Latest news with #CentroAmerica
Washington Post
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Outspoken Nicaraguan opposition figure shot to death at his home in Costa Rica
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — A retired Nicaraguan military officer turned outspoken critic of President Daniel Ortega was shot to death Thursday at his home in Costa Rica, authorities said. Roberto Samcam, 67, had been living in exile since July 2018 when paramilitaries assaulted his home in Nicaragua. Police say a man entered the condominium complex where Samcam lived northeast of the Costa Rican capital of San Jose and went directly to the retired major's home around 7:30 a.m.
Bloomberg
5 days ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Violeta Chamorro, Nicaragua's Former President, Dies at 95
Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, the Nicaraguan leader whose rule in the 1990s marked the end of the country's civil war and who served as Latin America's first elected female president, died on Saturday at 95. Chamorro took power in 1990 after beating revolutionary leader Daniel Ortega in a surprise election in which she united opposition forces against his Sandinista party. Ortega, who had led the overthrow of the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza after four decades of his family's iron-fisted rule, was expected to win the vote.
Wall Street Journal
6 days ago
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
Violeta Chamorro, Who Led Nicaragua's End to Cold-War Era Civil War, Dies at 94
Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, Latin America's first elected female president whose stunning victory at the polls in 1990 helped bring an end to eight years of a civil war in Nicaragua that involved the U.S., has died at 94. Doña Violeta, as she was known in Nicaragua, died after a long illness in Costa Rica, where she had been taken by her family in 2023. Her body will remain in Costa Rica until Nicaragua is again free and democratic, her family said.
Reuters
06-06-2025
- Climate
- Reuters
Eruption at Guatemala's Fuego volcano forces over 700 to evacuate
MEXICO CITY, June 6 (Reuters) - An ongoing eruption at central Guatemala's Fuego volcano has caused over 700 people living in nearby communities to evacuate, the country's disaster agency CONRED said on Friday. The volcano, located some 18 km (11 miles) from the city of Antigua, was producing a column of smoke and lava stream that was accumulating around its crater, Guatemala's seismology agency added. Authorities said they continued to monitor the situation.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Guatemala's ‘Volcano of Fire' sends ash, lava flowing as hundreds flee
Guatemalan authorities have ordered the evacuation of hundreds of people, after Central America's most active volcano spewed gas and ash thousands of metres into the sky. According to an emergency bulletin issued late on Thursday by the country's National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRED), Volcan de Fuego (Volcano of Fire) emitted hot gases and volcanic matter that was registered up to 7km (4 miles) from the site of the eruption. Residents from communities near the volcano, which is located some 35km (22 miles) from the capital, Guatemala City, were told to move to shelters. Juan Laureano, spokesperson for CONRED, said at least 594 people were moved to shelters from five communities in the Chimaltenango, Escuintla and Sacatepequez areas, The Associated Press news agency reported. Given the volcanic activity, the number of evacuees was expected to rise. The government has suspended classes at 39 schools and closed a road linking the south of the country to the colonial city of Antigua, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, CONRED said. Images posted on social media showed fiery lava flowing from the volcano and a mix of ash, rocks and water raging down the volcano's slopes following the eruption. CONRED said the mix of ash and gas spewing into the sky was affecting several communities situated to the northwest, west, and southwest of the volcano. Guatemala's National Institute of Seismology, Volcanology, Meteorology, and Hydrology (INSIVUMEH) said the volcanic activity is expected to last for 40 hours. Ash clouds could reach altitudes of between 3,000 and 7,000 metres (2 to 4 miles) with the potential to affect air navigation, according to reports. The 3,763-meter (12,350-foot) Volcan de Fuego is one of the most active in Central America, resulting in several mass evacuations in recent years due to eruptions, including the most recent in March. In 2018, 215 people were killed and more than 200 went missing when rivers of lava poured down the volcano's slopes, devastating a nearby village, following an eruption.
