Central America
Xiomara Castro becomes first woman president of Honduras
AFP
Leftist Xiomara Castro was sworn in Thursday as the first woman president of Honduras, vowing to reform the crime- and poverty-stricken nation into a “socialist and democratic state.”
Castro, 62, took the oath at a massive ceremony attended by international dignitaries after an embarrassing week of fighting within her party that challenged her authority.
In her first official address at the Tegucigalpa National Stadium, Castro denounced “the social and economic tragedy confronting Honduras” and promised to make work of improving education, healthcare, security and employment.
She said she was inheriting a “bankrupt” country which she intended to reshape into a “socialist and democratic state.”
Honduras’s public debt is about $17 billion.
The oath was sworn before Judge Karla Romero, flanked by Castro’s choice of Congress president, Luis Redondo, who draped the presidential sash over his new boss before a crowd of about 29,000.
The guests included US Vice President Kamala Harris, King Felipe VI of Spain and Taiwan Vice President William Lai.
– ’12 years of struggle’ –
Castro’s election last November brought an end to 12 years of right-wing National Party (PN) rule that followed the ousting of her husband Manuel Zelaya as president in a 2009 coup.
“Twelve years of struggle, 12 years of resistance. Today the people’s government begins,” Castro said on Twitter Thursday.
But the lead-up to the swearing-in was marred by a disruptive rivalry within her Libre party, which is in a majority alliance in Congress.
Libre factions split on who should be the legislature’s new president, coming to blows in the Congress chamber and then holding rival inaugural sittings.
Castro accused supporters of Redondo’s rival for the Congress presidency, Jorge Calix, of being in cahoots with the PN and other forces she said wanted to undermine her anti-corruption drive.
Juan Orlando Hernandez of the PN, her predecessor, is accused by US prosecutors of protecting drug traffickers in exchange for bribes.
– ‘Everyone wants to leave’ –
Castro assumes office with a full load of tasks ahead of her.
Hondurans are fleeing the country in droves, often to the United States, in search of work and a better life.
Castro spoke of a poverty rate of 74 percent, a figure she said “in itself explains the caravans of thousands of people of all ages fleeing to the north — Mexico and the United States — looking for a place and a way to survive in spite of the risk to their lives” from gangs and smugglers along the way.
“Everyone wants to leave because there’s no work. If there were more job opportunities here, there would be no need to look for another country,” university student Jensi Davila told AFP in Tegucigalpa.
Adding to the exodus, Honduras’s murder rate is nearly 40 per 100,000 inhabitants.
Among the crowd celebrating Castro’s inauguration, seamstress Esther Lopez expressed hope that the situation “is going to change, because Xiomara has been supporting the cause of the poor for many years and because of ‘Mel’ Zelaya, who was a good president.”
– Migration talks –
Harris urged Castro to fight corruption, seen as a root cause of Central American migration, in talks after the inauguration ceremony.
The first foreign official to have a bilateral meeting with Castro, Harris welcomed the priority the new president had placed “on countering corruption and impunity, including her intent to request the assistance of the United Nations in establishing an international anti-corruption commission,” a readout from Harris’s office said.
Castro needs international support to renegotiate foreign debt of $11 billion.
It is an issue, according to former prime minister Edgardo Paz, which requires agreement “with the multilateral institutions where Washington has a lot of influence.”
Castro also held a meeting with Lai, who conveyed Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s congratulations to Castro on becoming Honduras’s first woman leader, according to a statement from Tsai’s office.
Honduras is one of just 14 countries to recognize Taiwan.
China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory, has spent decades encouraging the island’s allies to switch sides, with much success.
On the election campaign, Castro vowed to “immediately open diplomatic and commercial relations with mainland China” if she won.
According to the presidential statement, Lai — who came bearing a consignment of Covid-19 prevention supplies — said he invited Castro to visit the self-ruled island, adding that a meeting between Taiwan and Honduras’s first woman presidents would be a historic moment.
Separately, Harris and Lai had a brief exchange at the inauguration, Taiwan’s Central News Agency said, an encounter that will likely stoke US-China tensions.
They shared “a simple greeting” in which both “spoke briefly,” the agency said.
Their conversation was the first public interaction between US and Taiwanese vice presidents since Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, according to Fan Shih-ping, a political analyst at Taiwan’s National Normal University.
Castro announced part of her cabinet Thursday, with her son Hector Zelaya as private secretary and Jose Manuel Zelaya — her husband’s nephew — as defense minister.
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.
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.
Central America
Guatemala swears in new attorney general after controversial exit of Consuelo Porras
The new Attorney General of Guatemala, Gabriel García Luna, officially took office on Sunday and pledged to restore public confidence in the institution while strengthening efforts against corruption and organized crime.
“Today does not mark the beginning of just another administration. Today marks an opportunity to restore dignity to Guatemala’s criminal justice system,” said García Luna, who was appointed by President Bernardo Arévalo.
García Luna succeeds Consuelo Porras, whose tenure began in 2018 and became highly controversial due to accusations of undermining democratic institutions and obstructing anti-corruption investigations.
Porras was sanctioned by the United States, the European Union, Canada, and the United Kingdom, among others, over allegations related to corruption and interference in judicial processes.
Her administration was also criticized for allegedly attempting to block President Arévalo’s inauguration in 2024 and for pursuing legal actions against former anti-mafia prosecutors, judges, journalists, and Indigenous leaders, many of whom later went into exile.
During his inauguration speech, García Luna acknowledged that many Guatemalans had lost trust in the Attorney General’s Office.
“For years, many Guatemalans lost confidence in the institution, not because they stopped believing in justice, but because justice stopped believing in them. Today begins the duty to restore that trust,” he stated.
The new attorney general also admitted he inherited an institution “with deep wounds.”
The United States has accused Porras of obstructing anti-corruption investigations to protect political allies and secure political favors.
Critics argue that such actions benefited the so-called “pact of the corrupt,” an alleged network of political, economic, and criminal interests believed to exert influence over Guatemala’s justice system.
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.
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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