Central America

Sex abuse trial starts for Guatemalan ex-paramilitaries

AFP

A trial started in Guatemala Wednesday for five former paramilitary soldiers accused of sexually abusing 36 indigenous Mayan women some 40 years ago during the country’s civil war.

The five are former members of Guatemala’s Civil Self-Defense Patrols (PAC) blamed for several atrocities during the 1960-1996 war in which an estimated 200,000 people were killed or disappeared.

They will take part via videoconference from the Mariscal Zavala jail where they are being detained for crimes committed between 1981 and 1985 around the town of Rabinal, north of the capital Guatemala City.

The population of Rabinal was particularly hard hit by the war. A mass grave with the bodies of more than 3,000 people was discovered in the area.

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Thirty-six women have come forward in the last decade with accusations of sexual violence committed against them during that time.

The identities of most of the women are being withheld for their own security, said their lawyer Lucia Xiloj.

Some have already given recorded evidence to investigators, which will be played in court.

Only five of the victims have opted to be present for the trial before Judge Jazmin Barrios in the Supreme Court of Justice.

According to Xiloj, many Mayan women “were raped after the (forced) disappearance of their husbands” by paramilitaries and soldiers.

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Nobel Peace Prize laureate Rigoberta Menchu told reporters at the court that Guatemala had failed to “fulfill its obligation to defend these sisters who were raped, tortured, humiliated and subjected to (sexual) slavery during so many years of armed conflict.”

A United Nations truth commission documented 669 massacres committed during Guatemala’s civil war, of which 93 percent were attributed to government forces.

Central America

Panama and OECD sign deal to boost investment climate and global integration

The Government of Panama and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) signed an agreement this Friday in Paris aimed at improving the country’s investment climate through data exchange, expert missions, and policy benchmarking.

“This is not a symbolic act. It is a strategic decision. A statement of intent. A commitment to transformation,” said Panama’s Foreign Minister, Javier Martínez-Acha, following the signing, according to an official statement.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by Martínez-Acha and OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann at the organization’s headquarters in the French capital.

According to Panama’s Foreign Ministry, the agreement establishes “a solid and forward-looking framework for cooperation,” enabling high-level technical collaboration through data sharing, comparative policy analysis, expert missions, and evidence-based recommendations.

Authorities stated that the initiative is expected to enhance the investment environment, boost competitiveness, and improve predictability, while also strengthening governance, fostering innovation, increasing human capital, and aligning the education system with global economic demands.

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The agreement also opens the door for Panama to deepen its participation within OECD bodies, allowing the country to take part in discussions where global standards are defined.

Since taking office in July 2024, President José Raúl Mulino has prioritized efforts to remove Panama from international lists that label it as a tax haven, which his administration considers discriminatory.

As part of this strategy, the government restricted the participation of most European companies—except those from Spain, Italy, and Greece—in public tenders for major infrastructure projects, including a planned railway to the border with Costa Rica and a gas pipeline near the Panama Canal. This move came after the European Union kept Panama on its list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes.

Over the past year, Panama has made progress in this area, including its removal from the European Parliament’s money laundering list and Ecuador’s tax haven list.

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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.