On August 2, the Legislative Assembly approved the creation of the Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), an independent government body that will purportedly confront the rampant impunity plaguing the nation. CICIG is a United Nations initiative – it has long been opposed by powerful figures, most notably former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt, who claims that it will undermine national sovereignty. But over time, CICIG, with its ambitions of taking on the nation's “parallel powers,” gained popularity with the media and politicians. Now it remains to be seen if CICIG will deliver.

Celebrations commemorating the fall of dictator Anastasio Somoza in 1979 have led to reflection on President Daniel Ortega's past and present rule – drawing criticism from both friends and foes. Ortega's opponents, as well as many members of the first Sandinista government, now part of the breakaway Sandinista Renewal Movement (MRS), seized the opportunity to attack his “authoritarian streak”. Meanwhile, the FSLN used the event to launch a Cuban-sponsored literacy drive.

A recent court ruling found that Costa Rica's top state universities have misused public resources by funding research on the legality of CAFTA and other controversial issues surrounding the treaty.. The ruling is ambiguous, making very few specific charges against the universities, and laying out few guidelines for what is acceptable academic input and what is not. This has led to outcry from the academic community, which claims that the ruling clearly violates freedom of thought and expression.

At least 12 people were injured and 59 arrested when Honduran police violently cleared several roadblocks set up by protestors demanding the ratification of a law that would prohibit open pit mining - a process that involves the use of cyanide, mercury, and other heavy metals. The protesters also called for public meetings to give people the chance to have their say on the issue and for mining companies to adopt more stringent measures to limit the impact of open-pit mining on the environment.

Congressman Manuel de Jesús Castillo Medrano, has been accused of masterminding the murder of three Salvadoran Congressmen and their driver in February this year. The Guatemalan Interior Ministry has revealed that a few hours before the Congressmen and their driver were abducted and killed, Castillo, independent Congressman and mayoral candidate for the eastern municipality of Jutiapa, made a series of telephone calls to the four policemen accused of the murder. In 2006, Castillo was expelled from the National Unity of Hope party (UNE), currently leading the polls, for alleged links to drug cartels and organized crime.