Human rights and judicial issues in Central America

Human rights concerns and judicial proceedings regarding disappearances and homicides are being highlighted across Central America.

In Honduras, experts have called for the government to implement international recommendations to address forced disappearances and ensure justice for victims. Additionally, legal proceedings have resumed in La Esperanza against a former police officer accused of homicide following the 2021 death of a nursing student in police custody.

In Mexico, reports indicate that over 135,000 people remain missing according to the National Registry of Disappeared and Unlocated Persons.

In El Salvador, groups have denounced the lack of political will to address historical forced disappearances from the civil war era. There are also calls for international diplomatic observation regarding legal proceedings against leaders of the Alianza Nacional El Salvador en Paz, with claims that the judicial process lacks transparency.

In Nicaragua, legal actions are advancing in a case involving organized crime and aggravated murder in Nagarote. A judge has admitted charges against four individuals related to a double homicide, with two suspects in custody and two others at large.