Central America

Guatemalan migrant José Yovanny Bocel Conoz repatriated for burial 13 years after being killed in Mexico

The family of Guatemalan migrant José Yovanny Bocel Conoz will finally be able to lay him to rest in Guatemala. His body was repatriated from Mexico on Thursday, 13 years after he was killed by members of organized crime in that country.

The body arrived on an Aeromexico cargo flight from Mexico City to Guatemala City, confirmed Rosmary Yacs, the family’s lawyer.

In 2012, when Mexico claimed to have identified the deceased, they sent the family a body. They honored, woke, and buried it, but later learned that the body they received was not that of the young man, who was 17 years old at the time of his death.

Bocel Conoz left his community in Camanchaj, in the municipality of Chichicastenango, Quiché, a poor, indigenous area in the west of Guatemala, headed for the United States in 2011. The young man wanted to find work and support his family, who lived in extreme poverty, but his journey was cut short.

A week after beginning his journey, the migrant made his last communication with his family, telling them he was in Tamaulipas, Mexico, and would soon cross the border. He was never heard from again.

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At that time, organized crime targeted migrant groups, presumably to force them to join their ranks or extort their families by demanding ransoms in exchange for leaving them alive.

It is now known that Bocel Conoz was kidnapped, tortured, and killed by unknown assailants in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, and his body ended up in a mass grave.

The family’s lawyer told The Associated Press that the process has been complicated and difficult for them. “It’s a serious violation of their rights,” she said.

When Bocel Conoz’s body arrives in his community, the family will not hold a wake. The pain and the memory of what happened have been so great that they do not want to go through that again and have decided to bury him immediately, said Yacs.

“Finally, today we hope the family can close this chapter. It hasn’t been easy,” she added.

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Central America

Guatemala Police Arrest Prison Guard Caught in the Act of Extortion

Guatemala’s National Civil Police (PNC) arrested a suspected extortionist in the act during an operation carried out in the department of Quiché, authorities reported.

According to the police report, the arrest took place in Zone 1 of Santa Cruz del Quiché after officers responded to a citizen complaint. Agents from Precinct 71 identified the suspect as Encarnación “N”, 41, who was serving as a guard in the Guatemalan Penitentiary System.

The suspect was caught while attempting to collect a package simulating an extortion payment totaling 25,000 quetzales. Police intervened at the precise moment the money was being handed over, allowing authorities to document the crime in flagrante delicto.

Following the operation, the detainee was placed at the disposal of the competent courts to face criminal proceedings.

The PNC emphasized that such operations aim to dismantle criminal structures involved in extortion, regardless of whether those implicated are linked to state institutions, and urged the public to continue reporting these crimes through confidential channels.

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Central America

Honduras swears in conservative president Asfura after disputed election

Conservative politician Nasry Asfura assumed the presidency of Honduras on Tuesday with an agenda closely aligned with the United States, a shift that could strain the country’s relationship with China as he seeks to confront the economic and security challenges facing the poorest and most violent nation in Central America.

Asfura’s rise to power, backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, marks the end of four years of left-wing rule and secures Trump another regional ally amid the advance of conservative governments in Chile, Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina.

The 67-year-old former mayor and construction businessman was sworn in during an austere ceremony at the National Congress, following a tightly contested election marred by opposition allegations of fraud and Trump’s threat to cut U.S. aid if his preferred candidate did not prevail.

Grateful for Washington’s support, Asfura—who is of Palestinian descent—traveled to the United States to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, before visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We need to strengthen relations with our most important trading partner,” Asfura said after being declared the winner of the November 30 election by a narrow margin, following a tense vote count that lasted just over three weeks.

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Central America

Bukele leads public trust rankings as UCA survey highlights gains in security

Results from the UCA Survey, conducted by the José Simeón Cañas Central American University (UCA), were presented on Tuesday, offering an assessment of the performance of the Government of El Salvador during 2025 and measuring public perception on key issues such as security and the economy.

According to the survey, President Nayib Bukele received an average score of 8.39 for his performance in 2025. In the category measuring levels of trust in national institutions and social actors, Bukele led the ranking with 77% public confidence, surpassing the Central Government (69.6%), the Armed Forces (69.1%), the National Civil Police (PNC), and the Catholic Church (58.4%), among others.

The survey also highlights an upward trend in the president’s evaluation. While Bukele scored 8.15 for his performance in 2024, the most recent assessment of his sixth year in office showed an increase to 8.39.

Meanwhile, the Government of El Salvador as a whole was rated 8.33 for its performance during 2025.

Respondents identified public security as the area showing the greatest progress in the country, with 62.7% recognizing improvements in this sector, according to the UCA survey released on Tuesday.