Stories written by José Adán Silva

More Fighter Jets in Nicaragua, Second-Poorest Country in the Americas

Nicaragua, the second-poorest country in the Americas, is tapping into its depleted coffers to upgrade its ageing military fleet with costly new equipment from Russia – a move that has sparked controversy at home and concern among the country’s Central American neighbours.

Nicaragua Pins Hopes for Progress on Grand Canal

Víctor Sánchez doesn’t want gold or the comfortable future income he was promised. He just wants to live the life he has always lived on his farm along the Banks of the Las Lajas river – but the river is slated to become part of the route followed by the Nicaragua Interoceanic Grand Canal.

El Niño Triggers Drought, Food Crisis in Nicaragua

The spectre of famine is haunting Nicaragua. The second poorest country in Latin America, and one of the 10 most vulnerable to climate change in the world, is facing a meteorological phenomenon that threatens its food security.

Nicaragua’s Mayagna People and Their Rainforest Could Vanish

More than 30,000 members of the Mayagna indigenous community are in danger of disappearing, along with the rainforest which is their home in Nicaragua, if the state fails to take immediate action to curb the destruction of the Bosawas Biosphere Reserve, the largest forest reserve in Central America and the third-largest in the world.

Nicaragua’s New Canal Threatens Biggest Source of Water

The law passed in Nicaragua to grant a concession to a Chinese company to build a canal between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans repealed legislation that protects Lake Cocibolca and its tributaries.

Nicaragua Takes Decisive Step Towards Chinese Construction of Canal

A five-century wait could come to an end when the Nicaraguan government grants a concession this year to a Chinese company to build a canal between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, despite local protests and international scepticism.

Nicaraguan Women May Have to Negotiate with their Abusers

Conservative sectors in Nicaragua have launched an offensive against the Comprehensive Law Against Violence Toward Women, seeking amendments including an obligation for women victims to negotiate with their abusers, human rights groups reported.

Indigenous Nicaraguans Fight to the Death for Their Last Forest

Mayangna indigenous communities in northern Nicaragua are caught up in a life-and-death battle to defend their ancestral territory in the Bosawas Biosphere Reserve from the destruction wrought by invading settlers and illegal logging.

Beefing Up Disaster Response in Nicaragua

Nicaragua, which is prone to natural disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes and flooding, is confronting them with prevention measures and community drills and training in high-risk areas.

Nicaragua Stands Out in War on Drugs in Central America

With strict security measures and the deployment of special heavily-armed troops, Nicaragua is waging a successful war in the courts, by sea, and on land against drug traffickers shipping drugs through Central America to the United States.

Five Years of Protests in Nicaragua for a Partial Pension

Luisa Gutiérrez, 65, dances a frenzied mambo on an unusual dance floor: a street in the Nicaraguan capital. Dozens of cars line up behind her, honking their horns impatiently, while she, surrounded by elderly people with canes, walkers and protest signs, dances to demand a government pension.

Pregnant Nicaraguan Girls Forced to Become Mothers

Carla lost everything when she got pregnant at the age of 13: her first year of secondary school, her family, her boyfriend, and her happiness. She spent a year panhandling on the streets of the Nicaraguan capital before she was taken in by a shelter for young mothers.

Battle Rages to Stretch the Legal Concept of Family in Nicaragua

A bill under discussion in the Nicaraguan parliament has unleashed a nationwide debate on the concept of family.

NICARAGUA-HONDURAS: Re-Greening the Border

Ignacia Matute looks back nostalgically on the days when the hills around her home in northwestern Nicaragua were blanketed in green, and she woke every morning to the sounds of birds singing in the treetops and the rushing waters of the nearly Coco River.

Fátima Hernández at a protest in front of the Supreme Court.  Credit: Oscar Sánchez/IPS

NICARAGUA: Court Downgrades Rape to “Fit of Passion”

The rape of a young woman that has become a symbolic case in Nicaragua was ruled a "crime of passion" by the Supreme Court in a verdict that is suspected to have political overtones.

Rape victim Fátima Hernández at a protest this month in Managua demanding justice.  Credit: Oscar Sánchez /IPS

NICARAGUA: Rape Victim Launches New Hunger Strike for Justice

After a series of hunger strikes and vigils, Fátima Hernández had managed to become an exception, as one of the few rape victims in Nicaragua to obtain justice. But now her fight has started all over again and the hope that her case offered to others might become a mirage.

A rural school in Nicaragua. Credit: Oscar Navarrete /IPS

NICARAGUA: Gender Revolution in Schools Not Reflected at Work

Karla Mendoza, a 26-year-old Nicaraguan, has worked hard to have a professional career. But despite two technical degrees, courses in computer science and public relations, a nearly complete university degree, and eight years of work experience, she is not there yet.

Lobster fishermen in Puerto Cabezas.  Credit: Germán Miranda/IPS

NICARAGUA: Lobster Divers in Deep Trouble

Edgard Walters, who belongs to the Association of Disabled and Active Divers of the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua, has been in a wheelchair since 2003, when he made his last dive for lobster in the waters of the Caribbean.

The San Juan River marks part of the Nicaraguan-Costa Rican border. Credit: Courtesy of El Nuevo Diario

CENTRAL AMERICA: Threats Churn in the San Juan River

The San Juan River, centre of discord and diplomatic conflicts between Costa Rica and Nicaragua, is seeing its riverbanks fill up with economic projects that scientists and environmentalists say will irreversibly alter its course.

A view of San Juan River. - Courtesy of El Nuevo Diario

Threats Churn in the San Juan River

The conflict between Costa Rica and Nicaragua over the San Juan River masks a series of endeavors with the potential to damage this valuable natural resource.

Nicaragua on Obstacle Course to Women’s Equality

Nicaragua has made some progress promoting gender equity and the empowerment of women, but it will have to step up efforts and overcome a number of hurdles if it is to eliminate inequalities between the sexes at all levels by 2015.

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