Central America

Fists fly in Honduran Congress ahead of new president’s inauguration

AFP

Lawmakers exchanged blows in the Honduran Congress Friday as a dispute among members of president-elect Xiomara Castro’s party turned violent.

Legislators from her leftist Libre party protested after 20 rebel members proposed Jorge Calix, one of their cohorts, as provisional congress president.

Castro loyalists claimed this violated a pact with Libre’s coalition partner.

Amid cries of “traitors” and “Xiomara!”, angry Libre legislators forced their way to the podium while Calix was being sworn in, causing him to flee under a hail of punches and much pushing and shoving.

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It was the first sitting of the 128-member Congress since elections last November.

Following an emergency party meeting later on Friday, the president-elect announced that the 20 members had been expelled from Libre, calling them “traitors” and “corrupt”.

The crisis began late Thursday when Castro called her party’s 50 legislators to a meeting to ask them to support Luis Redondo of the Savior Party of Honduras (PSH) as congress president.

The 20 rebel members did not attend.

On Friday, Libre leader Gilberto Rios told AFP that the 20 are backed by groups that wish to stop Castro’s promised anti-corruption campaign, including people in “organized crime” and “drug trafficking.”

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Castro won elections on November 28 to become Honduras’ first woman president and end 12 years of National Party rule.

She won as part of an alliance between Libre and the PSH, to which the presidency of Congress was promised.

Castro accused the dissidents of “betraying the constitutional agreement” and “making alliances with representatives of organized crime, corruption and drug trafficking.”

Her husband Manuel Zelaya, a former president who was deposed in a 2009 coup supported by the military, business elites and the political right, is a senior Libre party official.

Castro is to be sworn in on January 27 along with other senior officials, including the congress president, at a ceremony attended by international guests including US Vice President Kamala Harris.

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Central America

U.S. extradites Iranian man over alleged sanctions evasion scheme

The United States has extradited from Panama an Iranian national accused of evading economic sanctions against Iran by illegally exporting U.S. technology. He is scheduled to appear this Monday before a court in Seattle.

Reza Dindar, 44, was extradited on April 17 after being detained in Panama since July 2025 on charges related to export control violations between 2011 and 2012, allegedly carried out through companies based in China.

The defendant appeared before a U.S. district court in Seattle, where he faces charges of violating sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran in 1995 during the administration of Bill Clinton. These sanctions prohibit the unauthorized export, re-export, or supply—directly or indirectly—of U.S. goods, technology, or services to Iran or its government.

According to the indictment, between 2010 and 2014, Dindar led the company New Port Sourcing Solutions in Xi’an, China, which allegedly concealed the procurement of U.S. products for shipment to clients in Iran.

Central America

Bukele administration surpasses 1,100 homicide-free days amid ongoing crackdown

El Salvador's PNC adds 85 days without murders and April is on track to be the safest in Salvadoran history

On Saturday, April 18, the Policía Nacional Civil (PNC) reported that no homicides were recorded in El Salvador, bringing the total to 17 days without murders.

With this update, the country has accumulated 91 homicide-free days so far in 2026. January closed with 27 such days, followed by 24 in February and 23 in March, according to police data.

During the administration of President Nayib Bukele, a total of 1,193 days without homicides have been registered. Of those, 1,079 have occurred since the implementation of the state of exception.

This extraordinary security measure has been extended 49 times by the Asamblea Legislativa de El Salvador, with the latest extension in effect from April 1 to April 30, 2026. Under the measure, more than 91,700 gang members and collaborators have been detained and prosecuted for illicit association.

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.