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
El Niño could intensify global climate risks, warns World Meteorological Organization
Latin American countries, one of the regions in the world most affected by El Niño, must “take extreme precautions” and make use of so-called “climate intelligence” to mitigate the most severe impacts of the phenomenon, the Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Celeste Saulo, told EFE on Tuesday.
With a 90% probability, El Niño is expected to return in the second half of this year, and a strong intensity cannot be ruled out.
As a result, the phenomenon could trigger intense rainfall and flooding in some areas, while causing droughts in others, leading to direct impacts on communities and a wide range of economic sectors, including fishing and agriculture.
Saulo said countries in the region have improved their scientific and institutional capacity to monitor and respond to El Niño, as well as to understand how it interacts with other climate variables, including those linked to climate change, in order to better forecast “more or less severe impacts.”
When describing likely consequences in South and Central America, the Argentine scientist first referred to the “Coastal El Niño,” as the phenomenon is known in Peru and Ecuador.
She explained that this event brings increased rainfall and ocean warming, which strongly affects the fishing industry.
She added that northern South America, Central America, and northeastern Brazil are typically exposed to below-normal rainfall or drought conditions. In past extreme episodes, El Niño has even affected the operational capacity of the Panama Canal and created serious water access and management challenges during severe droughts.
In contrast, southeastern South America—including southern Brazil, Paraguay, northern and northeastern Argentina, and Uruguay—can expect above-average rainfall, increasing the risk of flooding, severe storms, and landslides.
Given the potential for fear and misinformation among populations, Saulo urged people to “trust the institutions responsible for meteorological information,” stressing that national meteorological services are the official and authoritative sources in each country.
“These are the ultimate responsible authorities and the voices of expertise,” she emphasized.
The most recent El Niño episode occurred between 2023 and 2024 and was among the five strongest ever recorded, contributing to record global temperatures.
The WMO chief noted that climate models remain uncertain about the intensity of the next El Niño, though more accurate forecasts are expected in the coming weeks.
While climate change has not been proven to increase the frequency or intensity of El Niño events, scientists do know that both can interact and amplify extreme weather impacts, potentially leading to natural disasters.
Although Latin America is often heavily affected, El Niño impacts can also be felt in North America, the Caribbean, central and eastern Africa, parts of Asia, and Australia.
Central America
Northern Guatemala community warns of possible famine as dry season intensifies
As drought conditions intensify and the likelihood of an upcoming El Niño weather pattern increases, fear is spreading through an Indigenous village in northern Guatemala: the fear of starvation.
“If there is no rain, the crops will not grow. Whatever little we harvest we will eat, or we will have to buy it—if we have money. But if there is nothing, we will starve,” Cecilia Pasá told AFP.
The 38-year-old Maya woman, dressed in a colorful traditional handwoven outfit, has planted a small plot of corn a few meters from her adobe home, where she also raises small farm animals.
In Cunén, a mountainous and hard-to-reach area in the department of Quiché, nearly all of its approximately 47,000 residents live in poverty. Many communities rely on wells that are increasingly insufficient to meet basic water needs.
The region lies within the so-called Dry Corridor, an arid belt that stretches across parts of Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, and is highly vulnerable to extreme climate events.
It was one of the areas in Guatemala hardest hit by the food crisis triggered by El Niño in 2023, a situation that now threatens to repeat itself amid limited government assistance.
El Niño, which occurs every two to seven years, is part of a natural climate cycle that affects sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean and can have significant global weather impacts.
The phenomenon is expected to develop between June and August, with effects likely to be felt worldwide in the following months.
Central America
Thousands of Teachers and Doctors Launch Nationwide Strike in Honduras
Thousands of public school teachers and healthcare workers launched a nationwide strike in Honduras on Monday amid ongoing labor and salary disputes with the government.
The protest action led to the suspension of classes in public schools and disrupted medical services at government-run healthcare facilities across the Central American country.
Union representatives said the strike was called in response to unresolved demands related to working conditions, salary adjustments and other labor concerns affecting employees in the education and health sectors.
As a result of the walkout, thousands of students were unable to attend classes, while patients faced delays and interruptions in medical care at public hospitals and clinics.
The strike represents one of the largest coordinated labor actions in recent months and highlights growing tensions between public sector workers and the Honduran government over employment conditions and compensation.
Authorities have not yet announced when normal operations in schools and healthcare facilities are expected to resume, while negotiations between union leaders and government officials remain ongoing.
Foro Penal Reports 404 Political Prisoners Still Held in Venezuela
Eight Bodies Found in Ecuador as Authorities Probe Link to Missing Persons Case
El Niño could intensify global climate risks, warns World Meteorological Organization
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
Central America3 days agoThousands of Teachers and Doctors Launch Nationwide Strike in Honduras
-
International4 days agoColombia Votes in Pivotal Election as Left Seeks to Retain Power
-
Central America3 days agoArgentina Falls to Lowest Rating in Global Workers’ Rights Index Under Milei Administration
-
International4 days agoOAS Election Mission to Monitor Claims of Political Interference by Colombia’s President
-
International20 hours agoEight Bodies Found in Ecuador as Authorities Probe Link to Missing Persons Case
-
Central America5 days agoHonduras Could Lose All Its Forests by 2045 if Current Deforestation Rate Continues, Study Warns
-
Central America2 days agoNorthern Guatemala community warns of possible famine as dry season intensifies
-
Central America2 days ago
El Niño could intensify global climate risks, warns World Meteorological Organization
-
International20 hours agoForo Penal Reports 404 Political Prisoners Still Held in Venezuela