Following a series of incidents in which peaceful demonstrators have been charged with terrorism, the Saca administration has been accused of using a new anti-terrorism law to silence freedom of speech and association. Allegations of police brutality against social organizations in Suchitoto, who took to the streets on July 2 to protest against the privatization of the public water system, have attracted widespread condemnation from human rights activists, who argue that Saca is turning El Salavador into an authoritarian state. Unfazed, Saca has threatened to impose even tougher sanctions against those who “cause public disorder.” Meanwhile, under the current climate of repression, the media has been virtually gagged, with journalists who toe the government line being rewarded for their good behavior while those who dare to voice their dissent are silenced.

Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega will leave prison in less than a month, after a US judge reduced his sentence from 40 to 17 years. Noriega has been held as a prisoner of war in the Miami Metropolitan Correctional Center since he was ousted from power in the US invasion of Panama in 1989. Under the 1949 Geneva Convention, Noriega has the right to be repatriated to his country of origin. The former dictator himself has expressed his intention of returning to Panama , where he faces up to 20 years behind bars. However, France is also claiming the right to extradite Noriega for money laundering conviction, which has sparked off a diplomatic wrangle between the two countries.

After months of negotiations, the government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached agreement on a new loan. Skeptics had long doubted that this would ever happen. After all, since coming to office in January, President Daniel Ortega had strongly criticized the IMF, declaring that he would “free” Nicaragua from the bank's clutches within five years. But according to Antenor Rosales, president of Nicaraguan Central Bank, the government was nonetheless able to negotiate a loan on it own terms. He claims that this is the first IMF loan to Nicaragua in which social concerns are paramount. Past IMF programs have not succeeded in significantly reducing poverty - it remains to be seen if this one will.

Expectations of high inflation continue to beleaguer the Costa Rican Central Bank (BCCR). Moreover, rising commodity and petroleum prices are raising the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and threatening the Bank´s targets. Regardless, the Bank is determined to achieve its inflationary targets of 8% by the end of this year, and 6% by the end of 2008. There is further reason for optimism: contrary to previous forecasts, the bank is predicting higher GDP growth, greater levels of foreign direct investment, and less public debt.

In an attempt to settle land disputes with greater expediency, the Secretariat of Agrarian Affairs has set up new Centers for the Resolution of Agrarian Conflicts (CAAs) that aim to avoid lengthy and bureaucratic court procedures. However, campesino organizations have objected that the government did not seek their approval before the new system came into effect and that the CAAs will focus mainly on disputes between neighboring communities, while failing to address conflicts between landowners and agricultural workers, which they regard as a top priority.