Central America

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Thousands Flee Guatemala's 'Volcano of Fire'

'It sounded like a pressure cooker that wouldn't stop,' evacuee says

(Newser) - More than 10,000 people fled their homes yesterday after Guatemala's Volcan del Fuego—"Volcano of Fire"—blew its top, spewing ash over a wide area and hurling burning rocks thousands of feet in the air, reports the BBC . The tourist center of Antigua, just six miles...

Costa Rica Escapes Major Damage in Big Quake

AP says one death is confirmed

(Newser) - The earthquake that struck Costa Rica today may have been massive at 7.6-magnitude, but the Central American nation looks to have escaped major damage, reports AP . The quake collapsed at least one bridge, knocked down some houses, and caused plenty of panic, but the physical damage is relatively minor...

Killing in Honduras: Is DEA Overstepping Its Bounds?

DEA says strategy is working, human rights groups not so sure

(Newser) - The Drug Enforcement Agency has confirmed that its agents shot a suspected drug pilot dead in Honduras last week, the AP reports. An agency spokeswoman says that a twin-engine plane carrying cocaine from Colombia crashed in eastern Honduras while being pursued by government aircraft. One pilot was injured in the...

Firefight May Blow Cover on DEA Role in Honduras

Mayor says agents mistook villagers for drug smugglers, killing 4

(Newser) - DEA agents in "commando-style" units have been quietly helping Honduran police go after drug smugglers, but a firefight this month may make it a lot harder to keep the operation low-key, reports the New York Times . A local mayor says a helicopter with DEA agents and Honduran cops fired...

Farmworkers Seize Land in Massive Honduras Protest

Plantations are on public land, activists say

(Newser) - Honduras saw its own kind of Occupy protest erupt yesterday. Thousands of impoverished farmworkers in the Central American nation took over land belonging to major landowners in a coordinated series of protests around the country, reports the BBC . The farmworkers insisted that the land was public land that small farmers...

Violence-Torn Guatemala's Solution: Legalize Drugs?

President Otto Perez Molina to discuss idea with Central American leaders

(Newser) - New Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina came to power promising a "firm hand" against his country's worsening drug trafficking problems. But yesterday, Perez showed his hand, to some surprise: He called for drug legalization, not just in Guatemala but around Central America, reports the LA Times . "We'...

Peace Corps Pulls Out of Bloody Honduras

And it won't send new recruits to El Salvador, Guatemala

(Newser) - Life in Honduras is no walk in the park: The country sees some 20 homicides daily, giving it the unfortunate title of Central America's most dangerous country. And so the Peace Corps has decided to pull out. Though it says the 158 volunteers it has in the country are...

Heavy Rain Hammering Coffee Crops

Price climbs amid continued bad weather in Central America

(Newser) - As Central America is battered by downpours, the weather is taking a heavy toll on the region’s coffee growers. With the harvest about to begin, wind is knocking leaves off coffee trees, leaving unripe berries unprotected. Ripe berries are ruined by landing on soaking ground. Soon, your morning cup...

1 in 50 Central American Men Murdered by Age 31: UN

Situation is nearing a 'crisis point'

(Newser) - This is basically insane: A new UN report says that one in 50 Central American 20-year-old men will be murdered before they turn 31. Unsurprisingly, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime says the situation is nearing a "crisis point." The report places much of the blame on...

Guatemala Sentences Ex-Soldiers to 6K Years

Four convicted of massacring villagers in 1982

(Newser) - A Guatemalan court has sentenced four former soldiers to more than 6,000 years each for the 1982 massacre of 201 men, women, and children. The conviction is the first for a massacre during the country's 36-year civil war, in which nearly a quarter of a million people were...

