Central America

Panama’s indigenous people compete to preserve traditional way of life

AFP

Climaco Dogirama wanted to honor his grandfather when he took part in the spear-throwing competition at Panama’s Indigenous Ancestral Games, which seek to preserve age-old customs.

“My grandfather used the spear to hunt. We only use it for sport … but we’re representing him,” he told AFP.

Dogirama, 37, from the Embera community, is one of 250 competitors from Panama’s seven recognized Indigenous ethnicities taking part in traditional athletic feats at the Games.

The major cultural festival transcends the simple quest for sporting success by helping to preserve a way of life.

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“Many of us have lost (our traditions) and we’re recovering them again, we’re rescuing (our ancestors’) culture,” said Dogirama.

It is the third edition of the event that resembles the Scottish Highland Games and Basque rural sports competitions.

In Panama, contestants compete in archery, spear throwing, log carrying, tug-of-war, running, swimming and canoeing in Ngabe-Bugle, the largest of Panama’s five traditional Indigenous regions.

Cesar Cires, from the Ngabe tribe and president of the Indigenous Ancestral Games said the event “was born with the idea of disseminating, preserving and promoting our Indigenous cultures through ancestral sporting activities.”

“Our ancestors were warriors. We try to teach the new generations that once upon a time this was important.”

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David Mezua, 18, who won the open water swimming event in the Caribbean Sea, said he was “proud to be Embera.”

“I’m happy … My grandfather was too and I don’t want to lose our culture, I want to keep it going,” said Mezua.

Kasey Shields, 16, who has a British father and Guna mother, won the women’s swimming discipline.

“I love swimming and even more so my Indigenous culture. I want to learn much more” about it, she said.

Cires said Panama competed in the last two editions of the World Indigenous Games in Brazil in 2015 and Canada two years later.

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He said they will send a delegation to the third edition in Brazil next year,

The seven recognized Indigenous ethnicities in Panama are the Ngabe, Bugle, Guna, Embera, Wounaan, Bri bri and Naso Tjerdi.

Altogether they represent 12 percent of Panama’s 4.3 million population, according to the last official census in 2010.

According to the Denmark-based International Working Group for Indigenous Affairs, these communities “are facing a number of challenges, especially in relation to recognition of and rights to territories as well as forcible eviction.”

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Central America

Guatemala court overturns arrest warrants against former CICIG officials

Indigenous leaders in Guatemala announce increased protests

Colombian Attorney General Luz Adriana Camargo and current ambassador to the Vatican Iván Velásquez were both members of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, a UN-backed body created to investigate corruption networks within the Guatemalan state between 2007 and 2019.

Investigations led by the CICIG resulted in the imprisonment of high-ranking officials. According to international organizations, the arrest warrants issued against Camargo and Velásquez were seen as retaliation for their anti-corruption work.

In mid-2025, an appeals court in Guatemala ordered their detention after prosecutors accused them of obstruction of justice and influence peddling, among other charges. The ruling alleged that they had favored business figures linked to Odebrecht who were under investigation.

However, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court later ruled that the lower court had “overstepped its authority” by issuing the arrest warrants illegally, according to local media reports.

Camargo and Velásquez had immunity due to their roles within a United Nations-backed entity.

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“A month before the end of the term of the corrupt attorney general, Consuelo Porras, it seems the situation is beginning to change in Guatemala,” Velásquez wrote on social media.

Porras—sanctioned by the United States Government and the European Union over allegations of corruption and anti-democratic actions—is set to leave office on May 16 unless she is reappointed by President Bernardo Arévalo, with whom she has been at odds after attempting to block his inauguration two years ago.

The CICIG was unilaterally dissolved by former Guatemalan president Jimmy Morales (2016–2020).

Central America

Honduras police launch high-impact operations amid security concerns

The director of the Policía Nacional de Honduras, Rigoberto Oseguera, presented a recent assessment of the country’s security situation and announced the deployment of high-impact operations in the department of Olancho.

The police chief identified the municipality of Choloma, in the department of Cortés, as one of the most critical areas for crime at a regional level. This comes despite an overall downward trend in violence across the Valle de Sula.

Oseguera also noted that the Central District—comprising Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela—records a high number of homicides. However, he explained that the rate remains comparatively low due to population density, although crime levels in Francisco Morazán still require special attention.

He added that the police have deployed five tactical intervention teams across key regions, including Valle de Sula, Olancho, Francisco Morazán, and the southern part of the country. In addition, authorities have identified multiple criminal incidents in the municipality of Concordia.

“It is a serious situation. These are long-standing social problems in the region, but it is time to act and not make excuses,” Oseguera emphasized.

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Central America

El Salvador and Paraguay approve 2026–2028 cooperation program

The governments of El Salvador and Paraguay approved the 2026–2028 Cooperation Program, which includes six joint development projects, according to Salvadoran Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Adriana Mira.

Mira stated that El Salvador will act as the “main provider of cooperation,” contributing five initiatives focused on road infrastructure, tourism, and local development. She also noted that one of the projects will be led by the Paraguayan side, although no further details were disclosed.

The agreement was reached during the Second Meeting of the Joint Commission on Technical and Scientific Cooperation between both countries.

According to Paraguay’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the First Meeting of the Political Consultation and Bilateral Coordination Mechanism was also held, with the participation of Vice Minister Víctor Verdún.

In an official statement, the Paraguayan government reported that both delegations agreed to identify mechanisms to promote competitiveness, economic growth, and market access. They also committed to signing agreements related to air transport cooperation.