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☆ Insight: Catholic clergy report surveillance, beatings amid Nicaragua's crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( David Alire Garcia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega's five-year campaign against the Catholic church has intensified since February, according to interviews with five priests inside and outside the country. This week's brief release of Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Alvarez raised hopes for a turning point. The priests describe heavy surveillance of church services by police or civilian members of government-sponsored community councils, especially since Easter. His latest restrictions seem aimed at silencing priests, Erick Diaz, 33, a Nicaraguan priest in exile in Chicago, said. Nine church leaders inside and outside Nicaragua did not respond to interview requests for this story.

Persons: Daniel Ortega's, Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Alvarez, Mexican Bishop Ramon Castro, Pope Francis, Nicaragua's, Ortega, Rosario Murillo, Bishop Alvarez, Alvarez, Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, Brenes, Martha Patricia Molina, Molina, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Erick Diaz, David Alire Garcia, Philip Pullella, Ismael Lopez, Suzanne Goldenberg Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Sunday, Nicaraguan, Catholic, Vatican, Reuters, Organization of American, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, Nicaraguan, Managua, Nicaragua, Mexican, Eastern Europe, Matagalpa, Texas, Leon, Vatican, Chicago, Rome, San Jose

☆ World Bank green lights $500 mln loan to boost Costa Rica's budget
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAN JOSE, June 16 (Reuters) - The World Bank approved a new $500 million loan to Costa Rica aimed at strengthening support for the government's budget, according to a statement from the international lender released on Friday. The loan will support the Central American country's post-pandemic efforts to grow employment and wages and assist small and medium-sized companies. "While Costa Rica has made much progress in the environmental, economic, and social spheres, the reduction of poverty and inequality remains an ongoing challenge," Carine Clert, World Bank country manager for El Salvador and Costa Rica, said in a statement announcing the new financing package. The 19.5 year loan includes a four-year grace period, with an interest rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) plus a variable margin in U.S. dollars, the statement added. Reporting by Alvaro Murillo; Writing by Valentine Hilaire; Editing by David Alire GarciaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Alvaro Murillo, Valentine Hilaire, David Alire Garcia Organizations: JOSE, World Bank, Central American, Bank, El, Thomson Locations: Costa Rica, El Salvador

☆ World Bank green lights $500 million loan to boost Costa Rica's budget
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Persons: Alvaro Murillo, Valentine Hilaire, David Alire Garcia Organizations: JOSE, World Bank, Central American, Bank, El, Thomson Locations: Costa Rica, El Salvador

☆ Costa Rica president gets tougher on security as crime soars
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAN JOSE, April 19 (Reuters) - Costa Rica's president on Wednesday presented a set of security measures in response to surging crime rates in the Central American country, which is currently on track this year to beat 2022's record murder rate. Costa Rica ended 2022 with a record 12.6 homicides per 100,000 residents, according to the judicial research agency OIJ. "We are going to mend the course we lost a long time ago," said Chaves, a week after criticizing those who condemned the security crisis. The country's main business chamber on Friday called for a state of "national emergency," fearing a hit to foreign investment and tourism. Reporting by Alvaro Murillo; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by Isabel Woodford and Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Mexican probe into missing students beset by delays and failure, watchdog says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI), human rights experts who have tracked the investigation, on Friday urged the military to cooperate with informational requests, and for prosecutors to issue more arrest orders. "We have insisted on the need for verifying and carrying out these arrest orders," she told a news conference. Prosecutors last year called for the arrests of 83 military, police and government officials, among others, with 21 of the arrest orders later withdrawn. Buitrago said the GIEI has now sent evidence to prosecutors supporting the arrest orders that were dropped. The rights experts said the military had told them that certain documents and records did not exist even after the GIEI had obtained some of those same records.

