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Cuba Aid Sailboats Arrive in Havana After Disappearance at Sea

The two sailboats transporting humanitarian aid to Cuba arrived in Havana yesterday after a long journey from Mexico during which they disappeared and were later relocated in a search mission. The nine-member crew, which included U.S., French, and German citizens, as well as a four-year-old child, appeared to be in good health and good spirits. They smiled and gave thumbs up as they docked in the capital under clear skies. The vessels, missing since Thursday, were carrying the latest shipments from the Nuestra América convoy, an international humanitarian initiative that has delivered aid to support Cuba as a U.S. oil blockade worsens the island’s energy and economic crisis. We deeply regret having made people worry about us. We were never in any real danger, Adnaan Stumo, a 33-year-old American and coordinator of the sailboat convoy, told the press. It was not a very difficult trip. It was just a tortuous one, Stumo said. Of the child, he added, he is a strong young sailor. We were...
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500 Prisoners Die in El Salvador Custody During Bukele Anti-Gang Crackdown

A Salvadoran human rights organization says at least 500 people have died in state custody since President Nayib Bukele launched his anti-gang offensive four years ago, with the vast majority having no ties to criminal groups. Socorro Jurídico Humanitario released the findings Friday as the state of emergency that underpins the crackdown reached its fourth anniversary. The group, which works with families of detainees, based its tally on testimonies, medical records and other unofficial sources. It said 94 percent of those who died were not gang members. The state of emergency began March 27, 2022, after a spike in gang killings. Congress has renewed it 48 times, suspending constitutional protections that allow warrantless arrests. Authorities have detained more than 91,300 people during that period, according to government figures. The organization described the deaths as the result of widespread and systematic acts against civilians held by the state. Nearly one-third stemmed fro...
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Guatemala Begins Building Maximum Security Prison for Gang Members

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo placed the first stone Friday for a new maximum-security prison in the eastern department of Izabal that will hold more than 2,000 high-risk inmates, most of them gang members. The ceremony marked the official start of work on the Centro de Cumplimiento de Condena de Máxima Seguridad “El Triunfo” in Morales, about 290 kilometers northeast of Guatemala City. The facility will rise on a former farm seized from a drug trafficker who was extradited and convicted in the United States. Authorities described the project as a key step to regain control of the prison system, where gangs have long directed street crime from behind bars. Interior Minister Marco Antonio Villeda and Defense Minister Henry Sáenz joined Arévalo at the site, where army engineers have already moved in heavy machinery. The prison forms part of a broader government push against organized crime following coordinated attacks by the Barrio 18 gang in mid-January. Those assaults killed...
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Costa Rica Cracks Down on Taxes for Airbnb and Short-Term Rentals

There is a law that came into effect October 2019 which aims to oversee tourist rental services such as: homes, apartments, villas, chalets, bungalows, single rooms and any other similar services and to protect the tourists that utilize these types of services. It also seeks to regulate the platforms that provide these services as intermediaries between the owner and occupant. This law refers to nontraditional rentals, as separate from traditional hotels and motels. The law wants to protect these specific consumers in three principal areas: a) Accuracy of information between what is promised and what is delivered b) Providing for minimum safety, health and hygiene requirements under law c) Protecting the consumer´s privacy and data Those that would rent these types of temporary nontraditional services, whether they are corporations or individuals, must register with the Institute of Tourism, register with the tax authorities, issue the digital invoice, pay the appropriate taxes, ...
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Tiger Woods Arrested on Suspicion of DUI After Rollover Crash in Florida

Golf legend Tiger Woods was arrested this afternoon on charges of driving under the influence of substances following a single-vehicle rollover crash in Martin County, authorities confirmed. The 50-year-old 15-time major champion was not injured in the incident. According to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, Woods was behind the wheel of a Land Rover that struck a pickup truck before overturning near 281 Beach Road on Jupiter Island shortly after 1 p.m. Sheriff John Budensiek told reporters that Woods displayed clear signs of impairment at the scene. Field sobriety tests were conducted, and while Woods passed a breathalyzer test for alcohol, he refused to provide a urine sample when requested by investigators. “He was cooperative, but he was not trying to incriminate himself,” Budensiek said. Woods has been charged with DUI (driving under the influence of substances), property damage, and refusal to submit to a lawful test following a crash. He was transported to the Martin County...
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Cuba Children’s Heart Hospital Faces Hard Choices as Fuel Crisis Deepens

Doctors at Cuba’s main pediatric cardiac hospital are facing heartbreaking dilemmas as a U.S.-imposed fuel blockade puts even more pressure on the island’s fragile health system: which children receive life-saving treatment first, and which must wait longer. During a visit by journalists to Havana’s William Soler pediatric cardiac center, mothers wearing medical masks stayed beside their children, seated or lying in dim hospital rooms where the only light came from the sun through the windows. Cuban hospitals have struggled for years with shortages and aging equipment, but the situation has worsened since U.S. President Donald Trump imposed what amounts to a de facto oil blockade on the island in January. Herminia Palenzuela, a 79-year-old cardiologist, said the hospital, the only one of its kind in the country, must now make “very difficult” decisions. Children with less severe cases are placed “at the end of the list, simply waiting” for resources, Palenzuela said. The hospital tre...
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What Costa Rica Taught Me About Loving a Reliable Truck

I love my truck more than you love your vehicle. I’m not a car guy. I never have been. I always owned used vehicles from my teens to my early twenties. I didn’t give my car much thought. It was my way of getting to work and not much else. When my wife and I were living together in Pittsburgh, PA, I gave up my car completely and used the bus. When we decided to leave Pittsburgh and move to the tropical beach, I thought Costa Rica was going to teach me something deep and meaningful about life and how to live it. And it did. However, the methodology was nothing like I had expected. Costa Rica was going to teach me to appreciate the things I have and one of the ways it was going to do it was through cars. I’ve documented my Costa Rican vehicular experience before but I’ll quickly share the highlights. I’ve been the owner of three old, unreasonably expensive SUVs whose problems included three exploding windows, one exploding battery, constant AC deaths, a brake failure while descending a...
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