Central America

Nicaragua opposition leader Chamorro sentenced to 8 years in prison: NGO

AFP

Nicaragua’s main opposition figure and would-be presidential challenger to Daniel Ortega was sentenced Monday to eight years in prison after being found guilty of financial crimes, a human rights group said.

Cristiana Chamorro, 68, will remain under house arrest, as she has been since she was detained in June, according to the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH).

The charges brought by President Ortega’s government had prevented her from running in the November presidential election in which she was regarded as the favorite.

Chamorro was accused by the state of laundering money, property and assets through her media foundation as well as promoting “ideological falsehood” and destabilizing the government.

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Chamorro’s brother Pedro Joaquin Chamorro and two former employees of her free speech foundation, as well as her driver, were also convicted by a court last week.

Pedro Joaquin Chamorro was sentenced to nine years in prison and is being held at the Judicial Assistance Directorate (DAJ) of the police.

The three others also received sentences of up to 13 years.

CENIDH said Cristiana Chamorro and the others were also slapped with “million-dollar fines” that are “impossible to pay, and if they are commuted, it would be the equivalent to life imprisonment.”

Chamorro has denied the charges against her and said they were only brought to block her from running against Ortega, the 76-year-old former guerrilla who has governed since 2007 and who won a fourth consecutive term in November.

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“They want to stain my name, but they will not succeed,” she told the court at the end of the trial, according to 100% News, an online media outlet critical of the government. “They will never succeed in staining the name of my father or my mother, because I am innocent.”

A journalist not aligned with any political party, Chamorro is one of seven former presidential candidates and nearly 40 opposition figures arrested last year in the run-up to the November 7 election.

She is the daughter of former president Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, who defeated Ortega at the polls in 1990, and of journalist Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, was shot dead in Managua in 1978 for opposing the Somoza dictatorship, which ruled Nicaragua for nearly half a century until the victory of Ortega’s Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) in 1979.

During Chamorro’s seven-day, closed-door trial, the government alleged financial crimes were committed through the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation, a press freedom training and defense center that Chamorro directed for 20 years and which has since been shuttered.

The state said the foundation was used to receive money from abroad to go towards destabilizing the government of Ortega and his vice-president and wife Rosario Murillo.

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Central America

Guatemala narrows emergency measures to hardest-hit gang violence areas

The government of Guatemala has narrowed the scope of its state of emergency to the areas most affected by gang violence, Interior Minister Marco Antonio Villeda announced on Thursday.

The measure comes two months after coordinated attacks attributed to the Barrio 18 left 11 police officers dead.

President Bernardo Arévalo initially imposed a state of siege in mid-January following the violence, which was reportedly in retaliation for government intervention in three prisons where gang leaders had staged uprisings.

That measure, which allowed arrests without a warrant, expired after one month. It was then replaced by a less restrictive “state of prevention,” alongside an increased security deployment in Guatemala City and surrounding areas.

According to Villeda, the state of prevention has been extended for two additional weeks but will now apply primarily to the central department of Guatemala — home to the capital — and Escuintla, which have recorded the highest levels of homicides and criminal activity.

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“We need to continue these joint operations between the police and the military to maintain control,” the minister said.

The measure will also remain in effect in border departments including Petén, San Marcos and Huehuetenango, which border Mexico, as well as Izabal, which borders Honduras and Belize, in an effort to prevent the entry of criminal groups linked to drug trafficking.

Villeda added that in the past two weeks, homicides have dropped by 25% and extortion cases by 33% compared to the same period in 2025.

Central America

Costa Rica closes embassy in Cuba, citing human rights concerns

The government of Costa Rica announced on Wednesday the closure of its embassy in Cuba, a move that signals a further deterioration in diplomatic relations between the two nations.

Foreign Minister Arnoldo André confirmed that Costa Rica has also requested the withdrawal of Cuban diplomatic personnel from San José, leaving only consular representation in place.

According to André, the decision is driven by concerns over the worsening human rights situation on the island, including increased repression against citizens and opposition figures.

He also noted that Cuba’s ongoing economic and social crisis—marked by shortages of food, medicine, and basic services—has made the operation of the embassy increasingly difficult.

President Rodrigo Chaves backed the measure, stating that his administration does not recognize the legitimacy of Cuba’s political system.

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In response, the Cuban government rejected the decision, calling it a “unilateral” move taken under pressure from United States.

“Under pressure from the United States, Costa Rica has limited its relations with Cuba to consular matters,” Cuba’s Foreign Ministry said, describing the action as “arbitrary.”

Despite the diplomatic setback, Cuban authorities stated that historical ties between the two nations would endure.

Central America

Costa Rica closes Cuba embassy as president escalates rhetoric

The president of Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chaves, escalated political rhetoric on Wednesday, stating that “the hemisphere must be cleansed of communists,” following his government’s decision to close its embassy in Cuba.

The remarks come as Costa Rica moves to downgrade diplomatic relations with the island, citing a sustained deterioration in human rights. Chaves reiterated that his administration does not recognize the legitimacy of the Cuban government, accusing it of repression and of maintaining poor living conditions for its population.

“We do not recognize the legitimacy of that government. We will not maintain a consulate there; services will be handled from Panama,” Chaves said during a press conference.

The president also argued that the communist model has “failed” not only in Cuba but in every country where it has been implemented, emphasizing that freedom is essential for development.

The decision was made in coordination with president-elect Laura Fernández, who is set to take office on May 8 and is expected to maintain the same foreign policy stance.

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Foreign Minister Arnoldo André confirmed the closure of the embassy in Havana and requested that Cuba withdraw its diplomatic personnel from San José, while maintaining limited consular functions.

Costa Rican authorities justified the move by pointing to increased repression against citizens, activists, and opposition figures, as well as restrictions on fundamental freedoms.

The closure marks a new point of tension in bilateral relations and comes amid growing international pressure on Cuba.