Central America
Honduras rejects minister’s inclusion in list of alleged corrupt officials
December 22 |
The Honduran Secretary of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Enrique Renia, rejected Thursday the inclusion of the Minister of Strategic Planning, Ricardo Salgado, in a report prepared by the US State Department with political and business actors of Central America allegedly linked to corruption cases.
“Honduras on principle rejects any unilateral measure contrary to international law, whether these are blockades, sanctions or lists drawn up in a subjective manner, as they are imposed mechanisms against sovereign countries,” the foreign minister stated through his X account.
He also expressed his solidarity with Salgado and condemned such “action for purely ideological reasons”. “It is absurd,” he pointed out.
For his part, Salgado published a statement in which he asserted that “the U.S. government has always been aligned with the corruption and impunity of the National Party and the Liberal Party in Honduras.”
“My inclusion in the Engel list only demonstrates that it is made under political criteria and does not defend democracy or honesty,” he declared.
In addition, he expressed his pride at being included in a list for political reasons, “for being on the side of the Honduran people and for ratifying my unwavering anti-imperialist condition”.
Former President Manuel Zelaya (2006-2009) joined the rejection of the unilateral U.S. list. Through X, the former president stated that “to include Salgado in the list of sanctioned persons of the United States, in spite of the fact that she has never had a visa, represents an absurdity in its imperialist policy against leaders of the Latin American left”.
In the opinion of Zelaya, who had to abandon the Presidency due to a coup d’état carried out in complicity with the White House, “the world has advanced in its ideas, while the United States has remained frozen”.
The White House included four Nicaraguans, four Guatemalans, three Hondurans and three Salvadorans in a new list prepared unilaterally and without any semblance of legitimacy.
They were included in this sanctioning list under the presumption that they are corrupt and anti-democratic actors, an aspect contained in Section 353, a tool that supposedly contributes to governance and institutional transparency.
On the Honduran side, in addition to Salgado, businessmen Mohamed Yusuf Amdani Bai and Cristian Adolfo Sánchez were included.
The list began with a total of 21 Hondurans; then 15 more were added in 2022. In 2023, another 13 officials, former officials and political figures were included.
Central America
Venezuelan opposition leader to meet Costa Rican president Rodrigo Chaves on thursday
Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia will meet with Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves this Thursday, the Presidential Office of Costa Rica announced today.
“We will give a warm welcome to the person who won the July elections in Venezuela, and we continue to denounce electoral fraud,” President Chaves stated during his weekly press conference.
Meanwhile, Costa Rican Foreign Minister Arnoldo André explained that González Urrutia is visiting Costa Rica to “inform the president and provide details about the situation in Venezuela, the victory he achieved with over 7 million votes on July 28, and the electoral fraud committed by Nicolás Maduro’s regime, which fraudulently swore him in as president.”
González Urrutia is currently in Guatemala, having arrived from the Dominican Republic as part of a tour through several countries ahead of the controversial inauguration on January 10, during which the Chavista leader Nicolás Maduro was sworn in as president by the National Assembly, controlled by the ruling party.
Central America
President Arévalo highlights anti-corruption and drug trafficking efforts in first year report
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo de León highlighted this Tuesday the progress made in the fight against corruption and drug trafficking as cornerstones of his first year at the helm of the Guatemalan government, during a session in Congress.
“We are in a process of transformation, but the commitment must be focused on eradicating the corruption that has oppressed us for so long,” said the president during the presentation of his first government report.
Arévalo de León urged lawmakers to “work together for structural change” in the country and thanked the president of the Legislative Body, Nery Ramos, for their joint efforts in the approval of various laws and the alliances formed during 2024.
The Guatemalan president highlighted as an achievement of his administration the denunciation of dozens of corruption structures embedded in state entities, such as fraud networks involving businessmen and former officials.
Central America
Honduras arrests former military leaders over 2009 killings
Former Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of Honduras, General Romeo Vásquez, was arrested on Sunday as the alleged person responsible for the 2009 killings of two individuals by military personnel, just days after leading the coup against former President Manuel Zelaya.
Along with him, the Deputy Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Venancio Cervantes, and the former commander of the Joint Operations Command were also detained, according to the Secretary of State for Security (Interior), Gustavo Sánchez, on his social media account X.
“The three arrests were made moments ago by the Honduran Police in coordination with the Public Ministry in Tegucigalpa and La Paz (west),” Sánchez said.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office had issued an arrest warrant for the three ex-military officials “on charges of homicide and aggravated assault” against Obed Murillo and Alex Zavala, who were attacked by “members of the Armed Forces,” according to the Public Ministry.
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