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Central America faces a period of heightened security cooperation with the US and political transitions, while economic activity is marked by mining resumption in Guatemala and US visa actions against Costa Rican media. The region's dominant tension is between US-backed security crackdowns and domestic political shifts, with Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Honduras as key actors.
May 2026
Week of May 18, compared to 12-week average
Economic activity is mixed: mining giant Fénix resumes operations in Guatemala amid bribery and land destruction allegations, while US visa revocations target Costa Rican newspaper executives critical of a Trump ally. A tolling deal for 40 DC fast chargers in San Jose signals clean energy investment.
Political transitions dominate: Laura Fernández becomes Costa Rica's new president, keeping the outgoing president in high-profile posts. Guatemala ends the era of a prosecutor who defended the corrupt, with a new prosecutor planning to review exile cases, while indigenous leaders who saved Guatemala's president are jailed.
Security crises escalate: at least 25 killed in two separate shootings in Honduras, and organized crime weaves a new maritime trafficking network between Mexico and Guatemala. Guatemala requests and agrees to US military cooperation against drug trafficking, with three extradited to the US.
Repression and disappearances dominate societal concerns: indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera dies in Nicaragua after nearly 3 years of detention, and families of Nicaragua's disappeared fear loved ones may die in prison. Salvadoran mothers organize to find sons in Bukele's prisons, while a building collapse in Salvador kills two.