Overview
- Costa Rica’s president-elect Laura Fernández won in the first round with roughly half the vote, praises Nayib Bukele’s security model, and vows “deep, irreversible” change despite likely constitutional and congressional limits.
- In Mexico, Adán Augusto López Hernández is out as Morena’s Senate coordinator, with Ignacio Mier stepping in as Congress opened its new session and party strains drew fresh scrutiny.
- Peru’s judiciary suspended the first virtual hearing of alleged gang leader Erick Luis Moreno due to lack of an accredited private lawyer and technical failures at the Callao Naval Base, reprogramming it for Feb. 3.
- Callao’s appeals court annulled the preventive detention of regional governor Ciro Castillo Rojo and ordered restricted release, yet he was blocked from reentering the regional headquarters pending a council decision.
- In Arequipa, a clash between municipal reports and the regional procuraduría over land regularization has stalled titling for more than 350 families, with local officials seeking a formal response to proceed.