Central America
Threats from the migratory route in Guatemala: dengue, arrests and climate change
Thousands of migrants cross the border between Honduras and Guatemala daily on their way to the United States, facing the threat of tropical diseases such as dengue, the arrest of security forces and their subsequent deportation or the impact of a route hit by climate change.
On the border of El Corinto, between Guatemala and Honduras, the country’s Red Cross serves migrants who need medical assistance.
“Our job is to alleviate the suffering a little and dignify the lives of people who are in transit,” explains to EFE Mariana Bonilla, who works with the Red Cross at the Care Center for Migrants and Refugees (CAPMIR), located on the Guatemalan side of the border.
Every morning, Bonilla, 31, and the rest of her team, track the border road surrounded by African palm, banana plantations and the imposing Motagua River, the largest in Guatemala, in search of groups of migrants to guide them and indicate the points where they can receive support.
Within its center of attention, supported by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), migrants receive both medical and psychosocial assistance. “Many come with traumas from their passage through the Darién jungle” between Colombia and Panama, explains Bonilla.
Two kilometers after crossing the border, on the migratory route, is the village of Jimeritos, a community made up of farmers dedicated mainly to the cultivation of bananas that for six years has turned its small communal room into a refuge for migrants to rest.
“We are motivated to work with migrants. They leave their countries to seek an improvement for their family and here we give them what we can, because we do not know when we will have the same need,” explains Felicita Palencia, a resident of Jimeritos who was trained by the Red Cross to take care of migrants.
The community lounge has a bedroom with capacity for 12 people and, according to the leaders of the village, there are nights where they receive up to 30 migrants who seek refuge before continuing their journey to the Mexican border of Tecún Umán, located about 540 kilometers at the other end of the country.
Community community members pay attention despite the difficulties they are going through, such as strong dengue epidemics that affect the department of Izabal, where in 2023 more than 500 cases were registered and the region was put on red alert by the health authorities, a disease from which migrants are not freed either.
On May 2, in the community room, the Red Cross gathered the children of the Jimeritos public primary school to give them a talk about hygiene and sanitation measures to eliminate the mosquito that transmits dengue, as well as tools to identify the symptoms of this disease.
Carlos Linares, who has lived in this migrant host village for 42 years, assures EFE that the biggest concern for them is climate change, since the rainy season is approaching and in years such as 2001 and 2020 many houses were destroyed by storms.
“This part of the road is the most difficult to get to the United States, because there are a lot of police and they can return us to Honduras,” Mario Alvarado, a Honduran migrant who decided to look for the “American dream,” explains to EFE.
With temperatures of 40 degrees, Alvarado crossed the border, bordering the Motagua River and the African palm plantations, to end up arrested by the Guatemalan authorities.
Alvarado is the third time he has been on his way to the United States. He does it with his compatriot Danny Gámez, the same one with whom a few months ago they were deported from Texas, United States, after a journey that allowed them to work in the North American nation as painters.
Like Alvarado and Gámez, thousands of migrants seek to cross Guatemala every year and so far in 2024 alone, almost 8,000 have been arrested by the security forces for their subsequent deportation, according to figures from the Guatemalan Migration Institute (IGM).
“It doesn’t matter how many times we are deported. If there are no conditions to live in Honduras, we will always find a way to leave again,” Alvarado reiterates, before moving away between the path of a plantation with his journey companion.
Central America
Honduras: Zelaya Calls for Mobilization Amid Dispute Over Tegucigalpa Mayoral Race
Manuel Zelaya, general coordinator of Honduras’ ruling Liberty and Refoundation Party (Libre, left-wing), on Saturday called on party supporters to mobilize next Monday in support of Tegucigalpa Mayor Jorge Aldana, who claims he is being defrauded in his bid for re-election.
“If the people do not mobilize because it is Christmas, then Libre party militants, out of conscience, must mobilize this Monday at 4:00 p.m. (22:00 GMT) at the INFOP (National Institute for Professional Training) to support Aldana in a peaceful, non-violent and democratic resistance against what they are already applying as the ‘Trump Algorithm 2025 – Honduras-style elections,’” Zelaya wrote on social media platform X.
