The same day that Nayib Bukele staged a military siege of the gang bastion Soyapango, Xiomara Castro deployed police and military in 162 of Honduras’ most marginalized urban communities after decreeing a state of exception. The suspension of constitutional guarantees goes even further than in the Salvadoran model.

A defining moment has come for President Xiomara Castro, who must decide how much free rein to grant a future U.N.-backed anti-corruption commission that could end up investigating her own government.

Four days before the Summit of the Americas begins on June 6 in Los Angeles, the U.S. is short on friends in the Northern Triangle. Even Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, once President Joe Biden’s ally of last resort, said he will not attend.

Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández was expected to make a virtual appearance in federal court in New York on Friday to face drug trafficking and weapons charges after he was arrested in Honduras and extradited overnight to the United States.

On the fourth anniversary of protests in 2018 and the ensuing brutal repression, the opposition seems unable to find a response to the imprisonment of its key leaders and the kidnapping of the electoral process. But the Ortega-Murillo government’s weaknesses are also evident, as shown by recent internal divisions in the Sandinista party.

A major blackout last week left more than 1.5 million clients —including households, businesses, and schools— without electricity, and over 160,000 without water. Authorities reported on Sunday morning that electricity had been restored to almost all clients.

Economist Rodrigo Chaves won Sunday’s presidential election ahead of ex-President José María Figueres (1994-1998). The anti-establishment candidate and former World Bank official is popular among voters who reject traditional politics and grew concerned over the country’s national debt.

U.S. prosecutors in the Southern District of New York have accused former President Juan Orlando Hernández in recent years of funding his political rise with profits from drug traffickers in exchange for protecting their shipments.

An anti-corruption team from Honduras’ Attorney General’s Office visited presidential offices a week after President Juan Orlando Hernández stepped down and found paper shredders and none of the financial documents they were looking for, the chief of the investigators said Thursday.

Honduras’ Supreme Court of Justice on Thursday denied the appeal of former President Juan Orlando Hernández to be held under house arrest during his extradition process.

As Russia invades Ukraine, Ortega is closing arms deals with Putin. Maybe that explains why he is the only Central American leader vocally supporting the Kremlin’s offensive.

Latino Rebels Radio: February 24, 2022

The government of the Dominican Republic on Sunday began construction of a wall along its border with Haiti. President Luis Abinader said that the wall will “drastically reduce irregular migration,” as well as the illegal trade of arms and narcotics.

Police arrested former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández at his home Tuesday, a step toward fulfilling a request by the United States government for his extradition on drug trafficking and weapons charges.

As of Monday afternoon, Honduras still had two parallel Congressional leaderships, both under suspicion of illegality, a sign that does not bode well for the stability for the first days of Castro’s presidency. 

The prospects of Honduras President-elect Xiomara Castro governing with the support of a solid congressional majority took a hit Friday when the selection of leaders for newly-elected lawmakers devolved into shouting and shoving among her own allies.

As Daniel Ortega assumed his fourth consecutive presidential term on January 10, dozens of political prisoners remain behind bars, and those who visited them reported torturous conditions. The Nicaraguan leader still resists international pressure despite increasing isolation

The defeat of the National Party at the ballot box on November 28 set off a political earthquake—not only in the Presidential Palace in Tegucigalpa, but also in the far-flung provinces where drug traffickers reign.

Honduras’ ruling party conceded defeat Tuesday in presidential elections held two days earlier, giving victory to leftist opposition candidate Xiomara Castro and easing fears of another contested vote and violent protests.

Record participation and a 20-point lead for Xiomara Castro defeated fears of a stolen election based on violence during the campaign and past fraud. If confirmed, the results will swing Honduras to the left after 12 years of National Party rule marred by narco-politics and intersecting humanitarian and economic crises.

Chile’s lower house on Tuesday impeached President Sebastián Piñera over alleged financial misconduct revealed in the Pandora Papers. Seventy-eight of the 155 members voted to move forward with the charges.