When different sides in a violent political crisis become ever more entrenched, democracy quickly starts to wither.
Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez was a major financier of Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega, seen here at a 2016 commemoration on the third anniversary of the socialist leader’s death.
Reuters/Marco Bello
Cheap Venezuelan oil boosted Nicaragua’s economy and funded President Daniel Ortega’s many anti-poverty programs. With Venezuela in crisis, the oil has dried up – as has support for Ortega’s regime.
Militias guard a barricade after police and pro-government militias stormed a rebel-held neighborhood in Masaya, Nicaragua, on July 17, 2018.
AP Photo/Cristibal Venegas
Nicaragua has exploded in violence since mass protests began against President Daniel Ortega in April, with hundreds dead and thousands wounded. Amid such chaos, criminal violence is likely to follow.
Nicaragua, which overthrew its last violent dictator in 1979, is the only Latin American country since Cuba to stage a successful revolution.
AP Photo/Alfredo Zuniga
History shows that Latin American presidents usually don’t last long after they use violence to repress mass protests. Is Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega the next to fall?
Protests against social security reforms in Nicaragua quickly gained traction. Now, even the Catholic Church is suggesting ‘democratization’ may be on the horizon.
Reuters/Oswaldo Rivas
For 11 years, Daniel Ortega’s regime has been unshakable. But Nicaragua’s autocratic leader is vulnerable after weeks of deadly protest. Now, some citizens are calling for him to resign.
While Costa Ricans pride their country for being an oasis of stability in Latin America, the nation has struggled with restrictive laws and social attitudes toward immigrants from Nicaragua.
A woman cries during the funeral of a victim of a fire at a children’s shelter in Guatemala.
REUTERS/Saul Martinez
Young people from Central America continue to cross the U.S. border. Can programs funded by humanitarian assistance targeting root causes of migration help?
Under threat: Lake Nicaragua, the largest in Central America.
Simon Dannhauer
Since it was completed 100 years ago, the Panama Canal has been the only shipping route through the land mass of the Americas. Controlled by the US for most of its history, it allows ships to navigate…
Not a new idea, as this map from 1885 shows, but no less controversial.
Meyers Konversationslexikons
The Nicaraguan government has granted a concession to a mysterious Chinese company owned by Jing Wang, a little-known Hong-Kong based businessman, to build an inter-oceanic canal. This would provide an…