Central America
Nicaragua dissident jailed under Ortega dies in prison: family
AFP
Former guerrilla Hugo Torres Jimenez, one of 46 opposition figures jailed since last year by the Nicaraguan government of President Daniel Ortega, died on Saturday, his family said in a statement.
He was 73.
The statement offered few details on Torres’ death but expressed his children’s “deep pain over the death of our beloved father.” It was released by the opposition coalition Blue and White National Unity (UNAB), of which Torres was a member.
A former Sandinista dissident, Torres had been held since June 13, 2021, in El Chipote prison, before being transferred in December to a hospital for treatment, sources said.
Torres had been vice president of the opposition Democratic Renovation Union (Unamos), formerly the Sandinista Renovation Movement, established in 1995 by militants unhappy with Ortega’s leadership.
A retired army general, Torres in 1974 undertook a risky operation to free a group of jailed politicians — including Ortega — being held under the Somoza dictatorship.
But Ortega, who himself has grown increasingly dictatorial as president and as head of the Sandinista National Liberation Front, has accused dozens of opposition figures of conspiring against his government with US backing.
Torres was hailed on Saturday as a “hero” by ex-guerrilla and exiled Sandinista dissident Monica Baltodano.
She told news website 100% Noticias that Torres was “a true hero of the struggles against the dictatorships that have dominated Nicaragua — the dictatorship of Somoza and now the dictatorship of Ortega, which is a brutal and criminal dictatorship.”
Unamos in January had reported that Torres’ health was deteriorating and demanded details from the government. It offered none.
The Washington-based Organization of American States said it “considers the fact of keeping political prisoners, with terminal illnesses and without necessary medical assistance, an abominable act.”
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said that for months Torres was “denied freedom in inhumane conditions and subjected to a legal process with no guarantees.”
Torres was one of 46 opposition figures detained last year, most of them before November elections in which Ortega was re-elected for a fourth consecutive term. Among the 46 were seven who had planned to run against Ortega.
All have been accused of undermining national integrity and promoting foreign interference in Nicaragua.
Eighteen have been found guilty in the past two weeks, and seven have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from eight to 13 years.
Central America
Panama’s President Mulino: “We are regaining international trust” to exit tax haven lists
Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino stated on Tuesday that the Central American country is “regaining international trust” regarding lists that label it as a tax haven, and that it hopes to be removed from these lists in the near future.
“At the international level, we are regaining confidence. Panama is taking firm steps to get off the European Union’s list, thanks to the coordinated work of various institutions,” Mulino said during his first-year report speech before the deputies.
The Panamanian president emphasized that he has “increased” his “engagement” with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) “not only with the aim of leaving these lists but also to begin our path toward joining that important group of democratic states and prosperous economies.”
Since taking office on July 1, 2024, Mulino has stressed that he will work to have Panama removed from what he calls “discriminatory” lists that consider it a tax haven. He has even focused part of his official conversations during trips to Europe on this issue.
Currently, Panama has strengthened banking regulations following the 2016 Panama Papers scandal. However, it remains on some lists, such as that of the Netherlands, while it has been removed from others, including the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list in 2023.
Additionally, the European Commission recommended in June that Panama be removed from its list of jurisdictions with a high risk of money laundering and terrorist financing. The European Parliament and member states still have a month (extendable to two) to review the proposal, and unless opposed, it will take effect after that period.
Central America
Castro to address FfD4 in Spain as Global Financial Reform takes center stage
Honduran President Xiomara Castro will participate in the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), to be held in Seville, Spain, from June 30 to July 3, Honduran Ambassador to Spain Marlon Brevé announced on Saturday.
The president is expected to arrive in Seville on Sunday and deliver her address on Monday, according to the diplomat.
Castro will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Javier Bu, her private secretary and son Héctor Zelaya, and Finance Minister Christian Duarte.
Spain is hosting the FfD4 conference at a critical time, as global development cooperation budgets face constraints while humanitarian needs continue to grow due to conflicts, political instability, and the climate crisis.
The conference will bring together world leaders, international organizations, private sector representatives, and civil society, aiming to review and reorient global development financing strategies.
Organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) through its Office for Financing for Sustainable Development, this high-level forum has been held since 2002 to promote structural financial reforms.
Key goals of the FfD4 include mobilizing greater volumes of capital at lower costs and reforming the international financial architecture to support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and meet the urgent needs of developing nations.
Central America
Migrants stranded in Panama amid US Policy crackdown and Darién gap barriers
Migrants who once dreamed of reaching the United States are now forced to head back south after the arrival of President Donald Trump and stricter immigration policies. Many are stranded in Panama, caught between the Darién jungle barrier and the high costs of crossing the Caribbean Sea.
In Miramar, a small coastal town in Panama, dozens of migrants—mostly Venezuelans—wait for a chance to continue their journey to Colombia. Private boat rides to the border are out of reach for many, with fares reaching up to $260 per person.
“Here we’re stopped by the sea and the money. If it were a road, we’d already be in Colombia. But paying for three tickets for me and my children is impossible,” lamented Marielbis Eloina Campos, a 33-year-old Venezuelan traveling alone with her four young children after waiting a week in Miramar.
Campos left Brazil in 2023 and crossed the dangerous Darién jungle alone with her children, one carried on her back. The journey took six days, and she recalls one child nearly drowning while crossing a river. Despite the risks, she reached Mexico City, where she stayed over a year waiting for an asylum appointment via the CBP-One app. However, its cancellation under the Trump administration forced her to give up and return to Brazil.
“Mexico is torture for us migrants. I feared my children would be kidnapped,” said Campos, who pleaded for help to continue without being chased as if immigration authorities were “a mafia.”
Due to the high cost of private transport, Panama organized a humanitarian trip that transported 109 migrants from nine nationalities from Colón to the Colombian border aboard an official boat of the National Aeronaval Service (Senan). Another similar operation is expected soon.
Panama’s president, José Raúl Mulino, expressed concern about this reverse migration flow:
“I am worried that the number of people moving from north to south is increasing,” he said this month.
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