Latin America

• Venezuela: over a hundred political prisoners freed 29 January 2026
  More than a hundred people held as political prisoners in Venezuela have been freed, according to the human rights group Foro Penal (FP). Among them were FP lawyer Kennedy Tejeda and communications student Juan Francisco Alvarado. Tejeda, a lawyer and human rights defender, had disappeared after visiting detainees in Carabobo…
• Guatemala: state of emergency after prison riots and ten police killed 22 January 2026
  A wave of coordinated gang violence which left ten police officers dead has prompted the government of Guatemala to declare a thirty-day state of emergency. The attacks began with riots at three prisons, where members of the Barrio 18 gang took guards hostage, and quickly spread to targeted killings of…
• Colombia: another church leader killed in targeted attack 8 January 2026
  A Colombian church leader has been killed in a targeted New Year’s Eve attack, highlighting renewed dangers facing pastors in the country. Pastor José Otoniel Ortega was shot repeatedly by armed attackers while celebrating with his family and later died from his injuries. Members of his congregation described him as…
• Venezuela / USA: Trump’s increasing pressure on Maduro 4 December 2025
  On 21 November, weeks of escalating threats, military posturing, and diplomatic tension culminated not in conflict but in a stark phone call in which Donald Trump reportedly issued Nicolás Maduro an ultimatum: leave Venezuela immediately or face the consequences. This shows that Trump is not easing pressure and may be…
• Honduras: manual recount necessary for presidential election result 4 December 2025
  The Honduran presidential election has become increasingly tense after the National Electoral Council (CNE) announced a full manual recount of the 30 November vote. Currently there is a wafer-thin margin between the two leading candidates, which has prompted the CNE to announce a ‘technical tie’; it is calling for patience…