Central America

Migrant vessel tragedy off Panama: Deaths and disappearances reported

In a tragic maritime incident, a migrant boat foundered near Panama’s Caribbean coastline, adjacent to the desolate Darien jungle, resulting in an unspecified number of fatalities, as disclosed by the Panamanian border police on Wednesday.

The National Border Service (Senafront) announced in an early morning press release the grim discovery of deceased migrants, victims of drowning. The exact death toll remains unclear, prompting the deployment of search teams to the disaster site.

Reports from Telemetro, citing a correspondent in Puerto Obaldia, indicated there were 14 survivors, alongside four confirmed deaths and seven individuals missing, from the vessel which originally carried 25 migrants.

Central America

Honduran group in U.S. pushes for voter registration to prevent election fraud

The Francisco Morazán Organization of Honduras on Wednesday urged the Honduran community in the United States, which exceeds one million immigrants, to vote in the upcoming presidential elections in November to prevent fraud.

The group called on Hondurans to update their documents and prepare to participate in the general elections scheduled for November 30.

“This is a call to all Honduran immigrants to obtain their identification card and be ready for the general elections in November to avoid fraud,” said Orlando López, president of the organization, prior to a press conference in Miami.

“We are concerned that many Hondurans need to update their address and go out to vote. Otherwise, the election resultsin the country are at risk,” he added, citing irregularities reported during the primary elections earlier this month.

The organization, founded in 1996 and with chapters across the United States, aims to ensure maximum participation in the upcoming elections.

In these elections, Hondurans will vote for the president, 128 members of the National Congress, 20 members of the Central American Parliament, 298 mayors, vice mayors, and 2,092 councilors.

Central America

Kristi Noem in Latin America: Talks with Bukele on expulsions and security policies

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem arrived in El Salvador on Wednesday for a meeting with President Nayib Bukele. In a post on the social media platform X, she stated that her goal is to increase deportation flights and expel foreign nationals who have committed crimes in the United States.

El Salvador is the first stop on Noem’s three-nation tour of Latin America this week. On Thursday, she will travel to Colombia to meet with President Gustavo Petro, and on Friday, she will visit Mexico, where she is scheduled to meet with President Claudia Sheinbaum.

After arriving in El Salvador, Noem, along with Gustavo Villatoro, El Salvador’s Minister of Justice and Security, visited the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot)—the megaprison built under Bukele’s administration, designed to house 40,000 inmates. Noem said she wanted to “see firsthand the detention center where the worst criminals are held.”

Cecot is considered the largest prison in the Americas and a key symbol of Bukele’s controversial crackdown on crime.

According to the Salvadoran government, the prison—located about 70 kilometers from San Salvador—houses members of gangs such as MS-13 and Barrio 18, who have been convicted of serious crimes. The facility also holds the 238 Venezuelans deported from the United States on March 15, in an unprecedented transfer that has drawn criticism from Venezuela’s government and international human rights organizations.

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Central America

Costa Rica’s Poás volcano on orange alert amid rising magma activity

The colossus, standing 2,708 meters high, is surrounded by a dense forest and located 50 km from San José by road. On March 1st, it showed an increase in activity, prompting authorities to restrict visits—though not suspend them entirely.

“We have a lot of information indicating that fluids are rising from deep within the volcano. We don’t know what will happen, but this activity is concerning,” said French volcanologist Geoffroy Avard from the Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (Ovsicori) in an interview with AFP.

“At this moment, [Poás] is at level three (orange alert), which we call ‘precaution.’ It is the third level out of four, and that’s because the volcano is showing several indicators that raise serious concerns,” he added.

According to the National Seismological Network, Costa Rica has over 120 volcanic sites, but most are extinct. Only five remain active: Poás, Rincón de la Vieja, Arenal, Irazú, and Turrialba.

“The [Poás] volcano is currently very unstable, and the shape of the gases indicates that it is magma,” the Ovsicori expertexplained.

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Visits to the Poás Volcano were suspended from April 2017 to August 2018 due to eruptions. When reopened, stricter safety measures were implemented, including shelters and protective gear for visitors.

“The most significant explosion we had in the last decade—or perhaps a bit more—was the April 22, 2017 eruption. Rocks were ejected up to 1.5 kilometers away,” the volcanologist recalled.