Aldana, who considers himself the winner of the capital’s mayoral race following the general elections held on November 30, has been camping for 19 days outside the INFOP facilities, where all election materials are stored under military and police protection. The National Electoral Council (CNE) has already declared Nasry Asfura, of the conservative National Party, president-elect.
According to Aldana, who is seeking re-election under the Libre banner, the tally sheets in his possession confirm his victory. However, National Party mayoral candidate Juan Diego Zelaya is reportedly leading by a margin of around 600 votes.
While acknowledging that the margin is extremely narrow, Aldana is demanding a full review of more than 400 tally sheets, which he believes will ultimately confirm his win.
On Friday, Aldana told EFE that the protest camp was established “to raise a voice of protest, grounded in truth.” He added, “I am a journalist, and journalism teaches us to report truthfully, to live by the truth and to die for the truth. Here I am with the tally sheets in hand and the 492 inconsistencies identified by the CNE.”
Although uncertainty surrounding the presidential election results has subsided after Asfura—who is backed by U.S. President Donald Trump—was declared president-elect, tensions persist in municipal and legislative races due to inconsistencies in tally sheets across several of Honduras’ 18 departments.
The situation remains highly complex, as the special vote count has been paralyzed for three consecutive days. The process, which began on December 18 with a five-day delay, involves 2,792 tally sheets with reported inconsistencies.
According to CNE council members Ana Paola Hall (president) and Cossette López, representatives of the Liberal and National parties respectively, the paralysis is the result of a political party “boycott” at the Electoral Logistics Center (CLE).
The full CNE board, which also includes Marlon Ochoa of the Libre Party, held meetings on Friday and again on Saturday, virtually, to address delays in the special count of municipal and legislative election results.
Central America
International leaders congratulate Honduras’ president-elect Asfura
The United States government was among the first to congratulate the president-elect, through Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a press briefing that Beijing “is willing to work with Honduras to jointly promote the continued development of bilateral relations.”
The European Union also expressed its commitment and interest in working with Asfura to advance “shared priorities aimed at deepening bilateral ties.”
In addition, the foreign ministries of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay issued messages congratulating the president-elect.
Presidents from Panama and Paraguay, as well as the government of Chile, also extended their congratulations to Asfura. Furthermore, the governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and the Dominican Republic released a joint statement saying: “We reaffirm our solidarity with the Honduran people and express our hope that the transition will take place in a peaceful and orderly manner.”
Central America
Guatemala arrests 92 salvadoran gang members in 2025
Between January 1 and December 25, 2025, a total of 92 Salvadoran gang members were arrested in Guatemala, according to a report released by that country’s National Civil Police (PNC).
The arrests were carried out as part of border control operations and efforts to combat transnational crime, aimed at preventing members of terrorist criminal structures from entering or remaining in Guatemala after fleeing El Salvador’s state of emergency, which has been in force since March 27, 2022.
The Guatemalan PNC reported that 46 of those detained were expelled and handed over to Salvadoran authorities at the four land border crossings between the two countries.
According to official information, Guatemala’s Interpol National Central Office (NCB) and the Salvadoran National Civil Police maintain close coordination and information-sharing mechanisms to verify the criminal records of gang members.
The 46 individuals expelled to El Salvador were wanted on charges including illicit association, extortion, homicide, drug trafficking, illegal restriction of freedom of movement, and other forms of organized and complex crime.
Guatemalan police transferred the suspects to their Salvadoran counterparts, who then referred them to the courts seeking their arrest. The most recent detainee was Melvin Antonio Mejía Rivas, alias “Porky,” a member of the 18th Street gang, who was apprehended in Zone 16 of Guatemala City. He has been wanted for illicit association since November 4, 2019.
Another arrest involved Judith Cristina Cáceres de Rivera, originally from Ahuachapán, who was detained in Zone 3 of San José Pinula on extortion charges. Authorities said she demanded 7,000 quetzales per week from a local व्याप merchant.
Guatemalan police also reported that 46 Salvadorans have been arrested in the country for committing various criminal offenses.
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