Central America

Images of “Kyûtu-chan”

Four retired senior members of the Guatemalan military—including two high-ranking officers previously thought to be untouchable, former Army Chief of Staff Benedicto Lucas García and former chief of military intelligence Manuel Callejas y Callejas—were convicted of involvement in crimes against humanity. Three received a sentence of 58 years in prison, while one was sentenced to 33 years. The former officials faced charges arising from the detention, torture and sexual violation of Emma Molina Theissen, and the enforced disappearance of Emma’s 14-year-old brother Marco Antonio, in 1981. (Photo: Waging Nonviolence)

Central America

Guatemala: convictions in Río Negro massacre

On May 28, a court in Salamá, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala, sentenced five former members of the Civil Patrols, a paramilitary network established by the army during the counter-insurgency war, each to 780 years in prison for the killing of 26… Read moreGuatemala: convictions in Río Negro massacre

Central America

Hydro development exiles indigenous king in Panama

From Reuters, May 22: Tito Santana, one of the last tribal kings in the Americas, has been driven into exile from his lands deep in the Panamanian jungle by a fight over a hydroelectric project that has divided his tiny… Read moreHydro development exiles indigenous king in Panama

Central America

Colombian “farcpolítica” scandal hits Nicaragua

Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega is under scrutiny for supposed links to Colombia’s FARC guerillas. In one “partially decoded” February e-mail supposedly recovered from the computer of late FARC commander Raúl Reyes, fellow FARC director Iván Márquez wrote that Ortega could… Read moreColombian “farcpolítica” scandal hits Nicaragua

Central America

Nicaragua: rising fuel costs spark transit strike

May 5 marked the beginning of an intended thirty-day strike, with public transport workers and truckers in Nicaragua protesting rising fuel costs and the lack of government impetus to do anything about it. With road blockades in several places in… Read moreNicaragua: rising fuel costs spark transit strike

Central America

El Salvador: Hector Ventura of Suchitoto 14 assassinated

From ElSalvadorSolidarity.org via Upside Down World, May 8: On Friday May 2, Hector Antonio Ventura was assassinated in the community of Valle Verde, Suchitoto. Ventura was the youngest of the 14 political prisoners captured in Suchitoto on July 2, 2007…. Read moreEl Salvador: Hector Ventura of Suchitoto 14 assassinated

Central America

Nicaragua hosts emergency food summit

At an emergency food-security summit held May 7 in Managua, 14 Latin American and Caribbean nations convened under the umbrella of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA). Nicaragua‘s President Daniel Ortega called the food crisis an “epic problem” caused… Read moreNicaragua hosts emergency food summit

Central America

El Salvador: arrest in FMLN mayor’s murder

From the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES), April 30: Attorney General’s office announces capture of suspects in assassination of FMLN Mayor In the early dawn hours of April 14, El Salvador’s National Civilian Police (PNC)… Read moreEl Salvador: arrest in FMLN mayor’s murder

Central America

Honduras: union leaders murdered

According to union sources, some 40,000 Hondurans participated in May Day celebrations, which included marches in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula. The three main labor federations marched together, along with a number of grassroots groups and coalitions, including the Popular… Read moreHonduras: union leaders murdered

Central America

US pushes police powers at Salvador “anti-gang” summit

From the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES), April 18: US Ambassador Uses Anti-Gang Summit to Intervene in Salvadoran Domestic Security Issues During an April 8 “Anti-Gang Summit” in San Salvador, United States Ambassador Charles Glazer… Read moreUS pushes police powers at Salvador “anti-gang” summit

Central America

Nicaragua headed for General Assembly presidency; US, Colombia miffed

Nicaragua, an outspoken member of the new anti-imperialist bloc in the western hemisphere, last month won the backing of the 33-member Latin American and Caribbean group at the UN for presidency of the General Assembly—nearly assuring it of election to… Read moreNicaragua headed for General Assembly presidency; US, Colombia miffed

Central America

Boss of Mexico’s feared “Zetas” busted in Guatemala

Guatemalan authorities announced April 15 they had captured Daniel Pérez, a senior member of Mexico’s powerful Gulf Cartel, the latest sign that Mexican cartels are seeking control of Central American trafficking routes. Perez (alias Cachetes, or “Cheeks”), who is wanted… Read moreBoss of Mexico’s feared “Zetas” busted in Guatemala

CounterVortex

Tag: Central America

Images of “Kyûtu-chan”

Guatemala: convictions in Río Negro massacre

Hydro development exiles indigenous king in Panama

Colombian “farcpolítica” scandal hits Nicaragua

Nicaragua: rising fuel costs spark transit strike

El Salvador: Hector Ventura of Suchitoto 14 assassinated

Nicaragua hosts emergency food summit

El Salvador: arrest in FMLN mayor’s murder

Honduras: union leaders murdered

US pushes police powers at Salvador “anti-gang” summit

Nicaragua headed for General Assembly presidency; US, Colombia miffed

Boss of Mexico’s feared “Zetas” busted in Guatemala