Central America
Panamanian government is being asked to review mining contract
September 7 |
Inhabitants of communities in the Omar Torrijos Herrera district, in the province of Colon, northern Panama, demanded Wednesday that improvements be made to the contract between the Panamanian State and the transnational company Minera Panama and that local suppliers be taken into account.
During the consultation of the contract with the communities, organized by the National Assembly, residents of the community of Coclesito stated that the relationship with the mining company has produced improvements in income and infrastructure.
However, one resident, Abel Oliveros, asked the Minister of Commerce and Industries, Federico Alfaro, to review the mining contract because there are concepts, such as “expropriating land”, which make the residents vulnerable. He added that for decades the Panamanian government never took their opinions into account.
Another resident of the area and local service provider for the mine, Noemí Solís, stated that the communities around the mining project have the right to develop. She stressed the need for the mining company to prioritize local suppliers and offer them opportunities to grow. He explained that “there are people with the capacity and interest” and that the communities need to receive investment and resources.
Discussions with communities on Bill 1043, organized by the Parliament’s Trade and Economic Affairs Committee, have already been held in the Donoso district of Colon. After finishing in Coclesito, it is planned to move to the district of La Pintada, in the province of Coclé, south of Coclé.
Once the opinion of the people has been gathered, the first debate of the document will take place in said commission before sending it to the Plenary of the National Assembly.
Last Tuesday, protests were registered in different points of Panama against the referred contract, which would protect the exploitation of copper by the Canadian mining company First Quantum Minerals LTD. In the opinion of the demonstrators, the contract imposes a colonialist relationship on Panama and would validate the plundering of its natural resources. On the other hand, they denounced that the consultations with the communities are not binding.
Central America
Arévalo calls corruption the “fuel of inequality” and reaffirms commitment to public transparency
Guatemala’s President, Bernardo Arévalo, stated on Friday that corruption is “the food of misery” in his country and reaffirmed his government’s commitment to continuing to strengthen public spending transparency.
During the first anniversary of the National Commission Against Corruption (CNC) established by his administration, the president expressed his satisfaction with the progress made.
“The road has been difficult,” he said, “but I am greatly satisfied with the fight against corruption, which is the fuel of inequality and the food of misery,” the president declared before members of the international community and government officials.
Arévalo also mentioned that the people who elected him in 2023 for a four-year term that began on January 14, 2024, “demand that we combat corruption.”
Central America
Zúñiga hopes CIDH experts can help investigate intellectual authors of Berta Cáceres’ murder
Bertha Zúñiga, daughter of the murdered Honduran environmentalist Berta Cáceres, expressed her hope on Friday to EFE that the expert group appointed by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH) will help investigate the authorship of the crime to “heal the wounds” and rebuild the social fabric in indigenous communities affected by the hydroelectric project her mother opposed.
The Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) represents an “effort to exhaust the investigations” into the responsibilities of all individuals involved in Cáceres’ murder, as well as in the “violence suffered” from the implementation of the Agua Zarca hydroelectric project, led by the company Desarrollos Energéticos S.A. (DESA), emphasized Zúñiga.
“We hope that, with the collaboration of the prosecutorial entities, (the experts) will effectively collaborate to move forward on what we have proposed and demanded for many years: formally requiring the intellectual authors of this crime and analyzing the related crimes,” including corruption and other violations, as well as proposing a comprehensive reparation plan for the victims of the hydroelectric project,” Zúñiga explained.
The CIDH appointed a group of four experts from Argentina, Chile, the United States, and Guatemala on Friday to provide technical assistance to Honduras in investigating the intellectual authorship of Cáceres’ murder, which occurred on March 2, 2016, while she was sleeping in her home in La Esperanza, despite the multiple death threats she had reported due to her opposition to the Agua Zarca project.
Central America
Nicaragua’s family confinement program: 7.18% of released prisoners reoffend
Nicaraguan authorities have released a total of 48,964 common prisoners under the family confinement regime over the past ten years, with 7.18% of them reoffending by committing at least one crime, according to the country’s vice president, Rosario Murillo.
Murillo, who is also the wife of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and appointed “co-president” in a reform to the Constitution, stated through official media that “7.18% are individuals who have reoffended in criminal activity from 2015 to today, February 14, 2025.”
This means that 3,515 out of the 48,964 common prisoners with final sentences who have been granted family confinement privileges have returned to criminal activity, according to the report.
