Central America

Experts exhume some El Salvador massacre victims

AFP

Forensic experts on Monday started exhuming the remains of at least 16 victims, mainly children, of a massacre committed by soldiers in El Salvador 41 years ago.

They were among nearly 1,000 people slain in and around El Mozote in the country’s northeast by soldiers who accused the village of aiding leftist guerrillas in El Salvador’s bloody 1980-1992 civil war.

Buried in two mass graves, attempts will be made to identify the victims using DNA technology, said Silvana Turner of Argentina’s EAAF forensic anthropology unit conducting the operation with Salvadoran colleagues.

Lawyer David Morales of the Cristosal victims’s organization said most of the 16 victims known to have been buried here were children.

20250301_vacunacion_vph-728x90

20241211_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90

20231124_etesal_728x90_1

20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90

domfuturo_netview-728x90

20240604_dom_728x90

CEL

The El Mozote massacre, which took place over five days in December 1981. was the worst episode of El Salvador’s internal conflict, which left more than 75,000 dead and more than 7,000 people missing.

It was one of the deadliest massacres in Latin American history.

Soldiers of the Atlacatl Battalion — a counter-insurgency command trained by the United States — burnt homes, raped women and killed all the villagers they could find.

Some children were thrown in the air and slashed with machetes, according to survivor accounts.

According to official figures, 986 people — 558 of them children — died in El Mozote and adjacent communities.

20250301_vacunacion_vph-728x90

20241211_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90

20231124_etesal_728x90_1

20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90

domfuturo_netview-728x90

20240604_dom_728x90

CEL

In 2012, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights blamed the Salvadoran government for the massacre and ordered reparations.

Four years later, the country’s Supreme Court ruled that a blanket amnesty for war crimes during the conflict was unconstitutional, and charges were brought against soldiers accused of involvement.

Central America

Panama grants Martinelli 72-hour extension to travel to Nicaragua

On Monday (March 31, 2025), Panama extended the safe-conduct pass for former President Ricardo Martinelli by three more days to allow him to travel to Nicaragua, after the Central American country refused to receive him due to concerns over an alleged Interpol arrest warrant.

“The National Government has decided to extend the validity of the safe-conduct pass for an additional seventy-two (72) hours, until the end of Thursday, April 3, 2025,” the Panamanian Foreign Ministry stated in a communiqué. The original permit was set to expire Monday at midnight (05:00 GMT on Tuesday).

The Foreign Ministry explained that regarding the ‘humanitarian asylum’ granted to Martinelli last Thursday, which was set to expire Monday at midnight, the Nicaraguan government requested clarifications about an apparent Interpol alert, which had already been dismissed as inadmissible.

Additionally, the Panamanian Supreme Court of Justice, as the highest authority of the Judicial Branch, stated on Monday that it had “no objections” to granting asylum and a safe-conduct to Martinelli, as it falls under the jurisdiction of the Executive Branch.

Central America

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary urges Mexico to strengthen Guatemala border

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem revealed on Monday that during last week’s meeting with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, she urged Mexico to reinforce its border with Guatemala and share biometric datawith U.S. authorities.

“I gave her a list of things that President Trump would love to see. And it was exceptional. It was supposed to be a half-hour meeting, but we talked for nearly two hours. It was very productive,” Noem said in an interview with Fox News.

The Homeland Security Secretary requested that Sheinbaum, who has already deployed 10,000 National Guard troopsalong Mexico’s northern border with the U.S., also secure Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala.

Noem added that she also asked the Mexican president to share biometric data with the U.S., to which Sheinbaum responded that she was “willing to discuss it,” although she acknowledged that it could be a controversial issue in her country.

Central America

Panama police clarifies that Interpol alert for Martinelli is still pending

Panama’s National Police clarified on Sunday that an Interpol alert request for former President Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014) is still under review and has yet to be confirmed. Martinelli was granted a safe-conduct pass last Thursday to leave the Nicaraguan embassy, where he has been seeking asylum since February 2024 after being convicted of corruption.

“The National Police clarifies that there is currently an active process for an Interpol alert, requested by Judge Baloisa Marquínez, against former President Ricardo Martinelli. This request must be analyzed by Interpol’s General Secretariat (headquartered in France) for approval or rejection. If approved, it will be notified to member countries,” the police stated in a press release sent to EFE.

According to the statement, “at the moment, it remains an ongoing procedure, and former President Martinelli does not have a confirmed alert.”

The announcement came hours after National Police Director Jaime Fernández had told the press that an “Interpol alert” for Martinelli had been received on Friday.