Central America
Guatemala’s leader to skip Americas Summit after US sanctions
AFP
Guatemala’s President Alejandro Giammattei said Tuesday he will skip next month’s Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, after Washington sanctioned his top prosecutor over allegations of corruption.
The United States officially designated Guatemalan Attorney General Consuelo Porras for “significant corruption” Monday, just hours after she was reappointed for a second four-year term.
Speaking on Tuesday during an event at the Mexican embassy in Guatemala, Giammattei said he did not expect to be invited to the summit.
“In any case, I sent word that I’m not going,” he said.
“As long as I am president this country will be respected and its sovereignty will be respected.”
Earlier in the day, Porras blasted the US move, saying she will not bow to pressure from Washington.
“The attorney general and head of the public ministry does not accept any kind of interference nor pressure and will continue working in an objective and impartial manner ensuring strict compliance with the law,” her office said on Twitter.
It added that the “public ministry is an autonomous institution that is not subordinate to any international entity.”
Last year, the US said it had “lost confidence” in Porras after she sacked Guatemala’s top anti-corruption prosecutor Francisco Sandoval.
Sandoval, who fled to the United States after being fired, claimed he had encountered numerous obstacles in his work and had been prevented from investigating Giammattei without Porras’s permission.
Critics say Sandoval’s replacement is a defender of corruption and persecutor of the opposition.
Porras has had at least six anti-corruption prosecutors arrested on charges ranging from obstruction of justice to abuse of authority.
The prosecutors were fired amid ongoing investigations of politicians charged with graft, and claimed their treatment was revenge from those in power.
Giammattei said on Monday that Porras’s reappointment was supported unanimously by the commission tasked with vetting candidates for the position of attorney general.
The European Union said in a statement that the reappointment of Porras “raises concerns about the commitment of the Guatemalan authorities to tackle corruption and safeguard the independence of the judiciary.”
The EU said the Public Ministry’s legal action against judges, lawyers and prosecutors involved in investigating corruption “forms part of a wider pattern of intimidation and harassment that has led over 20 justice operators to leave the country.”
Participation in the Summit of Americans has already caused some controversy.
Rumors have been swirling that Washington will not invite Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua to the conference, with the presidents of Mexico and Bolivia announcing they would only attend as long as there are no exclusions.
Central America
International leaders congratulate Honduras’ president-elect Asfura
The United States government was among the first to congratulate the president-elect, through Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a press briefing that Beijing “is willing to work with Honduras to jointly promote the continued development of bilateral relations.”
The European Union also expressed its commitment and interest in working with Asfura to advance “shared priorities aimed at deepening bilateral ties.”
In addition, the foreign ministries of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay issued messages congratulating the president-elect.
Presidents from Panama and Paraguay, as well as the government of Chile, also extended their congratulations to Asfura. Furthermore, the governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and the Dominican Republic released a joint statement saying: “We reaffirm our solidarity with the Honduran people and express our hope that the transition will take place in a peaceful and orderly manner.”
Central America
Guatemala arrests 92 salvadoran gang members in 2025
Between January 1 and December 25, 2025, a total of 92 Salvadoran gang members were arrested in Guatemala, according to a report released by that country’s National Civil Police (PNC).
The arrests were carried out as part of border control operations and efforts to combat transnational crime, aimed at preventing members of terrorist criminal structures from entering or remaining in Guatemala after fleeing El Salvador’s state of emergency, which has been in force since March 27, 2022.
The Guatemalan PNC reported that 46 of those detained were expelled and handed over to Salvadoran authorities at the four land border crossings between the two countries.
According to official information, Guatemala’s Interpol National Central Office (NCB) and the Salvadoran National Civil Police maintain close coordination and information-sharing mechanisms to verify the criminal records of gang members.
The 46 individuals expelled to El Salvador were wanted on charges including illicit association, extortion, homicide, drug trafficking, illegal restriction of freedom of movement, and other forms of organized and complex crime.
Guatemalan police transferred the suspects to their Salvadoran counterparts, who then referred them to the courts seeking their arrest. The most recent detainee was Melvin Antonio Mejía Rivas, alias “Porky,” a member of the 18th Street gang, who was apprehended in Zone 16 of Guatemala City. He has been wanted for illicit association since November 4, 2019.
Another arrest involved Judith Cristina Cáceres de Rivera, originally from Ahuachapán, who was detained in Zone 3 of San José Pinula on extortion charges. Authorities said she demanded 7,000 quetzales per week from a local व्याप merchant.
Guatemalan police also reported that 46 Salvadorans have been arrested in the country for committing various criminal offenses.
Central America
Arrests and clashes in Tegucigalpa as vote count continues after Honduras election
Protesters affiliated with the ruling Liberty and Refoundation Party (Libre) gathered in a demonstration that led to several arrests, disturbances, the burning of tires, and left at least 15 people injured outside the center where votes from Honduras’ November 30 general election are still being counted.
The group assembled on Monday outside the National Institute for Professional Training (INFOP) in Tegucigalpa, after President Xiomara Castro called on supporters through social media, claiming that a “new coup d’état” was being plotted in Honduras.
“I call on the people, social movements, grassroots organizations, party militants and citizens to urgently and peacefully gather in Tegucigalpa to defend the popular mandate, reject any coup attempt and make it clear to the world that a new coup is taking shape here,” the president said.
Castro has stated that she does not recognize the partial election results, which currently place right-wing candidate Nasry Asfura in the lead with 40.54% of the vote, followed closely by liberal candidate Salvador Nasralla with 39.20%. The ruling party’s candidate, Rixi Moncada, remains in a distant third place with 19.30%, with no realistic chance of a comeback.
Both the Libre Party and the Liberal Party, led by Castro and Nasralla respectively, have alleged electoral fraud. On Tuesday, the two parties agreed to participate in the special review panels that the National Electoral Council (CNE) says will finalize the count by reexamining 1,081 polling records flagged for irregularities.
Former president Manuel Zelaya, Castro’s husband and a senior figure within Libre, said last week that according to his party’s own nationwide tally of presidential ballots, Nasralla—a former Libre member—won the election.
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