Costa Rica opens a Bukele-style mega-prison
Costa Rica has made fighting drug trafficking a main goal, inspired by El Salvador's hardline approach By Javier Córdoba (AP) and María Verza (AP) October 14, 2026 Credit: Reuters 2026 SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica -- SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica (AP) — Costa Rica, considered for decades a peaceful enclave in turbulent Central America, has now made fighting drug trafficking one of its main goals. And it is turning to one of its Central American neighbors for inspiration in its hardline crackd
ABC News
Oct 16
Mass Trials Put Hundreds in One Dock in El Salvador
By James Wagner October 7, 2026 Lawyers warn that the mass trials of people imprisoned during President Nayib Bukele’s gang crackdown are marred by vague evidence and restrictions on a proper defense. Credit: Alex Peña/Getty Across El Salvador, hundreds of inmates appear in court by video simultaneously for a single, joint hearing. Some lawyers say that they are first meeting their clients on the same day as their trial. And individual anonymous witnesses are testifying again
The New York Times
Oct 9
Polarization In Costa Rica Is Rooted In Ancient History
By Guest Author (The Tico Times) September 29, 2026 Image: Harvey Whitehouse At the University of Oxford, we have been helping to build a vast database of world history capable of explaining why some civilizations grow and flourish – while others fall apart. One of the most remarkable findings is that when societies grow beyond around a million individuals – what we call the mega-society threshold – their survival often depends on developing new ways of pulling together to av
The Tico Times
Sep 28
Panama Homicides Rise 6% as Femicides Jump 78%
By Balboa News Desk 20 September 2026 photo: Martin Podsiad Panama recorded 406 homicide victims during the first eight months of 2026, an increase of 6% from the same period last year, according to preliminary figures from the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The comparable total for January through August 2025 was 384. April was the deadliest month this year, with 63 victims, followed by May with 58 and August with 54. Violence remained concentrated in the country’s largest urba
Balboa News Desk
Sep 24
US deal funneled deportees into El Salvador’s prison system
By RFI September 22, 2026 Families of 11 Salvadoran men deported from the United States are demanding to know what happened to their relatives after they were sent back to El Salvador under a secret agreement between US President Donald Trump and his Salvadoran counterpart Nayib Bukele. Part of The Deportation Project coordinated by Forbidden Stories, this investigation traces how Trump's deportation drive fed into El Salvador's prison system, in a case rights groups say amou
Thousands Rally Across Costa Rica In Defense Of The Courts
Thousands Rally Across Costa Rica In Defense Of The Courts As President Fernández Pushes Judicial Overhaul By The Tico Times September 15, 2026 (Photo by Ezequiel BECERRA / AFP) Thousands of Costa Ricans protested last night against what they see as a threat to the country’s democracy from President Laura Fernández, driven by her government’s clash with the courts. The rallies fell on the eve of Independence Day, when Costa Ricans traditionally march through the streets with
dominikmiklosi
Sep 14
In El Salvador, mothers desperately search for the disappeared
By Bryan Avelar September 13, 2026 President Nayib Bukele claims that years of gang violence have left 80,000 people missing. However, the Legislative Assembly has rejected a proposed bill centered around the search for the disappeared, leaving families feeling helpless. Forensic criminalist Israel Ticas excavates a clandestine grave in El Salvador. Photo by EL PAÍS USA Edition Shortly after 9:00 p.m. on August 4, 2021, Herbert Argueta got up from the chair where he had spent
EL PAÍS USA Edition
Sep 13
Tribe alleges US agents 'trespassed' on indigenous land
By Umar Farooq August 26, 2026 The Tohono O’odham people have sued the US government to stop construction of a border wall through their reservation. The Tohono O'odham Nation, an Indigenous tribe along the US-Mexico border, has warned that construction along the border could harm sacred sites and natural resources [File: Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters] An Indigenous tribe located between the United States and Mexico has accused US federal agents and construction workers of illeg
Al Jazeera
Aug 27
TTPS on alert after 11 bomb threats in 40 minutes
By Anna-Lisa Paul, Senior Reporter, anna-lisa.paul@guardian.co.tt August 20, 2026 Valpark Plaza, Valpark (Source: Trinidad & Tobago Guardian) Chaguanas Magistrates' Court (Source: Trinidad & Tobago Guardian) Security agencies across Trinidad and Tobago, including the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) and the Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service (TTFS), were placed on high alert yesterday, after a series of 11 bomb threats targeted several courts, a shopping plaza and a go
Trump Extends His Military Reach into Latin America
August 13, 2026 By Luis Doncel and Carlos S. Maldonado (EL PAÍS) Hegseth announces that he has not ruled out a military option in Havana and proposes operations on Colombian soil. Trump’s strategy to control the region is met with resistance from Mexico and submission from Central America. Pete Hegseth attends the exercises that are part of PANAMAX 2026 in Panama City on August 13. Photo: Aris Martínez / Reuters The Trump administration can be accused of many things, but not
El País
Aug 16
Trinidad & Tobago signs US deals paving way for data centers
By Anselm Gibbs Updated 10:10 PM BST, July 11, 2026 Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar stands at the State Department in Washington, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File) PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP) — Trinidad and Tobago has signed agreements paving the way for U.S. companies to begin groundwork for installing large data centers in the Caribbean nation, sparking concerns about potential energy consumption and environmental impacts. The mem
AP News
Aug 13
Guatemala's Attorney General to Dismantle "Repressive" Legacy
By Sonia Perez D. July 1, 2026 Guatemalan Attorney General Gabriel Garcia Luna speaks during a press conference in Guatemala City, May 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo, File) GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Gabriel García Luna, Guatemala’s new attorney general who took office in May, pledged Wednesday to dismantle what he called the “repressive and vengeful” administration of his predecessor, who was sanctioned by multiple countries including the U.S. for stifling anti-corruption ef
AP News
Jul 20
