At age 16, Ana Luisa was raped. But by seeking an abortion to salvage her life, she became the criminal in the eyes of Salvadoran law, which bans abortion.
In deeply Catholic Nicaragua and El Salvador, where abortion is seen as murder, activists struggle to make the case for therapeutic termination in cases of rape or to save the life of the mother.
While the government makes superficial strides towards gender equality, women in Nicaragua are suffering from physical, sexual and emotional abuse at alarming rates.
Women and girls in Nicaragua are being denied abortions, even in cases of rape. As more and more children become mothers, activists ask the government to reconsider these strict laws.
Thirty-three years after toppling the Somoza dynasty, the Sandinista Revolution, with Daniel Ortega still at its head, has pushed Nicaragua back to a one-party system that looks hauntingly familiar.
The world court's controversial decision to grant Nicaragua 100,000 square kilometers of ocean previously patrolled by Colombia could be a white elephant for the impoverished Central American country.
Deep in the jungle, on a disputed piece of borderland claimed by Nicaragua and Costa Rica, a brigade of Sandinista Youth has been deployed to occupy the area and hold the line for President Ortega.
Hugo Chavez's legacy may hinge on his ability to deliver on a $6.6 billion oil refinery in Nicaragua--just one of the megaprojects that the ruling Sandinistas hope will rescue the country's economy.
The Sandinista politburo has received more than $2.2 billion in ALBA aid over the past five years. Could President Daniel Ortega's project in Nicaragua survive a political shakeup in Venezuela?
Claims that Hezbollah—with the help of Iran—has set up a training camp in Nicaragua have not been substantiated, but the rumors persist.
Twenty-five years after the Central American Peace Plan, many challenges remain to consolidating peace in the region—not the least of which is Nicaragua’s dubious commitment to rule of law.
As former contra collaborators reorganize in Miami, rumors of guerrilla rearmament are stirring old ghosts in Nicaragua.
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