Central America

Honduras leader offers rebel deputy post to end congress crisis

AFP

Honduras’ president-elect Xiomara Castro made a last ditch attempt late Wednesday to solve a congressional crisis with hours left before her inauguration.

Last week two rival factions within her left wing Libre party elected their own duelling presidents of Congress.

Castro backs the claims of Luis Redondo of her coalition partner Savior Party of Honduras (PSH).

But Jorge Calix, a deputy within her own Libre party, has led a band of close to 20 rebels, with support from the right wing National and Liberal parties, to launch a rival claim.

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Late on Wednesday, Castro tried to break the impasse by offering Calix a role in her cabinet.

“I proposed to Jorge Calix that he joins my government in the position of Cabinet Coordinator for the sake of uniting in the Reformation of Honduras,” Castro wrote on Twitter.

She did not, however, explain what the role entailed, although it appears to be something akin to a chief of staff.

“Thank you President @XiomaraCastroZ, it was a great pleasure speaking with you,” said Calix in a reply to her post on Twitter.

“For me and for anyone, it would be a great honor to form part of the government of resistence and national reconciliation. You will soon receive my answer,” he wrote.

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The offer came a day after the two rival factions held competing first sessions presided over by their respective presidents.

Redondo took office as president of the Congress in the building that houses the legislative body.

In parallel and via video link, Calix was also installed as head of Congress by his own loyalist faction.

Calix was joined by around 70 deputies while only around 40 were in the parliament building, although the Redondo faction achieved a quorum as substitute lawmakers stood in for those that were absent.

The crisis broke out last week when a group of Libre dissidents ignored an agreement with the PSH, whose support was key to Castro winning the November elections.

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Rival lawmakers came to blows in the dispute.

PSH leader Salvador Nasralla had agreed to withdraw his presidential candidacy and support Castro, in return for the position of vice president and a member of his party being named president of Congress.

But the dissidents argued that Congress should be led by the party with the most members — Libre has 50 deputies compared to just 10 for the Savior party.

Control of parliament is key to Castro’s anti-corruption and political reform platform in a country battered by poverty, migration and drug trafficking.

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Central America

Mazatenango Carnival cancelled amid State of Siege in Guatemala

The municipal government of Mazatenango, in the department of Suchitepéquez, Guatemala, has cancelled the city’s traditional Carnival as a security measure aimed at protecting visitors and residents.

The decision was announced on Tuesday through the municipality’s official Facebook page and comes as a preventive action amid the state of siege declared by the national government last Sunday.

The Mazatenango Carnival, one of the country’s most emblematic festivities, boasts more than 140 years of traditionand typically draws large crowds from across Guatemala and neighboring regions. Its program usually includes parades of floats, the traditional “Rabbit Race,” street dancing and live music, concerts, and cultural events in the Central Plaza.

According to the official statement, the cancellation responds to the current security context and the restrictions associated with the state of siege, prioritizing public safety.

Municipal authorities clarified that the scheduled concert by La Arrolladora Banda El Limón will still take place separately and will be the sole responsibility of the private production company, independent of the cancelled carnival activities.

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Central America

Guatemala raises police death toll to nine after gang violence escalates

Guatemalan authorities raised the death toll of police officers killed in a wave of gang violence to nine on Monday, after one officer wounded in the attacks died from his injuries. The violence prompted the government to declare a state of siege.

Criminal gangs launched a series of coordinated attacks against police forces across several parts of the country in retaliation for the government’s recapture of three prisons, where gang leaders had been holding dozens of prison guards hostage. Authorities said the hostages were used to pressure officials into transferring gang leaders to facilities with looser security measures.

Eight police officers were killed on Sunday. Another officer, identified as Frayan Medrano, died Monday in a public hospital after being shot while riding a motorcycle with a colleague, who remains in critical condition, according to police and the Ministry of the Interior.

Central America

Guatemala prison uprisings leave 46 guards held by gangs

Gang members staged riots, took prison guards hostage and set fires on Saturday at several prisons in Guatemala, in protest over the transfer of their leaders to a maximum-security facility and the implementation of new confinement measures, authorities said.

The Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gangs — both designated as terrorist organizations by the United States and Guatemala — are accused of contract killings, extortion and drug trafficking. Guatemala’s Minister of the Interior, Marco Antonio Villeda, confirmed that the unrest affected three prison facilities.

Villeda said the riots did not result in any fatalities or injuries, but 46 prison guards are currently being held hostage by gang members.

The minister stated that the government is willing to engage in dialogue to secure the release of the detained personnel, regain control of the prison facilities and ensure that inmates submit to internal regulations and the rule of law.

“Dialogue, not negotiation. We are dealing with terrorist structures that are financed and well organized. These are terrorist groups with whom we will not negotiate. The State is acting with legitimacy and in accordance with the law,” Villeda said.

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According to official figures, 18 guards are being held at the Renovación 1 prison and the Preventive Detention Center for Men in Zone 18 — nine at each facility — while another 28 guards are hostages at the Fraijanes 2 prison.

Villeda acknowledged that all three prisons remain under gang control, but stressed that authorities are prioritizing the safety of those being held. “We will guarantee their lives and respect for them. We will take whatever time is necessary to retake control of the prisons,” he said.

The minister also warned that the prison riots are part of what he described as an “orchestrated plan,” which has included road blockades in other parts of the country and the destruction of penitentiary infrastructure and records.