Anchored in the heart of colonial San Salvador, a towering and expansive library was inaugurated this week by President Nayib Bukele, the latest sign of China‘s growing influence across Central America. With the Chinese ambassador at his side, Bukele toured the seven-story building, erected at a cost of $54 million paid for by China. The … Read more
Editor’s Note: “The Trek: A Migrant Trail to America” premieres on April 16 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CNN’s new Sunday primetime series, The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper. Darién Gap, Colombia and Panama (CNN) — There is always a crowd, but it can feel very lonely. To get closer to freedom, they have risked … Read more
Hong Kong CNN — Taiwan announced Thursday it will recall its ambassador to Honduras as ties between the two worsen, with the Central American nation preparing to switch diplomatic recognition from the self-governing island to China. In a statement, Taiwan’s foreign ministry said it had recalled the ambassador to “express our strong dissatisfaction” over Honduras … Read more
CNN — Taiwan confirmed Tuesday that President Tsai Ing-wen will transit the United States en route to Central America at the end of the month, but there was no word on whether a highly anticipated meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will take place. Tsai will head to New York on March 29 before … Read more
CNN — Last week, El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele posted a typically divisive video on Twitter. To the sound of thrilling fast-paced music, it showed hundreds of detainees being transferred to a new “megaprison” officially named the Center for Confining Terrorism. Constructed last year to host the Central American country’s burgeoning prison population, it is … Read more
Reuters — El Salvador’s government moved thousands of suspected gang members to a newly opened “mega prison” on Friday, the latest step in a controversial crackdown on crime that has caused the Central American nation’s prison population to soar. “This will be their new home, where they won’t be able to do any more harm … Read more
CNN — Eight months since El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele announced a war on gangs, an estimated 2% of the country’s adult population – or roughly 100,000 people – are now behind bars. Bukele’s crackdown this year, prompted by a bloody killing spree by gangs that saw dozens of people killed in March, placed El … Read more
GUATEMALA CITY/TEGUCIGALPA: The death toll from the calamitous storm Eta in Central America soared on Friday after the Guatemalan military reached a remote mountainous village where torrential rains had triggered devastating mudslides, killing about 100 people. Many of the dead were buried in their homes in the remote Queja village in central region of Alta … Read more