☆ Human rights court begins review of high-stakes El Salvador abortion case
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Mayela LopezSAN JOSE/SAN SALVADOR, March 22 (Reuters) - The Inter-American Court of Human Rights on Wednesday began hearing the historic case of a Salvadoran woman who was denied an abortion in 2013 despite doctors' calls to terminate her high-risk pregnancy. They recommended an abortion but would not perform the procedure given El Salvador's severe prohibition. Beatriz appealed to the Supreme Court and the IACHR, but the Salvadoran court rejected her request and in June 2013 she underwent a C-section. The court's public hearing, which is being held in San Jose, Costa Rica until Thursday, was marked by both anti-abortion protests and demonstrations of support for Beatriz. Reporting by Alvaro Murillo in San Jose and Nelson Renteria in San Salvador; Editing by David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Brazil to criticize Nicaragua, but wants door open to dialogue, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The concern will be presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, the sources who helped prepare the document told Reuters on Monday. Brazilian diplomats took part in the negotiation of the declaration criticizing Nicaragua, but chose not to endorse it because it did not leave a door open for negotiations. At the same time, however, the Lula government wants to keep an open door to be a possible channel for dialogue, emphasizing that Brazil is committed to democracy and wants to play a "constructive" role in solving the crisis in Nicaragua. The report by the council's experts points to Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo, the president's wife, as those responsible for the abuses. Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia Writing by Anthony Boadle Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/5] A few of the more than 200 freed political prisoners from Nicaragua disembark from a bus after they arrived in the United States at Dulles International Airport in Virginia near Washington, U.S., February 9, 2023. A Nicaraguan judge denounced the 222 prisoners released as "traitors" in a televised statement, and said they had been "deported." The released prisoners will be allowed to enter the United States on emergency humanitarian grounds, the administration of President Joe Biden said in a note to Congress. She added: "This sovereign decision of the Nicaraguan state has been taken in the supreme interest of our country, to live in harmony." In addition to the 222 individuals who went to the United States, two others were freed but chose not to travel, the State Department said.

☆ Costa Rica says China apologizes for balloon 'incident' over its airspace
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAN JOSE, Feb 6 (Reuters) - China apologized to Costa Rica for a balloon that flew over its territory, the Central American country's government said on Monday, after a separate suspected Chinese spy balloon traveling over the United States sparked a major political and diplomatic spat. According to a brief statement from Costa Rica's foreign ministry, the Chinese government recognized that one of its balloons flew over Costa Rica, and China's embassy in San Jose "apologized for the incident," while insisting the balloon was focused on scientific research, mainly weather studies. Costa Rican officials were told by Chinese officials the balloon flight path deviated from its original plan and it had a limited ability to correct the error, according to the statement. A Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman told reporters at a news conference in Beijing on Monday that the balloon spotted in Latin America was used for civilian purposes. Planes were notified at the time, but no further action was taken, according to the civil aviation director.

☆ Colombian military spots balloon-like object in its airspace
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 5 (Reuters) - A day before a U.S. military jet shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon, Colombia's military confirmed a sighting over its territory of an airborne object similar to a balloon. U.S. military officials on Friday said a Chinese balloon was spotted somewhere over Latin America but did not specify its location. The Colombian statement did not mention China or any other country as the balloon's origin. The statement added that the object exhibited "characteristics similar to those of a balloon," and that the air force monitored it until it left Colombian airspace. The saga of the Chinese balloon, downed off of the U.S. Atlantic coast on Saturday, captivated public attention for days, and was widely seen as worsening U.S.-China relations.

☆ Costa Rica's economic growth seen slowing down this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAN JOSE, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Costa Rica's economic growth will likely slow this year, according to a central bank forecast released on Tuesday that also estimates faster growth in 2024. The central bank sees gross domestic product growing 2.7% this year and 3.5% in 2024. Income from tourism, a key sector, had increased from a year ago, as had exports, the central bank said. "The performance of economic activity had a positive impact on business and consumer confidence," it said. By 2024, the inflation rate should drop and economic activity was likely to pick up steam, the bank added.

☆ U.S. hands Mexico key suspect in 2014 disappearance of 43 college students
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY — U.S. authorities handed over a key suspect in the 2014 disappearance of 43 college students to Mexico, after the man was caught trying to cross the border Dec. 20 without proper documents. Mexico’s National Immigration Institute identified the man only by his first name, but a federal agent later confirmed Thursday that he is Alejandro Tenescalco. Tenescalco was a police supervisor in the city of Iguala, where the students from a rural teachers college were abducted by municipal police. Investigations suggest corrupt police turned the students over to a drug gang, who killed them and burned their bodies. Also, then federal Attorney General Jesús Murillo Karam has been accused of inventing the government’s original account based on torture and manipulation of evidence.

☆ U.S. court sentences ex-Bolivian interior minister to 6 years in bribery scheme
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 4 (Reuters) - A federal U.S. court sentenced former Bolivian Interior Minister Arturo Murillo to nearly six years behind bars on Wednesday for conspiracy to commit money laundering, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement. Murillo was sentenced to 70 months in prison in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Another former Bolivian official and three Americans were sentenced in the United States last June after they also pleaded guilty to roles in the same scheme, the department said. Bolivia's government has requested Murillo's extradition to Bolivia, where he faces a host of criminal charges. "Justice has spoken in the United States.

