Government defends the measure as helping to dismantle ‘terrorist structures’ amid criticism from human rights groups.
Read More »El Salvador president requests state of emergency extension
El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele asked lawmakers to extend the country’s state of emergency for a month on Sunday, as police said that more than 16,000 gang members had been arrested since it was imposed. “I am calling the Council of Ministers to ask the Legislative Assembly to extend the …
Read More »Biden administration plans to issue new memo ending Trump-era immigration policy
The US Department of Homeland Security is seeking to terminate a Trump-era migration rule, which required asylum-seeking migrants to stay in Mexico while awaiting court proceedings. The department issued a memo in June ending the program, formally known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), but a Texas-based federal judge ruled …
Read More »El Salvador buys 150 more bitcoins on first day as legal tender
El Salvador purchased 150 additional bitcoins on Tuesday, Salvadoran President Nayib Buekele said on Twitter, hours after the Central American nation became the world’s first to adopt the cryptocurrency as legal tender. Bukele said El Salvador was “buying the dip” after prices of the currency dropped sharply on Tuesday morning. …
Read More »El Salvador top court rules presidents can serve two consecutive terms
El Salvador’s top court has ruled that the country’s president can serve two consecutive terms, opening the door for incumbent Nayib Bukele to stand for re-election in 2024. Issued late on Friday, the ruling was handed down by judges appointed by lawmakers from Bukele’s ruling party in May after they …
Read More »US Vice President Kamala Harris to visit U.S.-Mexico border on Friday
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the U.S.-Mexico border on Friday for the first time since taking a lead role in immigration issues, her office said, bowing to pressure that she make the high-profile trip.
Read More »Harris message to migrants: ‘Do not come, do not come’
US Vice President Kamala Harris is on a three-day trip to Central America, aiming to stem the flow of migrants to the US. United States Vice President Kamala Harris kicked off a three-day diplomatic trip to the Northern Triangle on Monday focused on stemming migration to the US. During a …
Read More »El Salvador President Bukele wants Bitcoin as legal tender
The move, if approved, would make El Salvador the first country in the world to formally accept cryptocurrency as legal money. El Salvador may become the first country to make Bitcoin legal tender after President Nayib Bukele announced he would soon propose a bill that could transform the remittance-dependent economy. …
Read More »Five of Salvadoran president’s allies accused of corruption: US
The US State Department lists several politicians and officials in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador ‘credibly alleged to be corrupt. A US State Department report on Central American officials “credibly alleged” to be corrupt includes five Salvadoran officials (PDF) with ties to President Nayib Bukele, six sitting Honduran lawmakers, and …
Read More »Migrant arrivals at US-Mexico border rose slightly in April
New data shows the number of migrant children travelling alone to the US dropped by 12 per cent from March to April. The number of migrants arriving at the United States’ southern border with Mexico rose slightly during the month of April compared with the previous month, according to the …
Read More »El Salvador’s parliament stormed by armed police and troops
A group of Salvadoran soldiers armed with automatic weapons have briefly occupied El Salvador’s parliament while President Bukele issued an ultimatum to lawmakers to approve a loan, which the government needs to equip crime-fighting forces. They forced their way into the Congress building on Sunday, with President Nayib Bukele taking …
Read More »Supreme Court allows Trump to deny asylum to many Central Americans.
The US Supreme Court on Wednesday granted a request by President Donald Trump’s administration to fully enforce a new rule that would curtail asylum applications by immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, a key element of his hardline immigration policies. The court said the rule, which requires most immigrants who want …
Read More »Photo of drowned migrants triggers fight over Trump asylum clampdown
A harrowing photo of a Salvadoran migrant and his young daughter who drowned in the Rio Grande at the U.S.-Mexico border became the focus on Wednesday of a U.S. political debate over President Donald Trump’s asylum policies. The picture of Oscar Alberto Martinez, 25, and his 24-month-old daughter Angie Valeria …
Read More »Girl, 10, 6th known child to die after US border detention.
U.S. authorities say a 10-year-old girl from El Salvador died last year after being detained by border authorities in a previously unreported case. The death marks the sixth known case in the last year. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday that she died on Sept. 29 …
Read More »Earthquake Shakes El Salvador, Nicaragua – Reports.
Authorities in the Central American nation of El Salvador have reported a 6.2-magnitude earthquake, according to the nation’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. The earthquake had its epicenter off the coast of the La Union department, about 200 kilometers southeast of the capital San Salvador. Meanwhile, the United States …
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