channel.
Three other people who were inside the house at the time of the landslide managed to escape “on their own,” the agency added.
According to the National Meteorological Institute (IMN), Costa Rica is currently experiencing widespread atmospheric instability caused in part by a tropical wave, which is expected to bring heavy downpours across various regions of the country.
Central America
El Salvador reaches 1,027 homicide-free days under president Bukele

On Friday, October 3, no homicides were reported in El Salvador, according to data from the National Civil Police (PNC). This brings the country’s total to 1,027 days without murders during President Nayib Bukele’s administration.
Since the implementation of the State of Exception on March 27, 2022, El Salvador has recorded 913 homicide-free days, meaning that more than 80% of days under the measure have been free of killings.
So far in 2025, authorities have reported 229 days without homicides. February ended with 26 homicide-free days; January, April, May, and June each registered 25; March had 22; July closed with 29; August with 27; September with 23; and the first two days of October continue the trend.
Central America
Panamanian farms take action to reduce jaguar attacks and promote coexistence

A growing number of farms in Panama are taking steps to reduce jaguar attacks on livestock, showing that coexistence between humans and these American felines is possible, a UN agency said on Friday.
The jaguar (Panthera onca) holds a prominent place in Mayan and Aztec mythology, but many farmers kill them after livestock attacks.
Ninety-six percent of jaguar deaths in Panama from 1989 to 2019 occurred following attacks on livestock, according to the NGO Fundación Yaguará. Additionally, the prized jaguar hide made them targets for poachers, causing the population to decline by 20 to 25% since 2000, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
“Conserving the jaguar is not just about protecting an iconic species; it also involves safeguarding and restoring critical ecosystems, and improving water management and biodiversity,” Juan Bello, Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), told AFP.
Fundación Yaguará, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and UNEP are running a program to “reduce conflicts between communities and wildlife” in Panama.
Through this innovative project, many farms have adopted measures to reduce livestock attacks and avoid retaliatory killings of jaguars, demonstrating that coexistence is indeed possible.
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