☆ In Texas, Nothing Says Christmas Like Tamales
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Elizabeth Findell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

For Texas tamale purveyors such as Delia’s, it is crunchtime as demand for the traditional treat surges. SAN JUAN, Texas—Preorders for Christmas tamales begin in July at Delia’s, a South Texas chain with a fervent regional following. By mid-December, constables must be on hand to direct lines of cars stretching down the street to get into restaurants. On a recent morning at Delia’s San Juan location, Gabriel Murillo, an IT manager for the local school district, was picking up a cooler with more than a thousand tamales to be served at a holiday staff appreciation luncheon. Outside, two semitrailer trucks were loaded with boxes of online orders waiting to be shipped.

☆ Costa Rica seeks entry to North America trade pact
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAN JOSE, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Costa Rica has told the United States it is interested in joining the North American trade pact between the United States, Mexico and Canada, President Rodrigo Chaves said on Wednesday. Dodd said he had spoken with Chaves about opportunities to boost economic ties, but made no comment on a possible entry for Costa Rica into the North American trade pact. "We are evaluating opportunities," said Tovar, adding membership in the trade pact would give Costa Rica an "immense advantage" and add another strategic link to global supply chains. The United States is Costa Rica's largest trading partner, according to the U.S. State Department, accounting for 38% of Costa Rica's imports and 42% of exports. The Central American country has 10 bilateral and five multilateral trade agreements in force.

☆ In title bout, 'Chocolatito' fights for Nicaragua leader Daniel Ortega
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Drazen Jorgic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Two years later, the wealthy Coen family contracted Gonzalez to promote their Grupo Coen conglomerate in three world title fights in exchange for a house worth $150,000. Gonzalez's relationship with Grupo Coen also fractured. In 2019, he sued Grupo Coen after it refused to pay the boxer, claiming he didn't contest enough world title fights to fullfil his contract. This year, the courts awarded an extra $150,000 to Gonzalez against Grupo Coen, according to court documents seen by Reuters. Grupo Coen declined to comment.

☆ Pablo Escobar was gunned down 29 years ago today — here are 3 theories about who took the Medellin kingpin's life
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

By 1993, Colombian authorities, the US government, and rival criminals were all after Pablo Escobar. "Perseguidos por Pablo Escobar," or People Persecuted by Pablo Escobar — known as Los Pepes — was made up of rival drug traffickers, paramilitaries, and others scorned by the Medellín cartel boss. His son, Juan Pablo Escobar Henao, who has changed his name to Sebastián Marroquín, has insisted that his father took his own life on that Medellín rooftop. "I have no doubt" that Pablo Escobar planned his own death, Marroquín said in a 2014 interview. The question of who killed Pablo Escobar is likely to go unresolved, probably by design.

☆ Prominent Guatemalan investigative newspaper “El Periódico” halts print edition
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

GUATEMALA CITY — The prominent Guatemalan investigative newspaper “El Periódico” announced Wednesday that it is stopping its print edition, after the government arrested the paper’s president. Zamora has overseen dozens of investigations into corruption during his leadership at El Periódico since the paper was founded in 1996. All of the paper’s reporters have been let go, and it is not clear how it can continue with digital editions only. Giammattei has been dismissive of U.S. officials’ criticism of his attorney general and what they see as Guatemala backsliding on battling corruption. His administration has silenced independent press outlets, driving journalists into exile and taking television stations off the air.

☆ Colombia wants Biden admin. to grant temporary legal status to its citizens in U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombia wants the Biden administration to grant temporary legal status to its citizens now living in the United States, noting its own efforts to address regional migration by hosting 2 million Venezuelans who fled their homes. In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, he asks President Joe Biden to grant Colombians already in the U.S. a form of temporary status called Deferred Enforced Departure. It is unclear how many Colombians are living in the United States without legal status. Murillo Urritia said there are nearly 2 million Colombians living in the United States, without elaborating on their immigration status. The Biden administration has extended temporary status for some countries and added Afghanistan, Ukraine, Myanmar, Cameroon and Venezuela, reversing a Trump-era trend to cut back on protections for those already in the United States.