McDonald's Urged US to Delay El Salvador Pact
McDonald's Urged US
to Delay El Salvador Pact
WIKILEAKS
Dec 22, 2010 6:47 AM CST

McDonald's Urged US to Delay El Salvador Pact

Execs sought to use free trade deal as leverage to win legal battle

(Newser) - McDonald's urged the US to delay a free trade agreement with El Salvador in order to help resolve a long-running legal battle with a former franchisee in its favor, according to a diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks. The cable notes that execs from the fast-food chain told the US ambassador...

145 Killed in Central America Storm

Guatemala sinkhole swallows 3-story building

(Newser) - The first tropical storm of the season has claimed 145 lives and officials fear many more people have been buried by landslides in remote parts of Central America. In Guatemala, the hardest-hit country, at least 120 people were killed by tropical storm Agatha and its aftermath, including a man who...

6.0 Quake Shakes Guatemala, but No Damage

Quake also hit El Salvador

(Newser) - A strong earthquake has rocked Guatemala and parts of El Salvador, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage in either country. The US Geological Survey says the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.0, and hit this morning about 60 miles southwest of Guatemala City, where...

Honduras Unity Deal Fails
 Honduras Unity Deal Fails 
Nov 6, 2009 5:31 AM CST

Honduras Unity Deal Fails

Plan to reinstate Zelaya falls apart as deadline passes

(Newser) - The US-brokered deal to end the political standoff in Honduras has collapsed, says ousted president Manuel Zelaya, although the interim president installed after Zelaya's ouster doesn't agree even on that. "The accord is dead," Zelaya said from the Brazilian Embassy, where he has been holed up since slipping...

Abused Wife Wins Political Asylum in US

Decision sets precedent for women fleeing domestic abuse

(Newser) - The Obama administration has recommended that a Guatemalan woman who came to America fleeing horrific domestic abuse be granted political asylum. Rody Alvarado Peña's case has been in the courts since 1995 and lawyers say the decision will finally clarify the rules on whether abused women in foreign countries...

Cocaine Sub Nabbed Off Guatemala
Cocaine Sub Nabbed
Off Guatemala
Oct 23, 2009 3:13 AM CDT

Cocaine Sub Nabbed Off Guatemala

US Navy helps make biggest drug bust in Guatemalan history

(Newser) - The US Navy and Guatemalan forces have seized a makeshift submarine carrying 10 tons of cocaine. Three Colombians and a Mexican crewman were arrested on board. The haul is the biggest drug bust ever made in Guatemala, which has become a major transit point for drug traffickers seeking to secure...

Coup Leaders Crack Down in Honduras

Regime curtails freedoms as Zelaya remains holed up

(Newser) - The interim government in Honduras moved to prevent protests late last night, outlawing public assemblies and giving the army broad new arrest powers. Manuel Zelaya, who has been holed up for a week in Tegucigalpa's Brazilian embassy alongside about 65 family members, has called on his supporters to take to...

Zelaya Returns to Honduras
 Zelaya Returns to Honduras 
Sep 21, 2009 2:14 PM CDT

Zelaya Returns to Honduras

Ousted leader announces return on TV, but interim government denies it

(Newser) - Manuel Zelaya is back in Honduras, the ousted president told a Honduran TV station today, prompting thousands of his supporters to gather outside the UN building in the capital to celebrate. “I am here for the restoration of democracy, to call for dialogue,” Zelaya declared. The US State...

Honduras Crisis Talks Collapse
 Honduras Crisis Talks Collapse 
Jul 20, 2009 5:50 AM CDT

Honduras Crisis Talks Collapse

(Newser) - Talks to end the political crisis in Honduras collapsed last night, raising the prospect of violence in the Central American nation if ousted president Manuel Zelaya fulfills his promise to return with or without a deal. Pro-Zelaya protesters are marching in the capital today after the interim government rejected a...

Honduras' Ousted Prez Vows to Return This Weekend

(Newser) - Honduras' dicey political situation could come to a head this weekend. Ousted President Manuel Zelaya tells Bloomberg he will return to the country in the next few days, and he expects US support when he does. “Their words are strong,” he said. “We’re going to see...

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