Author: Curtis Harrera

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Saturday raised the alarm about persistent and systematic attempts by the Attorney General’s Office in Guatemala to undercut the general election results, in full disregard of the voters’ will. “Friday’s announcements, aimed at nullifying the outcome of the general elections and questioning the constitution and existence of the Movimiento Semilla party are extremely disturbing,” the High Commissioner said. He stressed that judicial harassment and intimidation against electoral officers and elected officials was unacceptable. “It is encouraging that, despite the long list of judicial and political actions taken by some authorities, which…

Prosecutors in Guatemala asked a court Friday to strip President-elect Bernardo Arevalo of his immunity, saying there could be enough irregularities to annul the election results, a move the Organization of American States called part of “a coup attempt.” It was the third time prosecutors have sought to lift Arevalo’s immunity since he won election in August, and the OAS said prosecutors were seeking to subvert “the will of the people.” Arevalo is scheduled to take office on January 14, and it was unclear whether the prosecutors’ continued targeting of him and his party could interfere with the inauguration. The…

Sheynnis Palacios of Nicaragua was crowned the 2023 Miss Universe at the culmination of the annual beauty pageant, which took place on Saturday night in El Salvador’s capital, San Salvador. Anntonia Porsild of Thailand placed as first runner-up. The winners of 84 countries’ national pageants had competed at this year’s Miss Universe, judged by a panel including model Halima Aden, “Queer Eye” star Carson Kressley, TikTok influencer Avani Gregg and two former Miss Universe winners, Janelle Commissiong of Trinidad & Tobago (Miss Universe 1977) and Iris Mittenaere of France (Miss Universe 2016). Twenty semi-finalists were announced at the beginning of…

MIAMI, Florida – Groups A and D of League C of the Road to W Gold Cup wrapped up on Monday with three matches. Aruba vs. Belize Group A winners Belize celebrated their first-place finish with a 1-0 victory against Aruba at the Guillermo P. Trinidad Stadium in Oranjestad, Aruba. With the win, Belize complete a perfect 6W-0D-0L campaign in the RTWGC, while outscoring opponents 20-1. Aruba wrapped up their campaign in second-place with a 3W-0D-3L mark. It was a very tight affair throughout the entire match and a breakthrough would not come until very late in the 85’. Fittingly, it came from…

As one of the tropical world’s most pernicious pathogens, the dengue virus is responsible for millions of infections and thousands of deaths each year. Now, researchers have made new discoveries about dengue epidemics in Nicaragua, which could redefine how scientists understand immunity against this virus. The results contradict the conventional wisdom that people can become immune to dengue virus for the rest of their lives after repeated infections. Instead, the models suggest that immunity is more temporary in adults, and that it wanes in a population over time until the next outbreak appears. The researchers surprisingly found that the 2015-2016…

Seventh-day Adventists in Belize honored one of their Master Guide leaders and friend during a memorial service at the Calcutta Spanish Adventist Church in Calcutta, Corozal on Dec. 4, 2023. Axel Arhel Rodríguez, age 23, died last month from cancer, family members said. “He was a leader of the Pléyales Pathfinder Club here in the Calcutta Adventist Church and was a very active member, always supporting events at mission and union levels,” said Pastor Gelber Gamboa, youth ministries director of the Belize Union, as he addressed the more than 350 gathered for the memorial service. “He fell in love with Jesus through the…

Today, in support of President Biden’s National Drug Control Strategy and in cooperation with the government of Costa Rica, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Gilbert Hernan de Los Angeles Bell Fernandez (Bell), a Costa Rican narcotics trafficker, known not only for the volume of drugs he moves but the violence with which he operates, who has played a significant role in Costa Rica’s recent transformation into a major narcotics transit hub. According to the State Department’s 2023 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, Costa Rica has a growing domestic drug consumption problem, as drugs warehoused…

It’s a bright, windy December day, and we’re on a boat barreling east from Belize City. For nearly three hours, the Caribbean has been choppy and rough, until the water abruptly goes still. The sudden calm can only mean we’re inside the reef. We’re almost there. I poke my head through a porthole in the ceiling. Ahead of us on the blue horizon, a small island is growing bigger and more distinct. Longer than it is wide, it appears to consist of palm trees, a narrow crescent of yellow-sand beach, and, at the north end, a cluster of wooden, thatch-roofed cabanas.…

Costa Rica’s Administrative and Civil Court has taken decisive action in response to concerns raised by the MarViva Foundation, ordering the immediate suspension of new trawling studies in the country’s waters. The court declared the measure admissible, citing an imminent and irreparable danger to marine ecosystems and state finances. This legal development is a direct response to a series of irregularities and flaws that have been identified, conflicting with normative dispositions issued by the Constitutional Chamber. These irregularities include technical deficiencies in the project, developmental flaws, and potential environmental harm that could lead to irreparable damage, thus violating the constitutional…

Тhе Веlіzе Роrt Аuthоrіtу hаѕ lаunсhеd аn іnvеѕtіgаtіоn іntо thе сіrсumѕtаnсеѕ ѕurrоundіng thе drіftіng оf thе Веlіzе Аggrеѕѕоr ІV, а 115-fооt-lоng уасht, thаt rаn аgrоund іn thе Lіghthоuѕе Rееf Аtоll. Оn Nоvеmbеr 16, 2023, thе vеѕѕеl drіftеd оntо thе rееf аnd wаѕ ѕtuсk thеrе. Тhе Веlіzе Соаѕt Guаrd (ВСG) wаѕ аblе tо dіѕеmbаrk 20 раѕѕеngеrѕ аnd ѕtаff mеmbеrѕ. Тhе Веlіzе Роrt Аuthоrіtу wіll trаvеl tо thе аrеа tо аѕѕеѕѕ thе dаmаgе аnd lаunсh аn іnvеѕtіgаtіоn. Роrt’ѕ Соmmіѕѕіоnеr, Dаrlіn Gаіtаn, ѕауѕ thаt mеmbеrѕ оf thе Веlіzе Соаѕt Guаrd, thе Іntеrnаtіоnаl Меrсhаnt Маrіnе Rеgіѕtrу оf Веlіzе, аnd thе Dераrtmеnt оf thе Еnvіrоnmеnt…