Postcard from Central America - Newsletter #117

The need for more investments into renewable energy in LAC

Latin America and the Caribbean are leading the world in the energy transition process. Between 2015 and 2022, the region increased its renewable capacity by 51% to reach 64% of electricity generation, mainly with hydroelectricity, solar, and wind energy. However, if the region wants to reach the goal of net zero emissions by 2050, the pace must accelerate.

The Panama Canal is running dry

Unlike the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal is fed by a freshwater lake, Lake Gatún, and its water level is falling critically low.

The Panama Canal is reliant on rainwater, which is in short supply.

A lack of rain and the El Nino weather phenomenon have contributed to the second driest year in the canal's 110-year history.

Last October was the driest month since records began. The canal region saw 41% less rainfall than normal, and the drought threatens to continue disrupting the $270bn (￡213bn) worth of cargo that flows through the Atlantic-Pacific shortcut annually.

A timeline of the crisis in Haiti

Haiti is once again facing a wave of chaos fueled by ongoing gang wars, which have spiraled since the 2021 assassination of the country’s president. Gang leaders have grown increasingly violent and empowered, taking advantage of power vacuums in the Caribbean nation to grow in strength. As gangs continue to rampage across Haiti, the country’s embattled Prime Minister Ariel Henry remains blocked out of the country due to the closing of the airport.

The "Trial of the Century" in Honduras

Hondurans call it the “Trial of the Century,” but it’s occurring in a New York courtroom some 3,500 miles (5,630 kilometers) away.

Former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández has been on trial since February in a federal courthouse in Manhattan, accused of taking bribes to protect drug traffickers, even as he portrayed himself publicly as an ally in the U.S. drug war.

Back to the old ways!

In November allies of Honduras’s new president bypassed congress to name an attorney general who is friendly to the ruling party. Peru’s congress was set to vote on whether to remove members of?the independent body that selects prosecutors and judges, even as numerous legislators are currently under investigation for corruption.

Mexico’s populist president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, is trying to scrap the state body which looks into impropriety. Ruling politicians in Guatemala fought bitterly to stop Bernardo Arévalo, a former anti-corruption campaigner, from being inaugurated as president in January.

There is urgency to tackle climate change before it is too late

Last month was the warmest February on record globally, making it the ninth month in a row with record temperatures for the time of year, scientists have said.

Global sea surface temperatures are also at their highest ever recorded, data from the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service shows.

The data shows February was 1.77C warmer than the pre-industrial average for the month, from 1850 to 1900, and 0.81C above 1991-2020 levels. The global average temperature for the past 12 months – between March 2023 and February 2024 – was the highest on record, at 1.56C above pre-industrial levels.

Sex tourism in Colombia

The Colombian city of Medellín is an epicenter of drug-and-rob cases linked to the use of dating apps such as Tinder and Grindr.

In an unprecedented meeting last week, Tinder agreed to start training Colombian police on the app’s crime reporting portal.

Experts and victims say steps taken by platforms are not enough as the burden of safety still largely falls on users.