Cryptocurrencies in Central America Amidst the Need for Vaccine Coordination

COVID-19 Reports on Latin America and the Caribbean: No. 58 President Bukele in El Salvador instituted some of the toughest measures in the region to contain the pandemic, and managed to win a major victory in his control of the legislature. His pandemic relief efforts included 3 months of frozen utilities charges, and $300/month subsidies to

Political Oppression in Nicaragua and Migrants from Central America

COVID-19 Reports on Latin America and the Caribbean: No. 57 It is hard to believe that while people in the USA and other developed nations are relaxing their health regulations rapidly, Latin America is still paying a deadly toll of over one million deaths for the actions or lack thereof from their respective governments. In Central

Spotlight on the Caribbean: Dominica

COVID-19 Reports on Latin America and the Caribbean: No. 56 The first documented case of COVID-19 in the Caribbean and Latin America was reported in Brazil on February 26, 2021. In Dominica, the first positive case of COVID-19 was reported on March 22, 2021. The following day, the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 dashboard documented the first

Massive Protests in Colombia Amidst the Pandemic’s Third Wave

COVID-19 Reports on Latin America and the Caribbean: No. 55 As the pandemic continues to ravage Latin America and the Caribbean, Colombia has become one of the hotspots of COVID-19 in the region.  Recent calculations indicate 10,000 new infected cases on average every day in April and May and more than 80,000 deaths in the country

El Sistema Inter-Americano de Derechos Humanos Ante la Pandemia

Reportes sobre el COVID-19 en América Latina y el Caribe: No. 54 (In English) Desde la llegada del COVID-19 en América Latina y el Caribe, el Sistema Inter-Americano de Derechos Humanos se ha localizado en la primera línea de la respuesta regional de los derechos humanos ante la crisis. La Comisión Inter-Americana de Derechos Humanos

The Inter-American Human Rights System Facing a Pandemic

COVID-19 Reports on Latin America and the Caribbean: No. 54 (En Español) Since the arrival of COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Inter-American Human Rights System has been at the forefront of the regional human rights response to the crisis. Both the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR or the Commission) and the Inter-American

The Response of Jamaica’s Justice and National Courts System

COVID-19 Reports on Latin America and the Caribbean: No. 53 The Jamaican justice system has responded in a variety of ways to the virus. The Disaster Risk Management Risk Act (Enforcement Measures) of March 16, 2020 marked the first of 36 Acts and counting enacted to fight the effects of the virus by the justice system. The

Corruption, Migration and Upcoming Elections in Honduras

COVID-19 Reports on Latin America and the Caribbean: No. 52 Honduras is only slightly bigger than Guatemala in terms of land mass (at 112,090 sq km) but holds only half of its population with 9.2 million.  90% of the country identifies as mestizo, 7% indigenous, 2% black, and 1% white.  58.4% of the population lives in

Drastic Measures and Lack of Accountability in El Salvador

COVID-19 Reports on Latin America and the Caribbean: No. 51 El Salvador is by far the smallest of the three countries, covering only 21,041 square kilometers with a population of 6.5 million with the following ethnic-racial breakdown: 86.3% mestizo, 12.7% white, .2% indigenous (Lenca, Kakawira, and Nahua-Pipil), 0.1% black, and 0.6% other. Consequently, El Salvador has the

Guatemala Between Migrants and International Aid

COVID-19 Reports on Latin America and the Caribbean: No. 50 Data and Stats on Guatemala Of the three Northern Triangle countries, Guatemala has the largest overall population (17.2 million) as well as the highest percentage of indigenous peoples, with only 56% mestizos (or ladinos as they are called locally), 41.7% Maya, 1.8% Xinca; smaller ethnic and