Central America

Rival Honduras lawmakers name two Congress presidents

AFP

Honduras lawmakers named two Congress presidents in separate ceremonies Sunday, as a dispute between members of president-elect Xiomara Castro’s party deepened days before her inauguration.

As the 128-member Congress on Friday opened its first session since being elected in November, MPs came to blows in the Congress chamber, physically confronting one another in a dispute over who should lead the body for its four-year term.

Members of Castro’s leftist Libre party put forward the name of Jorge Calix, one of their cohorts, but Castro loyalists claimed this violated a pact with Libre’s coalition partner.

Nineteen dissident lawmakers were expelled from the party after Friday’s rebellion, as the US embassy in Tegucigalpa called on Twitter for “political actors to remain calm, engage in dialogue, refrain from provocative rhetoric and violence, and urge their supporters to express themselves peacefully while respecting the rule of law.”

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Calix has been branded a “traitor” by Castro and a majority of Libre’s 50 lawmakers, who on Sunday named Luis Redondo of Libre’s coalition partner, the Savior Party of Honduras (PSH), as Congress president at a ceremony in the Congress building.

Separately, Libre dissident members with backing of rightwing parties named Calix at a separate event held at a private venue.

Both groups claimed they had a majority of votes.

Castro recognized Redondo as Congress president in a tweet Sunday, and invited him to her swearing-in ceremony on Thursday. US Vice President Kamala Harris is among the international guests due to attend.

But analyst Eugenio Sosa of the National University told AFP the crisis could result in Castro not being sworn in.

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“There is a danger of a new coup d’etat,” he said.

Calix promised Sunday to work for Castro’s program, in spite of her rejection of his nomination.

Castro won election on November 28 to become the first woman president of Honduras and end 12 years of National Party (PN) rule.

She accuses the dissidents of siding with the outgoing PN to undermine her promised anti-corruption campaign.

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

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Hundreds of Libre supporters, called by Castro, gathered outside Congress overnight in a protest against the dissidents’ actions.

Central America

Guatemala Dismantles Largest Cocaine Lab Found in 15 Years Near Mexico Border

Security forces in Guatemala discovered what authorities described as the largest cocaine laboratory dismantled in the country in the last 15 years, located in the southwest near the border with Mexico, officials announced on Wednesday.

Guatemalan Defense Minister Henry Sáenz said during a press conference that the operation was carried out as part of “Operation Ring of Fire,” a large-scale security initiative launched by the Guatemalan government and military to reinforce border controls and combat organized crime, particularly along the Mexican border.

The operation focused on the community of Zanjón San Lorenzo, in the municipality of Ayutla, San Marcos department, where authorities uncovered a sophisticated criminal compound made up of three interconnected buildings equipped to carry out the full cocaine production process.

“What we can preliminarily observe in these facilities is the complete production cycle used to produce cocaine ready for consumption,” Sáenz stated, adding that the investigation remains ongoing and additional findings could emerge.

The minister highlighted the scale and complexity of the laboratory, comparing it to previous major drug seizures in the country.

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“The last major laboratory we found was in El Estor, Izabal, in 2019, and that facility only processed coca paste,” he explained.

Authorities arrested eight individuals during the raid and seized a cache of weapons that included 14 military-style assault rifles, three 9mm pistols, and 1,306 rounds of ammunition.

Security forces also confiscated cash totaling 74,461 quetzales (approximately $9,600), $26,787 in U.S. currency, and 118,000 Mexican pesos.

Central America

Opposition leader highlights migration crisis in Panama speech

Opposition leader María Corina Machado recalled on Monday, during her final day in Panama, the thousands of Venezuelan migrants who crossed the dangerous Darién Gap jungle on their journey toward North America in search of better living conditions.

Speaking before Panama’s National Assembly, Machado stated that “more than 500,000 Venezuelans have crossed the Darién in search of freedom,” adding that many did not survive the journey.

Her remarks highlighted the Darién Gap as a central route in the recent regional migration crisis, where thousands of migrants—mostly Venezuelans—have attempted to travel north through one of the most dangerous jungle passages in the Americas.

According to migration data cited in recent years, the Darién route has seen daily flows of over a thousand migrants at its peak, reflecting the scale of the humanitarian challenge in the region.

Central America

Nicaragua’s Alliances With U.S. Rivals Could Trigger More Sanctions, Analysis Says

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to maintain political and economic pressure on the government of Nicaragua, led by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, due to its growing alliances with Russia, China and Iran, according to an analysis released Monday by the Centro de Estudios Transdisciplinarios de Centroamérica (Cetcam).

The report states that tensions between Washington and Managua have increased since the beginning of Trump’s second term and could worsen amid the regional political climate, particularly because of developments in Venezuela and Cuba.

Cetcam researchers noted that since the second half of 2025, the U.S. government has intensified criticism of the Sandinista administration, mainly regarding political prisoners, human rights, religious freedom and what it describes as the authoritarian model established by Ortega and Murillo.

“With this background, it is possible to foresee that Washington will maintain pressure, including sanctions, against the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship,” the think tank stated in its report.

The study also warns that one of Washington’s main concerns is the strengthening relationship between Managua and countries considered strategic rivals of the United States, particularly Russia, China and Iran.

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Among the developments highlighted is the recent ratification by the Russian Senate of a military cooperation agreement signed with Nicaragua in 2025. The deal is expected to strengthen strategic coordination and Russia’s presence in Central America for an initial five-year period.

According to Cetcam, the move will “hardly go unnoticed” by the United States.