Central America
Guatemalan president-elect warns of a coup d’état
December 10 |
The president-elect of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, indicated “we are facing an absurd, ridiculous and perverse coup d’état”, after the Attorney General’s Office indicated that the elections held this year and in which he won with 58% of the votes, should be annulled due to alleged administrative irregularities of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.
“The coup plotters are kicking the can down the road, the last shaky steps for a coup d’état”, said Arevalo, who added that these actions come from a group of high officials operating from the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP).
In the same sense, the 64 year old academic said that “the coup attempt is real and has brought us to a crucial moment for the history of our country”.
This group filed an investigation to try to prevent the presidential inauguration, on January 14, 2024, he argued.
“The coup group that occupies the MP has made very clear the intentions of the illegal actions they have carried out in the last year, they began with the repression to restrict the freedom of expression,” said the president.
According to the Guatemalan politician, these actions of the MP are part of a larger plan that the investigating entity has been greasing. “They continued with the persecution of the social and political organization, today they are exerting pressure and extortion against any official who opposes to follow their illegal instructions”, he denounced.
Among the accusations made by the MP are the alleged irregular affiliation to found the political party Movimiento Semilla, since the Prosecutor’s Office has a confirmatory statement from a former worker of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), who confessed to the alleged irregularities.
“We do not know what it is, we are simply listening to affirmations of the MP. I believe that their credibility does not exist anywhere without them demonstrating the things they are doing, we do not have access to the folder”, Arévalo emphasized.
Another of the specific accusations against the political group is an alert activated by the Intendencia de Verificación Especial (IVE) for an alleged suspicious transaction of 44,000 dollars, which in the opinion of the authorities could be a case of possible money laundering.
“The 44 thousand dollars that are reported are even known in a loan contract that we subscribed with a person who is affiliated to the party to be able to pay the fine imposed on us by the TSE, it is perfectly documented and registered”, he explained.
Lawyers of the group said they have a clear legal route, since they will have to respond to the new requests of pre-trial presented against the president elect and two deputies of the party.
Central America
Environmental groups denounce Nicaragua’s mining deals as ‘ecocide’ in protected areas
The Nicaraguan government has granted three new open-pit mining concessions to two Chinese companies, covering a total area of 21,303.15 hectares in the departments of Nueva Segovia and Boaco, according to an announcement published Friday in the Official Gazette La Gaceta.
The company Three Gold Coins Company S.A. received two permits to extract metallic and non-metallic minerals — one for the El Parquer site, covering 6,513.15 hectares in Wiwilí, Nueva Segovia, and another for the La Virgen site, covering 1,428.94 hectares in Quilalí, also in Nueva Segovia. The second firm, Little Stone Mine S.A., obtained the third concession for the El Triunfo site, spanning 13,361.06 hectares in Boaco.
These new authorizations add to nearly 30 mining concessions granted to Chinese companies over the past two years, now encompassing approximately 600,000 hectares, including areas within the Río San Juan Biosphere Reserve, according to official data.
The environmental organization Fundación del Río, led by exiled activist Amaru Ruiz, denounced the new concessions, arguing they violate the Law on Communal Property of Indigenous Peoples and Ethnic Communities. The NGO stated that the repeal of the regulation protecting natural reserves—replaced on May 6 by the new Law on Environmental Conservation and Sustainable Development Areas—has left key ecosystems without legal protection.
The group also warned about the expansion of illegal artisanal mining within the Río San Juan Reserve, claiming that these concessions effectively legalize extractive activities in protected areas.
Meanwhile, the Platform for Unity and Democracy (PUDE), a coalition of Nicaraguan opposition figures in exile, condemned the government’s massive handover of indigenous lands to Chinese companies, calling it an “ecocide.” The organization said some concessions directly threaten the Indio Maíz Biological Reserve and the Los Guatuzos Wildlife Refuge, both bordering Costa Rica.
Central America
Panama’s president accuses U.S. Embassy official of visa threats amid China tensions
Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino on Thursday accused a U.S. embassy official of threatening to revoke visasfor government officials and civilians amid discussions about the Central American country’s ties with China.
“It’s true, and I have information from several sources, that an official from the embassy is going around threatening to take away visas. That is not consistent with the good relationship I aspire to maintain with the United States,” the president said during his weekly press conference, without naming the U.S. official.
Mulino made the remarks in response to a journalist’s question about alleged pressure from the embassy on lawyers, lawmakers, and ministers in his administration.
“They are free to grant or revoke visas as they see fit, but not by threatening that if you don’t do something, your visa will be taken away. Whether they revoke it or not, I don’t know. But the bilateral problem we cannot ignore is the U.S.-China issue, which ultimately does not benefit Panama,” Mulino said.
He added that Panama should not get involved in disputes between other countries.
“Much less should we accept this kind of pressure, if it exists, to undermine legal certainty regarding contracts or business operations in Panama,” the president stressed. “All I aspire to is respect,” he concluded.
In early September, the U.S. announced a new visa restriction policy targeting Central American citizens with ties to the Chinese Communist Party. In a press release, the U.S. State Department said the country “is committed to countering China’s corrupt influence in Central America and preventing its attempts to subvert the rule of law.”
Central America
Nicaragua grants 2,500-hectare mining concession to chinese firm in protected region
The Nicaraguan government has granted a new open-pit mining concession to the Chinese company Toyar Inversión Minera S.A., covering a total area of 2,500 hectares in the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, according to an announcement published Thursday in the Official Gazette La Gaceta in Managua.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines authorized the concession for the extraction of metallic and non-metallic mineralsin the area known as “Nuevos Encuentros,” located in the municipality of Nueva Guinea, under a ministerial agreement.
In total, the administration led by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo — Nicaragua’s co-presidents — has granted more than 20 mining concessions to Chinese companies over the past two years, covering over 500,000 hectares, including some within the San Juan River Biosphere Reserve.
The Fundación del Río, an environmental organization headed by denationalized activist Amaru Ruiz, warned that these concessions violate the Law on the Communal Property Regime of Indigenous Peoples and Ethnic Communities of Nicaragua’s Atlantic Coast.
According to the NGO, the approval of the Environmental Conservation and Sustainable Development Areas Law on May 6 effectively repealed the decree regulating protected areas in the country, weakening environmental safeguards.
Fundación del Río has also denounced the expansion of illegal artisanal mining within the San Juan River Biosphere Reserve, claiming that the new concessions could legalize mining activity in what should remain a protected area.
Meanwhile, Nicaraguan opposition organizations in exile, grouped under the Platform for Unity and Democracy (PUDE), accused the Ortega-Murillo government last week of massively handing over indigenous territories to foreign companies, particularly Chinese investors.
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