Feature

Downpour Kills 13 in Central America

By Web News 303

Thirteen people have died in flooding and landslides in El Salvador and Guatemala as heavy rains pound Central America, authorities from the two countries said.

In El Salvador, the hardest hit country so far, five people died Monday in a landslide in the western district of Tacuba, in the department of Ahuachapan, Civil Defence chief Luis Amaya said.

Those deaths follow two fatalities recorded on Sunday after a tree and a pole fell on a car that was travelling on a highway in the capital.

Another four people were killed in flooding and landslides between Friday and Sunday, Amaya added.

On Sunday, Congress approved a state of emergency to facilitate the mobilisation of resources.

President Nayib Bukele said on X that he had asked Congress to make Tuesday a federal holiday to avoid commutes and “reduce the risk of tragedies.”

Rains have been slamming both countries since Saturday.

In Guatemala, a 59-year-old woman and a 68-year-old man died on Sunday in the village of Chacaya, in the western municipality of Sacapulas, when they were buried by a collapsed wall, authorities said.

Dozens to hundreds die each year in Central America as the rainy season leaves extensive damage to countries’ infrastructure.

Additionally, the death toll from a landslide in Ecuador rose from six to seven people, with 22 others injured, authorities said Monday.

The landslide was triggered by heavy rains in the tourist Tungurahua province in southern Ecuador.

AFP / Titilayo Kupoliyi

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Foreign

Over 100 Colombians Arrested in El Salvador over Money Laundering Scheme

By Web News 290

Salvadoran officials has announced the arrest of 110 members of an alleged international money laundering ring operating in the Central American country.

Almost all member of the scheme were Colombian nationals, authorities in El Salvador said, alleging that they had failed to register as lenders and had offered residents loans with interest rates of 20 percent.

Those who defaulted received threats and some had their identities stolen by the loan sharks.

“When victims cannot pay, debt collectors use threats and then pretend to want to help them, telling them that their debt will be canceled if they open bank accounts and give them their access codes,” the police said in a statement.

Since 2021, the network had sent more than $20 million back to Colombia.

The money lent to victims had entered El Salvador in the form of remittances and bank transactions, Attorney General Rodolfo Delgado said.

Such “gota a gota” (“drop by drop”) loan schemes originated with Colombian cartels over two decades ago and operate in several Latin American countries, Justice Minister, Gustavo Villatoro said.

In addition to the 105 Colombians, an Argentine, a Guatemalan and three Salvadorans were arrested.

Channelstv/ Titilayo Kupoliyi

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