Central America

EU, US widen Nicaragua sanctions as Ortega begins new term

AFP

Daniel Ortega was sworn in Monday as Nicaragua’s president for a fourth straight term as the EU and US tightened sanctions over impugned elections held in November with all his challengers in jail.

“Yes, I swear,” said strongman Ortega as he and his wife Rosario Murillo, who was re-elected vice-president, were sworn in at a ceremony attended by the presidents of Cuba and Venezuela and envoys from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea and Syria, among others.

Even before the event got under way, the European Union announced fresh sanctions against individuals it accuses of “undermining democracy” and human rights abuses in Nicaragua, including Ortega’s daughter and a son — both working as presidential advisors.

Others sanctioned “in view of the worsening situation in Nicaragua” were senior officials of the country’s police force and electoral body, said the EU.

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In Washington, the US Treasury placed sanctions on six regime officials, including two generals, the defense minister, the head of the Supreme Electoral Council and officials of the telecommunications regulator, who allegedly ran a social media troll farm to help Ortega.

Travel restrictions were imposed on 116 individuals tied to the regime, including mayors, prosecutors, security and university officials “complicit in undermining democracy,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

In his inaugural address, Ortega, 76, mocked the sanctions, calling them a “decoration” for Brenda Rocha, the electoral council head, who was one of the officials sanctioned.

He called the US measures “cowardly” and “cruel (…) not just to Nicaragua” but also to Cuba and Venezuela, which have also been subjected for years to “brutal sanctions” that he said must cease.

– Russia and China –

In the months leading up to the November 7 vote, Nicaraguan authorities detained nearly 40 opposition figures, including seven would-be presidential challengers, assuring victory for long-time ruler Ortega.

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As the international community rained opprobrium and sanctions on Ortega, he sought to improve ties with economic giants China and Russia.

Managua switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to Beijing, in return for which China reopened its embassy in the Central American nation and donated thousands of coronavirus vaccines.

Moscow, in response to outreach from Managua, provided the country with wheat, vaccines, even buses for public transport.

A firebrand Marxist in his youth, Ortega ruled Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990, after leading a guerrilla army that ousted US-backed dictator Anastasio Somoza.

Returning to power in 2007, he has won re-election three times, becoming increasingly dictatorial and quashing presidential term limits.

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Ortega, with Murillo on his ticket, garnered 75 percent of the vote in November.

The election took place without independent international observers and with most foreign media denied access to the country.

The Nicaraguan parliament is dominated by Ortega allies, who also control the judiciary and electoral bodies.

Days before the election, Facebook announced it had closed a Nicaraguan government troll farm spreading anti-opposition messages.

Besides Rocha, the head of the Supreme Electoral Council, the European Union also imposed sanctions on the council’s deputy head and a senior official who was acting chief in 2018.

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The country’s telecoms enterprise was also listed for its bid “to silence independent media” and spread “disinformation.”

– ‘Sham’ –

US President Joe Biden has slammed the vote as a “sham” and the Washington-based Organization of American States (OAS) said it was “not free, just or transparent.”

As sanctions were almost immediately announced by the US, EU, Canada, and Britain, Russia attacked the West for not recognizing the results.

“We consider this unacceptable and we strongly condemn such a stance,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in November.

The US State Department says Ortega’s regime continues to hold 170 political prisoners.

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They include some 120 people who participated in anti-government protests in 2018 that were brutally repressed, causing more than 300 deaths and sending more than 100,000 people into exile, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Ortega insists the jailed are criminals and “terrorists” seeking to overthrow him with help from the United States.

Dozens of Nicaraguan exiles protested in neighboring Costa Rica on Sunday against Ortega’s inauguration.

The protest came on the same day that Nicaragua’s new parliament, also elected in November and dominated by Ortega’s left-wing Sandinista National Liberation Front, was officially opened.

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Central America

Mulino Vows Tougher Crackdown as Homicides Increase in Panama

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino said Thursday that his administration will not negotiate with gangs in an attempt to curb the wave of violence that has recently shaken the country and fueled growing public concern over insecurity.

“I am not going to sit down, nor is the security minister going to sit down with the leader of any gang to negotiate,” Mulino stated while rejecting any possibility of dialogue with criminal organizations.

According to statistics from the Public Ministry of Panama, the country recorded 62 homicides in April, nearly double the 34 reported during the same month last year. In March, authorities registered 53 killings, representing a 20% increase compared to the same period in 2025.

Panamanian authorities say the country’s two main gangs, among more than 180 criminal organizations identified nationwide, are behind the recent escalation in violence.

The National Police of Panama stated that disputes over territorial control, recruitment of new members, and drug theft between rival gangs are driving the increase in murders and armed attacks.

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Mulino also expressed concern about innocent civilians becoming victims of the violence.

“They are in restaurants, they are in schools, and they become victims of these shootings,” the president said.

The Panamanian leader further called for tougher judicial measures against gang leaders and drug trafficking operators, criticizing court decisions that grant house arrest to suspects linked to contract killings and organized crime.

“We are going to act as we must to defend the overwhelming majority of Panamanian citizens, who are not criminals and are not drug traffickers,” Mulino stated.

Authorities believe that rising cocaine production in South America and Panama’s role as a transit route for drugs destined for the United States and Europe continue to strengthen gangs involved in narcotics trafficking.

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Central America

Arévalo Announces Overhaul of Guatemala’s Prison System Amid Security Crisis

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo said Thursday that his administration is working on a major transformation of the country’s prison system in an effort to end what he described as a “feast of corruption” inside Guatemala’s jails.

Speaking during an official ceremony in which Guatemala received 20 new inmate transport vehicles with support from the United States and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), Arévalo stressed that prisons must no longer remain under the control of criminal organizations.

“Prisons should not be places where crime is perfected, but places where rehabilitation becomes possible,” the president said during his speech.

Arévalo explained that the addition of the new vehicles will strengthen security, surveillance, and operational control within the penitentiary system, which is considered one of the most overcrowded in the region.

Guatemala’s prisons currently hold more than 25,000 inmates in facilities originally designed for approximately 7,000 people, representing overcrowding levels exceeding 300%. Authorities acknowledge that these conditions have enabled gangs and criminal groups to coordinate extortion schemes, murders, and other crimes from inside prison facilities.

The crisis reached one of its most critical moments in January, when government attempts to regain control of several prisons triggered riots in three detention centers across the country.

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Following the operations, members of the Barrio 18 gang allegedly carried out armed attacks in different areas of the country, leaving 11 officers from Guatemala’s National Civil Police dead.

Central America

Panama confirms drug contamination of El Salvador coffee shipment occurred on its territory

A container originating from El Salvador and carrying coffee for export was contaminated with more than 1,152 packages of drugs while in transit through Panama, according to official information confirmed by the Panamanian government this Tuesday.

The case, which had previously generated political controversy in April 2025 after opposition sectors attempted to link the Salvadoran government to drug trafficking, has now been clarified through renewed investigations.

Authorities confirmed that the container departed from the port of Acajutla after being properly inspected, with no illicit substances detected at the time of export.

According to statements previously provided by El Salvador’s Minister of Defense, René Merino Monroy, the shipment traveled first to the port of Balboa in Panama, where it remained stored for several days before being transferred to another vessel bound for Manzanillo in Colón.

It was at that terminal that Panamanian authorities discovered the drugs and identified tampering with the container seals, indicating that the illicit alteration occurred during its transit in Panama rather than in Salvadoran territory.

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The findings align with earlier explanations provided by Salvadoran officials and confirm that the contamination of the cargo took place outside of El Salvador’s jurisdiction.