NewsTracker Answers for week of Aug. 08, 2022

Q: Nicaragua’s police said they have begun an investigation against a Roman Catholic bishop who has been an outspoken critic of President Daniel Ortega’s government. Where is Nicaragua, Central America’s largest nation by area?

Circle the area on this map

Q: Ortega has arrested potential political rivals and shut down media outlets to silence any dissent in Central America’s second-poorest nation. Which nation is the wealthiest in the region?

A. Costa Rica

B. El Salvador

C. Guatemala

D. Panama

D. Panama has a gross domestic product (GDP) of $25,400 for each person compared with $5,300 in Nicaragua, according to the CIA World Factbook. Nicaragua is only slightly higher than its northern neighbor Honduras, which has a GDP per person of $5,100 a year.

Q: Before turning to Panama in 1904, the United States considered building a canal across Nicaragua to connect the Atlantic and Pacific. In 2013, Ortega signed a deal to build a Nicaragua canal with investors from which nation?

A. China

B. Cuba

C. Russia

D. United States

A. The deal with a Chinese billionaire to build the canal stalled after he lost about 80 percent of his money in China’s stock market. There was a report later that Russians were interested, but it appears the Nicaragua canal project has been abandoned.

Q: Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America, but it ranks fourth in population. Which much smaller nation in the region has more people?

A. Belize

B. Costa Rica

C. El Salvador

D. