Central America
Threats from the migratory route in Guatemala: dengue, arrests and climate change
Thousands of migrants cross the border between Honduras and Guatemala daily on their way to the United States, facing the threat of tropical diseases such as dengue, the arrest of security forces and their subsequent deportation or the impact of a route hit by climate change.
On the border of El Corinto, between Guatemala and Honduras, the country’s Red Cross serves migrants who need medical assistance.
“Our job is to alleviate the suffering a little and dignify the lives of people who are in transit,” explains to EFE Mariana Bonilla, who works with the Red Cross at the Care Center for Migrants and Refugees (CAPMIR), located on the Guatemalan side of the border.
Every morning, Bonilla, 31, and the rest of her team, track the border road surrounded by African palm, banana plantations and the imposing Motagua River, the largest in Guatemala, in search of groups of migrants to guide them and indicate the points where they can receive support.
Within its center of attention, supported by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), migrants receive both medical and psychosocial assistance. “Many come with traumas from their passage through the Darién jungle” between Colombia and Panama, explains Bonilla.
Two kilometers after crossing the border, on the migratory route, is the village of Jimeritos, a community made up of farmers dedicated mainly to the cultivation of bananas that for six years has turned its small communal room into a refuge for migrants to rest.
“We are motivated to work with migrants. They leave their countries to seek an improvement for their family and here we give them what we can, because we do not know when we will have the same need,” explains Felicita Palencia, a resident of Jimeritos who was trained by the Red Cross to take care of migrants.
The community lounge has a bedroom with capacity for 12 people and, according to the leaders of the village, there are nights where they receive up to 30 migrants who seek refuge before continuing their journey to the Mexican border of Tecún Umán, located about 540 kilometers at the other end of the country.
Community community members pay attention despite the difficulties they are going through, such as strong dengue epidemics that affect the department of Izabal, where in 2023 more than 500 cases were registered and the region was put on red alert by the health authorities, a disease from which migrants are not freed either.
On May 2, in the community room, the Red Cross gathered the children of the Jimeritos public primary school to give them a talk about hygiene and sanitation measures to eliminate the mosquito that transmits dengue, as well as tools to identify the symptoms of this disease.
Carlos Linares, who has lived in this migrant host village for 42 years, assures EFE that the biggest concern for them is climate change, since the rainy season is approaching and in years such as 2001 and 2020 many houses were destroyed by storms.
“This part of the road is the most difficult to get to the United States, because there are a lot of police and they can return us to Honduras,” Mario Alvarado, a Honduran migrant who decided to look for the “American dream,” explains to EFE.
With temperatures of 40 degrees, Alvarado crossed the border, bordering the Motagua River and the African palm plantations, to end up arrested by the Guatemalan authorities.
Alvarado is the third time he has been on his way to the United States. He does it with his compatriot Danny Gámez, the same one with whom a few months ago they were deported from Texas, United States, after a journey that allowed them to work in the North American nation as painters.
Like Alvarado and Gámez, thousands of migrants seek to cross Guatemala every year and so far in 2024 alone, almost 8,000 have been arrested by the security forces for their subsequent deportation, according to figures from the Guatemalan Migration Institute (IGM).
“It doesn’t matter how many times we are deported. If there are no conditions to live in Honduras, we will always find a way to leave again,” Alvarado reiterates, before moving away between the path of a plantation with his journey companion.
Central America
El Salvador’s $9.663 billion budget for 2025 focuses on key sectors with no new debt issuance
The Finance and Special Budget Committee of the Legislative Assembly issued a favorable opinion today for the bill containing the 2025 General State Budget, which amounts to $9.663 billion. For the first time, this budget does not involve issuing debt for current expenditure.
The opinion was approved after hearing from officials from various government departments, who explained the allocation of public resources as well as what has been executed in 2024.
The priority areas will continue to be education, health, security, and defense, as they will receive 37% of the total budget, amounting to $3.609 billion. Education will receive $1.535 billion for projects under the “Crecer Juntos” (Grow Together) Law, the “Crecer y Aprender Juntos” (Grow and Learn Together) program, the “Mi Nueva Escuela” (My New School) program, the Digital Gap Reduction initiative, Quality and Coverage Improvement for the “Nacer, Crecer y Aprender” (Be Born, Grow and Learn) program, among others.
Health will receive $1.170 billion to strengthen the “Creciendo Saludables Juntos” (Growing Healthy Together) program and Integrated Health, improve infrastructure and equipment for hospitals and health centers, and other areas. Meanwhile, security and defense will receive $903.4 million.
An allocation of $1.700 billion will go to the Annual Public Investment Program.
Central America
Costa Rica takes step toward full membership in Pacific Alliance to Stimulate Trade and Jobs
The Government of Costa Rica expressed satisfaction after being accepted as a candidate to join the Pacific Alliance, a bloc in which the Central American country hopes to boost its economy and promote exports.
“We are convinced that with eventual membership in this trade bloc, we will promote the dynamization of our economy and the generation of jobs,” said Costa Rican Minister of Foreign Trade, Manuel Tovar, in a statement. The official emphasized that joining the Pacific Alliance would lead to increased and facilitated intra-regional trade and investment, while also allowing Costa Rica to project itself to the world as a bloc for the promotion of exports, investment, and the strengthening of regional value chains.
The Council of Ministers of the bloc, meeting in Santiago, Chile, approved Costa Rica’s candidacy for full membership, although a special protocol must still be developed in 2025 to finalize the Central American country’s accession.
The Costa Rican government explained that with the guidance of a roadmap created by the working group responsible for the matter, it will follow a process of exchange with the Pacific Alliance to agree on the Protocol in the coming year.
Central America
Honduras Seizes Over 26 Tons of Cocaine in 2024, Marking Major Drug-Fighting Achievements
Honduran authorities have seized more than 26 tons of cocaine so far in 2024, reported Friday the Secretary of Security, Gustavo Sánchez.
During a promotion ceremony for National Police officers in the city of La Paz, in western Honduras, Sánchez highlighted “the progress in the fight against organized crime in Honduras,” which includes “the seizure of more than 26 tons of cocaine, the destruction of over 11 million coca bushes, and the removal of more than 15,000 firearms from the streets.”
He added that these achievements have been reached with the support of the Armed Forces.
The police ceremony was led by Honduran President Xiomara Castro, who emphasized that during her administration, which began on January 27, 2022, “the National Police and Armed Forces have dealt significant blows to the drug state inherited from the previous regime, seizing the largest amount of drugs in recent years and destroying thousands of hectares of drug plantations and laboratories.”
Castro also stated that by the end of her term on January 27, 2026, “the police force will meet the United Nations’ recommended standards of 300 police officers for every 100,000 inhabitants.”
The Secretary of Security mentioned that with the new recruits joining the National Police, the total force has risen to 21,500, 25% of whom are women.
According to Sánchez, 2024 has seen the lowest rate of criminal violence in the last 20 years, although the perception from various sectors differs from official figures.
Human rights organizations report that the country experiences between ten and twelve homicides daily, despite a partial and temporary state of emergency declared in December 2022.
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