Central America

Panama to welcome foreign doctors hired to fight COVID-19

Panama’s Minister of Health, Luis Francisco Sucre, said that they expect the foreign doctors hired to help tackle the COVID-19 pandemic to arrive this week.

“They should arrive before the end of the week. We are just arranging some of their flights,” said the Minister of Health. The official told Telemetro Reporta that “two large groups have already confirmed, the first one from Cuba, and the second one from the United States, but the US group will arrive in January.”

He added that later on doctors, from countries such as Venezuela and Colombia, who have also said that they have possibilities to come, will arrive. Some doctors’ resumes are also being reviewed through PAHO, authorities said.

Panama hired foreign doctors in view of the increase in installed capacity, and the fact that they made numerous calls, but not enough specialized staff showed up.

Central America

Mexico’s president proposes regional economic summit at CELAC

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum held bilateral meetings on Wednesday with the presidents of Uruguay (Yamandú Orsi), Guatemala (Bernardo Arévalo), Brazil (Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva), and Colombia (Gustavo Petro) ahead of her participation in the IX Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Honduras.

“Before the CELAC Summit, we met with the presidents of Uruguay, Guatemala, Brazil, and Colombia. We are sister nations that share a progressive vision,” Sheinbaum posted on social media.

During the meetings, Sheinbaum called for a Summit on Latin America’s Economic Wellbeing, in response to the ongoing U.S. tariff war. She stressed the urgent need for unity and solidarity among Latin American and Caribbean governments and peoples to deepen regional integration.

Amid the new round of tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, Sheinbaum reiterated her belief that the economic integration Mexico has with North America should be extended to the entire continent.

Central America

Colombia to host fourth EU-CELAC Summit in November

The Fourth Summit between the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) will take place on November 9 and 10 in Santa Marta, Colombia, according to a joint statement released Wednesday by the Colombian government and the European Council.

The summit will be co-chaired by Colombian President Gustavo Petro, in his role as pro tempore president of CELAC, and European Council President António Costa, the statement added.

The last EU-CELAC summit took place in July 2023 in Brussels, when both blocs agreed to hold these meetings every two years.

The summit brings together the 27 EU member states and the 33 CELAC countries, representing 14% of the global population, 21% of global GDP, and one-third of the members of the United Nations, the communiqué noted.

Central America

CELAC condemns unilateral sanctions in ‘Tegucigalpa Declaration’

The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) formally rejected on Wednesday the “imposition of unilateral coercive measures that violate International Law, including those that restrict international trade.”

This position was expressed in the “Tegucigalpa Declaration,” which was “adopted by sufficient consensus among 30 member states” out of the 33 countries that make up the regional organization.

According to Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina, there was “sufficient consensus among 30 states” to adopt the declaration, with three countries distancing themselves from the resolution.

“Argentina, Paraguay, and Nicaragua decided not to adopt the declaration for their own reasons,” Reina explained.