Central America
Honduras reports four influenza deaths and 587 cases in 2025 amid COVID-19 rise
Honduran health authorities confirmed on Monday four deaths caused by the influenza virus, which has affected 587 people so far in 2025. During this period, two deaths due to COVID-19 have also been reported.
Lorenzo Pavón, head of the Surveillance Unit of the Ministry of Health, stated that the individuals who died from influenza were over 50 years old and passed away due to complications related to chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and kidney failure.
The deaths occurred in the departments of El Paraíso (east), Ocotepeque (west), and in the cities of Siguatepeque and Comayagua, located in the central region of the country, Pavón detailed without providing further case specifics.
Official data shows that so far this year, 571 infections of the influenza A H1N1 virus and 16 cases of influenza B have been confirmed.
Among the total influenza A infections, 302 were women and 268 men, with the population between 15 and 49 years being the most affected, with 167 cases recorded, Pavón detailed.
Health authorities warned that vaccination remains the primary tool to prevent complications caused by the virus, against which antibiotics are ineffective.
They also recommended the population, especially vulnerable groups, to get the influenza vaccine, avoid self-medication, and seek medical attention if symptoms appear.
Meanwhile, Pavón indicated that the country has also reported two COVID-19 deaths and 261 confirmed cases, with 107 men and 154 women affected, women being the majority.
The age groups with the highest incidence of COVID-19 are adults between 20 and 29 years, with 54 cases, and children aged 0 to 9, with 47 infections.
In light of the rise in COVID-19 cases, health authorities recommended strengthening biosecurity measures such as frequent hand washing, wearing masks in enclosed or poorly ventilated spaces, and using hand sanitizer.
Central America
El Salvador to host World Cup qualifiers vs. Guatemala and Panama at Estadio Cuscatlán
El Salvador’s national football team will host its final round World Cup qualifying matches against Guatemala and Panama at Estadio Cuscatlán, the honorary president of the National Sports Institute (INDES), Yamil Bukele, announced Thursday via a statement on his X account.
The official explained that this decision comes after the American rock band Guns N’ Roses, originally scheduled to perform at Estadio Cuscatlán on Saturday, October 4, will now hold their concert at Estadio Jorge “El Mágico” González. This change allows both of La Selecta’s qualifying matches to be played at the “Coloso de Monserrat.”
“After a series of efforts and in response to popular demand, we are pleased to announce that our senior national team’s CONCACAF World Cup qualifying matches next October (Oct. 10 vs. Panama and Oct. 14 vs. Guatemala) will take place at Estadio Cuscatlán,” the statement reads.
Bukele also thanked the event promoters and the band for agreeing to the stadium change. “We sincerely thank Guns N’ Roses and StarTicket for agreeing to move the concert originally scheduled for October 4 at Estadio Cuscatlán,” the statement adds.
Additionally, Bukele expressed gratitude to the FESFUT Regularization Commission for their efforts with CONCACAF to make this possible, and he urged fans to stay tuned to official channels to purchase tickets and support La Selecta in their World Cup qualifying campaign.
Central America
Honduran president Xiomara Castro suspends activities due to influenza
Honduran President Xiomara Castro announced on Thursday that she has “temporarily” suspended her public activities due to a severe influenza virus.
“A strong influenza virus requires me to rest, trusting that I will be fully recovered for the grand celebration of our National Independence Day” next Monday, Castro stated on the social media platform X.
The president had planned to participate in several inaugurations across the northern, central, and eastern regions of the country throughout the week. She added that “these events will be rescheduled for new dates.”
Central America
Nicaragua’s government expels bishops, priests, and nuns in religious persecution
At least 261 religious figures, including the president of the Nicaraguan Episcopal Conference, Carlos Enrique Herrera, have been expelled as part of the persecution by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo’s regime against the Catholic Church, reported the NGO Colectivo Nicaragua Nunca Más in its report Faith Under Fire.
The report details that among those expelled are bishops Silvio Báez, Rolando Álvarez, Isidoro Mora, as well as the Apostolic Nuncio in Managua, Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag, along with approximately 140 priests, over 90 nuns, ten seminarians, and three deacons from different dioceses in the country.
“Since the expulsion of Nuncio Sommertag in March 2022, relations between Nicaragua and the Vatican have significantly deteriorated,” the NGO noted.
The report also documents the closure of 5,609 non-profit organizations, of which 1,294 were religious, including churches, universities, schools, clinics, and humanitarian organizations. Most of these had their assets confiscated by the Sandinista government. Additionally, the telecommunications regulator TELCOR shut down 54 media outlets, including 22 religious radio stations and TV channels.
Repression has extended to other religious denominations, with forced disappearances and criminalization of evangelical pastors, control over temples, media censorship, fiscal pressure, property confiscation, and the cancellation of legal status for the Moravian Church. Pastor Rudy Palacios remains in detention as part of this pattern of persecution.
The NGO emphasized that churches, especially the Catholic Church, played a key role in the 2018 national dialogue, denouncing abuses and providing refuge to injured protesters, which fueled the government’s hostility.
In 2023, Pope Francis described Ortega’s regime as a “blatant dictatorship”, to which the Nicaraguan president responded by dissolving the Society of Jesus and labeling the Church as a “mafia” and “anti-democratic.”
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