LatinNews Daily - 26 August 2026

*Panama’s government led by President José Raúl Mulino has announced a national state of emergency in response to drought associated with the El Niño weather phenomenon, while El Salvador’s government led by President Nayib Bukele has announced a ‘red alert’ across the national territory for the same reason. Both measures, which allow the respective governments to mobilise a response to the drought, follow a state of emergency declared on 19 August in Honduras over drought while on 20 August the Panama Canal Authority announced it was reducing transits. The latest announcements come amid major alarm about the impact in the sub-region of El Niño which began in June and is expected to last into 2027, with the so-called ‘Dry Corridor’ (an arid strip of land spanning parts of Central America, including Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala), particularly affected.