Central America

Talks planned to end 100-year Guatemala indigenous dispute

AFP

Hundreds of indigenous people lifted their blockage of a major road in Guatemala on Tuesday after an agreement was reached for talks to resolve a bloody century-old land dispute.

On Monday, members of the Mayan K’iche group had blocked the Interamericana highway with the caskets of 11 of the 13 victims of a weekend massacre in which four children aged between five and 16 were alleged killed with machetes.

The roadblock was lifted after an agreement among residents who had traveled to Guatemala City to meet government officials to try to start talks over a legal border between two rival communities.

“A dialogue will begin in the first half of January, where the issue of the border will be discussed,” said Mateo Tzep, 42, a community leader from Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan municipality that is in conflict with the neighboring Nahuala.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

Although both communities are K’iche, they have been fighting over land — at times violently — for more than 100 years.

On Friday night, armed men with “high caliber” weapons ambushed a group of people from Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan who went to the village of Chiquix in Nahuala to pick corn.

The children were cut into pieces and the victims were then burnt inside the truck they were traveling in. A police vehicle was also attacked, leaving one officer dead and two injured.

The Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan community claims those in Nahuala have stolen some of their land.

On Monday, President Alejandro Giammattei declared a month-long state of siege in the two communities, which means demonstrations and the right to carry weapons are banned.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

“These events are no longer the product of an ancestral land conflict. They are the direct consequence of an illegal armed and organized group that acted against civilians and security forces through an ambush,” said Giammattei.

He vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Three men carrying M16 rifles were arrested on Sunday. Authorities said they would carry out forensic tests on the weapons to see if they were used in the massacre.

Protesters had blocked the Interamaericana — one of Guatemala’s main highways, which links the capital to the west — with tires, tree trunks, rocks and concrete blocks.

“We don’t want any more deaths, we don’t want any more violence. We are looking for peace and justice,” said a man at the roadblock who identified himself only as Diego.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

Indigenous people, many living in poverty, make up more than 40 percent of Guatemala’s almost 17 million population, according to official statistics.

Central America

Analyst questions IACHR role over report on El Salvador emergency measures

Political analyst Óscar Martínez Peñate on Tuesday called for a review of the role currently played by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), arguing that it has undermined its credibility by hosting the presentation of a report critical of El Salvador.

Speaking during the interview program Panorama, Martínez questioned the commission’s decision to accept a report prepared by the Grupo Internacional de Expertas y Expertos para la Investigación de Violaciones de Derechos Humanos en El Salvador, which examines alleged human rights violations under the country’s state of emergency.

“We should examine what the current role of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is. How is it possible that they agree to host the presentation of a report whose premise is against a State, a government, a political system, and Salvadoran society?” Martínez said.

He added that by allowing the presentation of the report, the commission “automatically disqualifies itself.”

Martínez also questioned whether it is appropriate for the IACHR to serve as a “platform” for what he described as the defense of criminals, by treating the GIPES report as credible.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

According to the analyst, the commission is acting in a way that contradicts its mandate by enabling narratives that, in his view, go against Salvadoran society.

Central America

El Salvador destroys $166 million worth of cocaine seized from Tanzanian vessel

A total of 6,606 kilograms of cocaine, valued at more than $166.1 million, were destroyed on Tuesday in an operation led by the Fiscalía General de la República, in coordination with the Policía Nacional Civil, the Superintendencia de Regulación Sanitaria, and the Cuerpo de Bomberos de El Salvador.

The drugs had been seized on February 13 by the Naval Task Force Tridente of the Salvadoran Navy aboard a vessel flying the flag of Tanzania.

Authorities reported that the ship was intercepted approximately 380 nautical miles southwest of the Salvadoran coast. On board were 10 individuals of different nationalities: four Colombians, three Nicaraguans, two Panamanians, and one Ecuadorian.

The detainees were identified as Colombians Luis Enrique Rodelo Osorio, Antonio José Ángulo Narváez, Mario Alonso Pérez Hernández, and Miguel Antonio Galeano Ariaza; Nicaraguans José Martín Cerda Cea, Roberto Adolfo Díaz, and Francisco Javier García Duval; Panamanians Yareth Sanir Carr Garcés and Vicente Ramos; and Ecuadorian José Ramiro Valencia.

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, following the initial hearing, the Tribunal Primero Contra el Crimen Organizado de San Salvador ordered that the suspects remain in custody while the investigation continues, and authorized the destruction of the seized drugs.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

International

Trump Says Iran Is Welcome at 2026 World Cup but Warns of Security Concerns

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, said Thursday that the national football team of Iran is “welcome” to participate in the 2026 World Cup, although he suggested it might be safer for the team not to take part in the tournament.

“The Iranian national soccer team is welcome at the World Cup, but I really don’t think it’s appropriate for them to be there, for their own safety,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

His comments came a day after Iran’s sports minister, Ahman Donyamali, said that there are currently no conditions for the country to participate in the tournament following the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, during a military offensive launched on February 28 by Israel and the United States.

“After the corrupt government killed our leader, there are no conditions that allow us to take part in the World Cup,” the Iranian official said. He added that the country has faced two wars in the past eight or nine months, resulting in thousands of civilian deaths, making participation in the tournament unlikely.

On Tuesday, the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, met with Trump at the White House.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

Following the meeting, Infantino said that Trump reiterated that Iran’s national team would be allowed to compete in the FIFA World Cup 2026.

“We discussed the current situation in Iran and the fact that the Iranian team has qualified to participate in the FIFA World Cup 2026. During the conversation, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States,” Infantino wrote on Instagram.