The early release of common prisoners has faced criticism, particularly from feminist organizations, who argue that these benefits have contributed to an increase in femicides and general crime in Nicaragua.
The AP agency sues the Trump Government after being banned for writing Gulf of Mexico
Buenos Aires advances legislative elections to May 18 and suspends the primaries
Trump threatens to impose tariffs on governments that apply digital fees to US companies
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
Ecuador prison riot leaves at least 43 dead
-
International4 days agoNoboa assures that Ecuador will not have any more blackouts in 2025 and 2026
-
International4 days agoZelenski asks for “guarantees” from the US, the EU and Turkey for a possible peace agreement with Russia
-
International2 days agoGuantánamo expresses criticize its use to detain migrants: “It’s a black hole”
-
International4 days agoThe Sudanese government accuses the paramilitaries of killing more than 430 civilians in the south-central part of the country
-
International4 days agoThe pope suffers from “bilateral pneumonia” and his clinical picture remains “complex”
-
International2 days agoEuropol warns of the increase in groups on the Internet to radicalize minors
-
International4 days agoBoric, Lula, Petro and Peña will be in the assumption of Yamandú Orsi as president of Uruguay
-
International4 days agoHamas will deliver six hostages on Saturday and four bodies on Thursday, including the Bibas
-
International3 days agoEurope and Canada close ranks to count on Ukraine in the peace negotiation
-
International3 days agoMexico has 20 of the 50 most violent cities in the world
-
International2 days agoMexico announces reforms against “external interference”, after the US designated the cartels as terrorists
-
International4 days agoTrump’s annexation threats return to Canada at the end of the 19th century
-
International3 days agoThe constitutional reform that gives full power to Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo in Nicaragua comes into force
-
International3 days agoVon der Leyen urges Caricom to defend peace in Ukraine in the face of “an unpredictable world”
-
International3 days agoFor the Government of Argentina, the scandal over the $LIBRA case is a “finished topic”
-
International2 days agoImmigrants in Denver are afraid to take their children to school because of the raids
-
International4 days agoThe White House denies that Elon Musk is the legal manager of the Department of Efficiency
-
International3 days ago109 migrants deported from the US are referred from a hotel in Panama to the Darién
-
International2 days agoThe United States urges Ukraine to “lower the tone” and accept Trump’s proposal on its minerals
-
International3 days agoTrumpism embraces the European far-right at its annual convention
-
International4 days agoMigrants, more vulnerable to organized crime in southern Mexico after Trump’s return
-
International2 days agoEven in the Nido de las Águilas, a section without a wall, border crossings in the United States go down
-
International1 day agoTrump says Zelensky’s presence in peace talks makes it “difficult” to reach agreements
-
International3 days agoThe Government of Ecuador proposes the temporary entry of foreign forces to combat insecurity
-
International2 days agoAn attack with explosives leaves five injured and destroys a toll booth on the border of Colombia and Venezuela
-
International4 days agoXiomara Castro reaches an “agreement” with the United States for Honduras to continue the extradition treaty
-
Internacionales1 day agoNetanyahu vows Hamas will pay for violating ceasefire after mix-up over hostage bodies
-
International4 days agoThe famous ‘stone of the 12 angles’ of the Incas is damaged by a stranger in the city of Cuzco
-
International2 days agoEvo Morales announces his presidential candidacy in Bolivia with a new party and moves away from the ruling party
-
International2 days agoMore than 21,000 tharks have shaken the Cyclades Islands in the last three weeks
-
International2 days agoCanada declares Mexican drug cartels terrorists as well as the United States
-
International1 day agoIICA to strengthen prevention efforts against cattle tick disease with $250K investment
-
International13 hours agoThe AP agency sues the Trump Government after being banned for writing Gulf of Mexico
-
International2 days agoLula da Silva: Bolsonaro “will know that in this country the law is for everyone”
-
International1 day agoMilei: Social justice promotes hostility, incompatible with progress
-
International13 hours agoWhat are the six Mexican cartels designated as terrorist groups by the United States?
-
International13 hours agoTrump threatens to impose tariffs on governments that apply digital fees to US companies
-
International13 hours agoBuenos Aires advances legislative elections to May 18 and suspends the primaries
-
International13 hours agoBolivia’s ruling party meets to choose candidates without the participation of Evo Morales
-
International13 hours agoThe Los Angeles fires caused losses of more than 30 billion in real estate