Category: Central America

El Salvador Unveils New Gang Unit for Rural Areas

Top Story — The government of El Salvador has dispatched 1,000 soldiers and police officers to the countryside to combat gangs, reflecting a recent shift in gang activity away from […] Read More >

Reunification with Family in US is Bittersweet for Child Migrants

This article was originally published in Civic Ideas on April 18, 2016. NEW YORK — It is an uplifting image: a child seeing her mother for the first time after […] Read More >

Latin American Authorities Continue Probes in Wake of Panama Papers

Top Story — The largest-ever digital leak of financial information, the Panama Papers, is still generating furor across Latin America. On Tuesday, organized crime prosecutors raided the office from which […] Read More >

Child Migrants Face Challenges, But Are Kids Again on the Soccer Field

This article was originally published in Civic Ideas on February 17, 2016, and is the second in a two-part series. NEW YORK — On artificial turf at the foot of […] Read More >

Another Former Salvadoran President to Face Corruption Charges

Top Story — The Salvadoran Supreme Court ordered a civil prosecution Wednesday of former President Mauricio Funes on corruption charges. Though the case does not include drug charges, justices voted […] Read More >

Landmark Sexual Slavery Trial Begins in Guatemala

Top Story — Two former soldiers in Guatemala went on trial Monday for the alleged rape, sexual enslavement, forced disappearance and murder of indigenous men and women in a 10-month […] Read More >

Hemisphere Reacts to ‘Explosion’ of Zika Virus

Top Story — The World Health Organization declared Thursday the mosquito-borne Zika virus, linked to thousands of cases of birth defects in Brazil, is “spreading explosively.” The WHO’s Americas division […] Read More >

Zika Virus Prompts Brazil and El Salvador to Warn Pregnant Women

Top Story — The mosquito-borne Zika virus is wreaking havoc throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, most prominently in El Salvador and Brazil, prompting both nation’s leaders to issue warnings […] Read More >

Honduran President Says Billionaire Will Likely Face Extradition to United States

Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández said Wednesday that his government will likely extradite billionaire businessman Jaime Rosenthal to the United States on charges of money laundering through his family’s Banco […] Read More >

New Guatemalan President Faces Challenges From High Expectations, Small Coalition

Top Story — Guatemala’s new President Jimmy Morales took office on Thursday. The former comedian rode into office on a wave of populist discontent, but in the wake of his […] Read More >