Central America
Guatemala state of siege extended for feuding communities
AFP
Guatemala on Wednesday extended by a month a state of siege in two indigenous communities locked in a century-old land dispute that boiled over last month into a massacre of 13 people.
The state of siege, imposed a month ago, restricts certain constitutional rights, such as the bearing of arms and right to protest.
The government said the lingering causes that provoked the state of siege and “the presence of armed groups” meant an extension was needed, according to a decree published in the official gazette, Diario de Centro America.
It said the extension in the neighboring western municipalities of Nahuala and Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan was necessary to “maintain constitutional order, the security of the State and to recover the governability of the territory.”
The state of siege must still be ratified by Congress, which is controlled by the governing party and its allies.
Last month, armed men with high caliber weapons ambushed a group of people from Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan who went to the village of Chiquix in Nahuala to pick corn, killing 13 people, including three children and a police officer.
The bodies of the three children, aged between five and 14, were chopped up into pieces and the victims were burned inside the truck they were traveling in.
Three people have been detained over the massacre.
Both warring communities are members of the Mayan K’iche tribe and have been fighting over land — at times violently — for more than 100 years.
The Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan community claims those in Nahuala have stolen some of their land.
On January 7, a 6,500-strong contingent of police, soldiers and prosecutors came under fire when conducting searches and arrests in the Nahuala community as part of investigations into the massacre.
One police officer was killed and 19 injured.
Two days later, President Alejandro Giammattei offered a reward worth around $6,250 for information leading to the arrest of four indigenous people accused of taking part in both incidents.
On Tuesday, Giammattei took part in a new meeting with leaders of the two communities to try to find an agreement over the border between them.
Indigenous people, many living in poverty, make up more than 40 percent of Guatemala’s population of almost 17 million people, according to official statistics.
Central America
El Niño could intensify global climate risks, warns World Meteorological Organization
Latin American countries, one of the regions in the world most affected by El Niño, must “take extreme precautions” and make use of so-called “climate intelligence” to mitigate the most severe impacts of the phenomenon, the Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Celeste Saulo, told EFE on Tuesday.
With a 90% probability, El Niño is expected to return in the second half of this year, and a strong intensity cannot be ruled out.
As a result, the phenomenon could trigger intense rainfall and flooding in some areas, while causing droughts in others, leading to direct impacts on communities and a wide range of economic sectors, including fishing and agriculture.
Saulo said countries in the region have improved their scientific and institutional capacity to monitor and respond to El Niño, as well as to understand how it interacts with other climate variables, including those linked to climate change, in order to better forecast “more or less severe impacts.”
When describing likely consequences in South and Central America, the Argentine scientist first referred to the “Coastal El Niño,” as the phenomenon is known in Peru and Ecuador.
She explained that this event brings increased rainfall and ocean warming, which strongly affects the fishing industry.
She added that northern South America, Central America, and northeastern Brazil are typically exposed to below-normal rainfall or drought conditions. In past extreme episodes, El Niño has even affected the operational capacity of the Panama Canal and created serious water access and management challenges during severe droughts.
In contrast, southeastern South America—including southern Brazil, Paraguay, northern and northeastern Argentina, and Uruguay—can expect above-average rainfall, increasing the risk of flooding, severe storms, and landslides.
Given the potential for fear and misinformation among populations, Saulo urged people to “trust the institutions responsible for meteorological information,” stressing that national meteorological services are the official and authoritative sources in each country.
“These are the ultimate responsible authorities and the voices of expertise,” she emphasized.
The most recent El Niño episode occurred between 2023 and 2024 and was among the five strongest ever recorded, contributing to record global temperatures.
The WMO chief noted that climate models remain uncertain about the intensity of the next El Niño, though more accurate forecasts are expected in the coming weeks.
While climate change has not been proven to increase the frequency or intensity of El Niño events, scientists do know that both can interact and amplify extreme weather impacts, potentially leading to natural disasters.
Although Latin America is often heavily affected, El Niño impacts can also be felt in North America, the Caribbean, central and eastern Africa, parts of Asia, and Australia.
Central America
Northern Guatemala community warns of possible famine as dry season intensifies
As drought conditions intensify and the likelihood of an upcoming El Niño weather pattern increases, fear is spreading through an Indigenous village in northern Guatemala: the fear of starvation.
“If there is no rain, the crops will not grow. Whatever little we harvest we will eat, or we will have to buy it—if we have money. But if there is nothing, we will starve,” Cecilia Pasá told AFP.
The 38-year-old Maya woman, dressed in a colorful traditional handwoven outfit, has planted a small plot of corn a few meters from her adobe home, where she also raises small farm animals.
In Cunén, a mountainous and hard-to-reach area in the department of Quiché, nearly all of its approximately 47,000 residents live in poverty. Many communities rely on wells that are increasingly insufficient to meet basic water needs.
The region lies within the so-called Dry Corridor, an arid belt that stretches across parts of Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, and is highly vulnerable to extreme climate events.
It was one of the areas in Guatemala hardest hit by the food crisis triggered by El Niño in 2023, a situation that now threatens to repeat itself amid limited government assistance.
El Niño, which occurs every two to seven years, is part of a natural climate cycle that affects sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean and can have significant global weather impacts.
The phenomenon is expected to develop between June and August, with effects likely to be felt worldwide in the following months.
Central America
Thousands of Teachers and Doctors Launch Nationwide Strike in Honduras
Thousands of public school teachers and healthcare workers launched a nationwide strike in Honduras on Monday amid ongoing labor and salary disputes with the government.
The protest action led to the suspension of classes in public schools and disrupted medical services at government-run healthcare facilities across the Central American country.
Union representatives said the strike was called in response to unresolved demands related to working conditions, salary adjustments and other labor concerns affecting employees in the education and health sectors.
As a result of the walkout, thousands of students were unable to attend classes, while patients faced delays and interruptions in medical care at public hospitals and clinics.
The strike represents one of the largest coordinated labor actions in recent months and highlights growing tensions between public sector workers and the Honduran government over employment conditions and compensation.
Authorities have not yet announced when normal operations in schools and healthcare facilities are expected to resume, while negotiations between union leaders and government officials remain ongoing.
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