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The possibility of allowing the keeping of certain wild birds, such as macaws, has returned to public debate with the new draft of the Wildlife Regulations. This issue has resurfaced as one of the most controversial points in the proposal put forward by the National System of Conservation Areas ( SINAC ). The new wording retains the option to keep birds acquired before 2017 in captivity, even without clear verification mechanisms. For those working in wildlife rescue and management, this poses a risk to conservation. “SINAC has no way of verifying that I’ve had the macaw since before 2017; I could forge an invoice and claim I bought it earlier, and abroad, since sales are prohibited here,” said Laura Porras, director of Icomvis-UNA. The problem, then, is not only legal but also operational. If the animals’ origin cannot be verified, the regulation could end up facilitating illegal ownership. Porras also commented on the case of hybrid iguanas. “Some people brought blue iguanas from ...

Renowned Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora considered a “prisoner of conscience” by international organizations, said Friday that Latin America’s political and economic elites view journalism as a “subversive exercise” and impose severe punishments on those who practice it. Speaking virtually from Guatemala City, where he is under house arrest after spending nearly three years in prison, Zamora addressed the midyear meeting of the Inter American Press Association in Miami to denounce what he described as the region’s lack of commitment to freedom and justice. “Our elites have never embraced them in any Latin American country,” he said. “They are people who have no tolerance or respect for opposing opinions. What they seek is a single discourse, a monologue, and if not, they easily sentence you to imprisonment, burial, or exile,” he added. According to Zamora, ruling classes “throughout Latin America do not want journalists,” but rather “propagandists” and “simple servants.” “T...

Cuban authorities have ordered the release of three Panamanian women detained since late February on accusations of spreading subversive propaganda against the Cuban government, Panama’s Foreign Ministry said Friday. The women — Evelyn Castro, Cinthia del Carmen Camarena and Abigail Sthefany Gudiño — will be allowed to leave Cuban territory, the ministry said in a statement. Cuban officials described the move as a gesture of humanity and friendship toward Panama, citing the women’s cooperation in the legal process as effective collaborators. The decision comes nearly two months after Cuban authorities arrested 10 Panamanian citizens in Havana on February 28. The group faced charges of producing signs with content contrary to Cuba’s constitutional order, an offense punishable by three to eight years in prison under Cuban law. Cuba’s Interior Ministry said at the time that the Panamanians admitted to entering the country with instructions to create the signs. They acknowledged they wo...

A new Museum of Memory has opened in San José, Costa Rica, giving Nicaraguan exiles and victims’ families a public space to document the repression that followed the 2018 protests against Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. The museum, titled Lo que no debemos olvidar — What Should Not Be Forgotten — was created by the Nicaragua Never Again Collective, a human rights group founded in Costa Rica in 2019 by Nicaraguan defenders forced into exile. The group has spent years documenting abuses, supporting victims, and preserving testimony from people affected by state violence in Nicaragua. The space opened on April 20 in San José, the same date Ortega reappeared publicly in Managua on the anniversary of the 2018 uprising. The timing gave the opening a clear political and historical weight: while Nicaragua’s government continues to reject accusations of repression, the museum presents another account, centered on victims, survivors, and the exiled community. The exhibit brings together ...

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A rise in violence and theft in downtown Cartago is changing the way merchants do business, with some closing earlier, reinforcing storefronts and watching customer traffic fade in the afternoon and evening. The concerns are centered in Cartago’s historic commercial district, near the Mercado Central, the Ruins, the old barracks area and the streets surrounding the city’s traditional shopping corridors. Merchants say robberies, armed incidents and the visible presence of unhoused people have altered routines in a city long viewed as quieter than San José. The tension grew sharply after an armed attack on January 11 left two people dead near the Convento de los Padres Capuchinos, close to the city center. Police reports said the incident involved occupants of two vehicles and ended in gunfire and a fatal crash. The victims were identified by their surnames as Aguilar, 22, and Camacho, 21. For many shopkeepers, the violence has become part of daily decision-making. Yessenia Ramírez, 5...