SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AFP) — A magnitude 6.8 earthquake off the coast of Central America shook El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua on Tuesday, though without any immediate damage reported, according to Salvadoran authorities. The quake was registered at 6:22 pm (0222 GMT) in the Pacific Ocean, about 66 kilometers (41 miles) south of the Salvadoran coast, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS originally recorded the earthquake at a magnitude of […]
Central America
Three dead, thousands displaced following Cuba storms
HAVANA, June 13, 2023 (AFP) — Three people have died and thousands have been evacuated after heavy rains pummeled eastern and central Cuba in recent days, authorities said Monday. Heavy rains that started Thursday had subsided by Monday evening, but recovery operations were still underway in several eastern provinces, including Holguin, Camaguey, Granma, Santiago de Cuba and Las Tunas, as well as in Sancti Spiritus, in the center of the island. The Camaguey Civil Defense […]
El Salvador mourns 12 killed in soccer stadium stampede
SAN SALVADOR, May 22, 2023 (AFP) – El Salvador soccer fans were mourning Sunday after 12 people died and hundreds were injured in a stampede at a stadium, with the country’s president vowing an investigation. Authorities said initial reports pointed to a crush of fans who tried to enter the 35,000-seat Cuscatlan Stadium in the Central American country’s capital San Salvador to watch a game between two local teams, Alianza and FAS. The match was […]
Guatemala begins evacuations as Fuego volcano erupts
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala (AFP) — Guatemalan authorities evacuated hundreds of people and closed a road as Central America’s most active volcano erupted Thursday, spewing thick clouds of ash over farms and towns not far from the capital city. Some 350 people were evacuated from communities near the foot of the volcano, civil protection official Rodolfo Garcia told AFP. Guatemala’s Conred disaster center said the volcano named Fuego, Spanish for “fire,” was sending out “pyroclastic flows” […]
Guatemala leader vows to stand by ‘solid’ ally Taiwan
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei on Tuesday pledged support for “solid diplomatic ally” Taiwan during a visit to the self-ruled island that has been slammed by China. The Central American nation is one of the few remaining countries to recognize Taiwan, a list that has shrunk in recent years as Beijing moves to isolate Taipei on the international stage. China considers democratic Taiwan a part of its territory to be taken one […]
China, Honduras draft economic agreements
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AFP) — A Chinese delegation met with officials in Honduras Tuesday to thrash out bilateral economic agreements to build on official diplomatic ties established last month, the foreign ministry said. Honduras cut ties with Taiwan to switch its diplomatic allegiance to China. China considers the self-ruled, democratic island a part of its territory to be retaken one day, and does not allow countries to recognize both Beijing and Taipei. A senior Chinese delegation […]
URGENT: Earthquake of 6.3 magnitude hits off Pacific coast of Panama: USGS
A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck off Panama’s Pacific coast on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said, but there were no immediate reports of fatalities or damage. The quake was relatively shallow, at a depth of 12 kilometers (seven miles), the US agency said. Panama’s civil protection agency Sinaproc said the quake had a magnitude of 6.7, hit 72 km from the coast and was felt in much of the Central American isthmus nation, although […]
Dominican Republic: Agents say record cocaine stash found among bananas
Dominican anti-narcotics agents have seized more than two tonnes of cocaine stashed in a shipment of bananas en route from Ecuador to the Netherlands, authorities reported Saturday. “During an operation at the Caucedo terminal, which lasted just over 10 hours, the authorities confiscated 2,188 packages, presumably cocaine,” said a spokesman for the National Directorate for Drug Control of the Dominican Republic (DNCDRD). Each package weighed about one kilogram (2.2 pounds). It is considered the largest […]
Honduras to start diplomatic ties with China, in blow to Taiwan
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AFP) — Honduras will establish diplomatic ties with China, President Xiomara Castro said Tuesday, a move that would result in the severing of longstanding official ties with Taiwan. Castro wrote on Twitter that she had instructed Foreign Minister Eduardo Reina “to undertake the opening of official relations with the People’s Republic of China.” The switch — which Castro pledged to make while on the campaign trail — comes weeks after her government announced […]
Nicaragua frees 222 dissidents in sudden shift, expels them to US
by Eva Rodriguez Lorenzo Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Over 200 detained members of Nicaragua’s opposition were freed Thursday and expelled to the United States, in a surprise move by the Central American country’s increasingly authoritarian president, Daniel Ortega. After weeks of quiet talks with Washington, Nicaragua allowed the 222 detainees — which include former challengers to Ortega — to board a chartered flight to Washington. US officials said they would allow the […]
Panama says Iran warships might be allowed through canal
PANAMA CITY, Panama (AFP) — Iranian naval ships will be allowed to sail through the Panama Canal as long as they abide by international norms, Panamanian authorities said Tuesday following reports that Teheran was sending vessels to the strategic waterway. An Iranian military presence in the Canal would anger the United States, which built the channel linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans at the beginning of the 20th century, and Washington has warned that it […]
El Salvador passes law on cryptocurrency transfers
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AFP) — El Salvador’s legislative assembly on Wednesday approved a digital assets law aimed at legally protecting transfers or debt issues with cryptocurrencies. El Salvador was the first country to adopt bitcoin as a legal currency in September 2021, using it along with the US dollar, which it adopted as its currency in 2001. The 47-article law received 62 votes in favor out of 84 seats in Congress. “El Salvador’s Legislative […]
