Central America Archive

When Hurricanes Eta and Iota crashed through Central America in November, they caused massive devastation and destruction, leaving around 200 people dead and thousands displaced. Economists believe that in some parts of the region, the economic toll of these disasters could be greater than the damage inflicted in Honduras and Nicaragua by Hurricane Mitch in 1998—the deadliest hurricane in Central American history. Honduras was the worst hit by Eta and Iota. More than 4 million people were affected, around 95,000 of whom were forced to take refuge in shelters, and may not have homes to return to; 85,000 homes were […]

As COVID-19 spread around the world last spring, El Salvador joined the dozens of countries that were appealing for urgent humanitarian assistance. Hundreds of millions of dollars rapidly flowed into El Salvador’s coffers from bilateral donors, private lenders and international financial institutions, including a $389 million loan from the International Monetary Fund that was approved in April. Flush with borrowed money and facing an unprecedented public health and economic crisis, the Salvadoran legislature approved a $2 billion emergency fund to combat the pandemic—equivalent to nearly 8 percent of the country’s GDP. But the sudden inflow of cash has also created […]