Caribbean & Central America - August 2024

Since being sworn in for a five-year term on 1 July, Panama’s new right-of-centre President José Raúl Mulino has moved on his key campaign pledge to reduce illegal migration through the Darién Gap, a roadless expanse of jungle on Panama’s border with Colombia, efforts for which he has received US backing, as the first piece in this August 2024 edition of the Latin American Regional Report: Caribbean & Central America considers.... Read More

Since being sworn in for a five-year term on 1 July, Panama’s new right-of-centre President José Raúl Mulino has moved on his key campaign pledge to reduce illegal migration through the Darién Gap, a roadless expanse of jungle on Panama’s border with Colombia, through which a record 520,000 migrants crossed in 2023.... Read More

If the US has recently been trumpeting its efforts to cooperate with Panama on reducing illegal migration, in contrast, in late June US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols criticised the actions of Nicaragua’s authoritarian government led by President Daniel Ortega, accusing it of promoting illegal migration.... Read More

The recent murder of Anastacio Tzib Caal, the general secretary of textile workers union Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Empresa SAE-A Texpia II (Sitratexpia) and the national coordination leader of the national network of maquila unions in Guatemala, has provoked outcry – both domestically and abroad.... Read More

In June Honduras’ leftist Partido Libertad y Refundación (Libre) government led by President Xiomara Castro announced 14 emergency measures to further tackle insecurity, following on from its declaration of a state of emergency back in November 2022 to crack down on extortion and gangs, which had already drawn concern [SSR-24-01].... Read More

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has announced measures designed to make basic goods more affordable as he searches for ways to address growing economic concerns at the beginning of his second term in office.... Read More

Panama’s new President José Raúl Mulino faces a complicated economic panorama after taking office on 1 July, but has promised to boost growth, access to public services and job creation.... Read More

Guyana will go to the polls within 18 months, most likely in November 2025.... Read More

The 2024 Caribbean Investment Forum (CIF) was held in Georgetown, Guyana, from 10-12 July.... Read More

At the start of July Hurricane Beryl blasted a pathway between Grenada and St Vincent & the Grenadines (SVG), causing widespread damage as it intensified to Category 5, then easing back but still causing destruction in other countries in its flight path, including the north of Venezuela, Barbados, Jamaica, and Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula, before turning into a storm over Texas.... Read More

Following its third review of the Barbadian economy at the end of June, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) gave the green light for further disbursements.... Read More

COSTA RICA | Exports up.... Read More