Central America

Salvadoran government is getting ready to immunize 4.5 million citizens

Yesterday, President Nayib Bukele’s government announced that it was getting ready to immunize 4.5 million Salvadorans. Francisco Alabí, Minister of Health, said that to achieve this, the country will acquire 9 million doses of the vaccine through different pharmaceutical companies.

“This way we will cover front-line workers (120,000 people), 750,000 with chronic diseases, 1.4 million senior citizens, and the rest of Salvadorans who are not in any of these groups,” explained Alabí.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health is building 156 COVID-19 vaccination booths, which will be distributed across the country.

Regarding the country’s increase in coronavirus cases, Alabí said that it is “a fairly similar figure to the cases experienced in July and early August, when most Salvadorans probably knew someone who had been infected with this disease.” But he stressed that El Salvador now has a better health-care system and better logistics.

International

Arsenal stun Real Madrid at the Bernabéu to reach Champions League semifinals

Arsenal enjoyed a “historic night” on Wednesday after defeating Real Madrid 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu, knocking them out of the Champions League quarterfinals, midfielder Declan Rice said.

“It’s such a special night for this club, a historic night for this club,” said Rice, who scored twice in the first leg in London, speaking to TNT Sports.

The English international was named Man of the Match in both legs — the 3-0 win in London and the second leg in Madrid.

“It’s amazing. I knew we were on an upward trajectory and we’ve done incredibly well in this competition. We deserve it and we have full confidence in our coach. Reaching the semifinals is unbelievable,” Rice added.

Central America

Petro questions Ecuador’s vote, cites reports of military control and arrests

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Tuesday he had received “concerning” reports regarding Ecuador’s presidential runoff election held last Sunday, and called for greater transparency—drawing a parallel with Venezuela.

“Colombian observers were sent to Ecuador’s elections. The reports I’ve received are troubling,” Petro wrote on his official account on X (formerly Twitter).

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa secured reelection in the second round with 55.6% of the vote, defeating correísta candidate Luisa González, who received 44.4%. The election results were endorsed by international electoral observer missions from the European Union and the Organization of American States (OAS).

Petro pointed to alleged irregularities, stating: “Leonidas Iza, an Indigenous former candidate, was detained days before. Areas with a majority of opposition support were placed under a state of emergency and military control two days before the election.”

Central America

Honduran Police Offer $135K for Tips Leading to the Arrest of Romeo Vásquez

The Honduran Police on Monday raised the reward to 3.5 million lempiras (approximately 135,553 dollars) for information leading to the capture of Romeo Vásquez, the former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces, who is accused of the 2009 murder of a young man during the 2009 coup against former President Manuel Zelaya.

Vásquez, a retired general, is listed among the top ten most wanted Hondurans for various crimes. Also on the list is Yulan Adonay Archaga, the leader of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang, who escaped from a courthouse in El Progreso (northern Honduras) in 2020 and faces five murder charges.

For Archaga, the National Police has also raised the reward to the same amount set for Vásquez.

The Public Ministry (Prosecutor’s Office) accuses Vásquez, former Deputy Chief of the Armed Forces Venancio Cervantes, and former commander of the Special Operations Command Carlos Roberto Puerto, both generals, of the murder of young Isis Obed Murillo and the attempted murder of Alex Roberto Zavala, both of whom were supporters of Zelaya.