Latin America & The Caribbean Weekly Situation Update as of 1 August 2025

KEY FIGURES

• 531K people affected by confinement & mobility restrictions in 2025 in Chocó, Colombia.
• 1.2K homes damaged by twin earthquakes near the Guatemala-El Salvador border.
• 3.45M cases of dengue reported in the Americas so far in 2025.

REGIONAL: HURRICANE MONITORING

In the Pacific, Tropical Storms Iona, currently located well west-southwest of the Hawaiian Islands, and Gil, southwest of the southern Baja California peninsula, are expected to weaken by 3 August with no impact. A disturbance southwest of Mexico has an 80 per cent chance of becoming a tropical depression by early next week, while another disturbance is showing a low chance of development. No activity is expected in the Atlantic basin in the next 7 days.

COLOMBIA: MOBILITY RESTRICTIONS

Restrictions imposed by non-state armed groups (NSAGs) and clashes with public forces in the municipalities of Litoral de San Juan and Lloró, Chocó, have confined 2,259 people, affecting at least ten indigenous and Afro-descendant communities. The conflict has forced the suspension of agricutural activites and restricted movement along rural paths. In Litoral de San Juan, at least 33 adolescents stopped attending school due to threats of forced recruitment. Chocó remains the department most impacted by confinement, mobility restrictions, and armed strikes in 2025, affecting more than 531,000 people.

REGIONAL: DENGUE

As of epidemiological week 27, the Americas have reported over 3.45 million suspected dengue cases in 2025, including 1.4 million confirmed cases, 4,513 severe cases, and 1,689 deaths. While this is a 69 per cent decrease compared to the same period in 2024, transmission is rising in parts of Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Mexico, which saw increases of 82, 24, and 16 per cent respectively over the past four weeks. Although overall trends remain below the five-year average, the persistence of hotspots and co-circulating serotypes continues to pose significant public health challenges.

HAITI: VIOLENCE & DISPLACEMENT

Following the coordinated attacks in Dessalines and Verrettes on 16 July that forced the displacement of approximately 14,885 people, violence has again surged in Haiti’s Artibonite department. On 22 July, violent attacks in Liancourt resulted in a vehicle and at least ten houses being set on fire. Reports indicate that families have fled from Liancourt to Saint-Marc, though no figures are yet available. Persistent insecurity is limiting prospects for people to return to their homes. In the 7th section of Saint-Michel de l’Attalaye, which is currently hosting 1,282 newly displaced individuals, the Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) consortium, composed of AVSI and ACTED, is conducting a multisectoral rapid assessment. Partners are working to strengthen the humanitarian response, but most report a widespread lack of financial and material resources to meet the needs of displaced people and host families.

CENTRAL AMERICA: EARTHQUAKES

On 29 July, two earthquakes of magnitudes 5.9 and 5.6 struck near the shared border of Guatemala and El Salvador, with the epicentre located in Guatemala’s Jutiapa department. The quakes, which occurred at a shallow depth of 10.6 km, triggered a national orange alert in Guatemala and exposed up to 119,000 people to strong shaking. The seismic events caused landslides, damaged homes, and prompted evacuations. Guatemalan civil protection confirmed one fatality due to a building collapse, while Salvadoran officials reported no deaths but noted damage to over 1,200 homes and several historic churches. The tremors follow two earthquakes on 8 July, of magnitudes 5.2 and 5.7, in the Escuintla department in southern Guatemala, which killed five people and caused localized damage.