Panama's National Front for the Defense of Social Rights (FRENADESO) called an end to the 24-hour national strike that shut down construction work and schools with a claimed 95% effectiveness July 13. The strike, called in protest of a new anti-union law, included a march estimated at 1,000 in Panama City. The general secretary of the CONUSI labor federation, Gabriel Castillo, called the strike a "success," while business leaders said that it did not affect most sectors of the economy.

Costa Rica has granted the US military a six-month window to bring 7,000 Marines, five planes and 46 warships into its territory to help intercept north-bound narcotics. The permission, granted by a 31-8 vote of the Legislative Assembly on July 2, allows the US to use the country's territory through Dec. 31. Some legislators voiced concern about the authorization, saying it gives the US a "blank check" to use the nation's territory and threatens its sovereignty. Public Security Minister José María Tijerino said specific requests to dock US military ships must be submitted one month in advance. (Tico Times, July 5)

On June 27 about 200 Costa Ricans joined a Pride march along Paseo Colón to the central park in San José. "Being gay isn't a sickness, it's a sexual preference," said one of the participants in the march, which was initiated by a group of female impersonators who perform in local discotheques. Abelardo Araya, a spokesperson for the Diversity Movement, said his group didn't support the march, which he said "reaffirms myths and prejudices." The Diversity Movement is leading opposition to a referendum scheduled for Dec. 5 on the right to same-sex marriage; LGBT activists fear that conservative Catholics voters will defeat efforts for marriage equality.

On June 23 the Guatemalan government agreed to suspend operations at the Marlin gold mine in the western department of San Marcos, which is owned by Montana Exploradora de Guatemala, SA, a subsidiary of the Canadian mining company Goldcorp Inc. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR, or CIDH in Spanish), a Washington, DC-based agency of the Organization of American States (OAS), had ordered Guatemala on May 21 to carry out the suspension within 20 days; the IACHR was responding to a complaint filed by indigenous inhabitants of the communities of Sipacapa and San Miguel Ixtahuacán who say the mine has caused significant damage to residents' health and the local environment.

On June 20 the Unified Campesino Movement of the Aguán (MUCA) reported that Honduran soldiers from the Cobra Battalion, agents of the Preventive Police and private security guards from the Orión company had entered the Aurora estate in northern Honduras that morning and attacked campesinos who were encamped there. A teenage campesino whose name was given as Oscar Yovani Ramírez or Oscar Geovanny Ramírez died in the operation, and five other campesinos were detained, according to MUCA.

Nicaragua's National Assembly last week ratified the only international law for indigenous peoples' rights, International Labor Organization Convention 169, making it the twenty-second country to do so. ILO 169 sets legally binding standards for the territorial and self-determination rights of indigenous and tribal peoples everywhere. By signing the Convention, Nicaragua has committed to respecting and upholding these rights.

Rural villagers are using hoes and pick axes to hunt for victims of landslides that have killed at least 179 people in Central America after the season's first tropical storm, dubbed "Agatha." Thousands remain homeless and many are still missing. Rescue crews are struggling to reach isolated communities to distribute food and water. The heaviest toll is in Guatemala, where authorities report 152 dead with 100 people still missing. In Chimaltenango department, landslides buried rural indigenous communities and killed at least 60 people. In Guatemala City, a massive sinkhole swallowed an entire intersection, gulping down a clothing factory although causing no casualties. (AP, May 31)

In an interview on Spanish CCN broadcast May 19, Honduran president Porfirio ("Pepe") Lobo Sosa agreed that the removal of former president José Manuel ("Mel") Zelaya Rosales (2006-2009) from office on June 28, 2009 was a coup d'état. "Of course, put it how you will, but it was a coup," Lobo Sosa said when CNN's José Levy asked if the removal was a coup. But the Honduran president, in Madrid for a May 18 trade summit of European Union and Latin American leaders, justified the removal. "Democracy did not have sufficient mechanisms to guarantee its maintenance," he said. During his election campaign last year, Lobo Sosa avoided characterizing the June 28 action. Supporters of Zelaya's ouster generally have insisted that it was constitutional and not a coup. (Honduras Culture and Politics blog, May 22; La Vanguardia, Honduras, May 21)