☆ ‘Murillo: From Heaven to Earth’ Review: Restoring a Legacy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Lance Esplund | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

When you travel through Spain, it becomes readily apparent that the twin peaks of the Spanish Golden Age are El Greco (1541-1614) and Diego Velázquez (1599-1660). Towering, also, are Jusepe de Ribera (1591-1652), Francisco de Zurbarán (1598-1664) and Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617-1682). Later arose Francisco de Goya (1746-1828), who—bridging El Greco and Picasso—is known as both the last of the old and the first of the modern Spanish masters. Well into the 19th century, Murillo—the leading religious painter of Seville during his lifetime—was the most highly esteemed Spanish artist in Spain and throughout Europe, and practically the only one known internationally. Celebrated for fusing secular realism and spiritual allegory, Murillo was long equated with Leonardo and Michelangelo.

[1/6] Nov 5, 2022; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles FC forward Carlos Vela (10) celebrates with the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy after defeating the Philadelphia Union in the 2022 MLS Cup championship game at Banc of California Stadium. With the win LAFC have delivered on the high expectation that came when they joined MLS in 2018. "The reason why I came here was to try and help the club win the MLS Cup," said Bale, who will captain Wales in the Qatar 2022 World Cup that kicks off later this month. It's important for this club to go to the next level, and I think by winning this trophy, it shows that we are. Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Grant McCoolOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Major League Soccer Cup: Gareth Bale scores dramatic goal as Los Angeles Football Club triumphs in thrilling penalty shootout
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Jacob Lev | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Gareth Bale’s dramatic, late goal helped Los Angeles Football Club win the Major League Soccer Cup for the first time in a thrilling, frantic final against Philadelphia Union at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles. “The reason why I came here was to try and help the club win the MLS Cup,” the Wales international added. Trailing 1-0 at the start of the second half, Dániel Gazdag of the Union scored the equalizer when he picked up José Martínez’s scuffed shot inside the box. The game remained knotted up until the 83rd minute when Jesús Murillo’s goal gave Los Angeles the lead again. McCarthy celebrates LAFC's victory in Los Angeles.

☆ Costa Rica cenbank raises 2022 growth projection to 4.3% as tourism recovers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAN JOSE, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Costa Rica's economy is expected to grow 4.3% in 2022, its central bank said on Monday, an upgrade to an earlier projection from boosts expected in tourism and business services. The new estimate for 2022 growth domestic product (GDP) improves on last July's projection by 0.9 percentage points. The central bank, however, also reduced the growth outlook for 2023 from 3.2% to 2.7% because of challenges in the global economy. Costa Rica's economy grew 7.8% last year as it recovered from a 2020 recession brought on by COVID-19 damage to the country's ecotourism. Tourism authorities expect 2 million visitors in 2022, just two-thirds of the 3 million arrivals in 2019, but above the 1.35 million reported for last year.

☆ Biden targets Nicaragua’s gold in new move against President Daniel Ortega
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Previous rounds of sanctions have focused on Ortega, his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo, and members of their family and inner circle. Together with the Treasury Department’s simultaneous sanctioning of Nicaragua’s General Directorate of Mines, the order all but makes it illegal for Americans to do business with Nicaragua’s gold industry. The Biden administration’s targeting of the gold industry could sap Ortega’s government of one of its biggest sources of revenue. According to Nicaragua’s Central Bank, the country exported a record 348,532 ounces of gold in 2021 and the country’s mining association projects exports totaling 500,000 ounces in 2023. Nicaraguans began fleeing their country in 2018, initially to neighboring Costa Rica, after Ortega violently put down massive street protests.

☆ U.S. mining sanctions take aim at Nicaragua's Ortega
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks about student debt relief at Delaware State University in Dover, Delaware, U.S., October 21, 2022. REUTERS/Leah MillisOct 24 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's administration ratcheted up economic pressure on Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega's government on Monday through a series of steps targeting the country's mining, gold and other sectors. Biden signed an executive order that includes the authority to ban U.S. companies from doing business in Nicaragua's gold industry, while U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions the head of Nicaragua's mining authority, along with another top government official, the department said in a statement. The order's expanded sanctions powers could also be used to block new U.S. investment in certain other sectors in Nicaragua, the importation of certain Nicaraguan products or the exportation of certain items to Nicaragua, it added. The two sanctions announced on Monday target Nicaragua's General Directorate of Mines, a unit of the Nicaraguan Ministry of Energy and Mines that manages most mining operations in the country, and Reinaldo Gregorio Lenin Cerna Juarez, a close Ortega confidante, Treasury said.

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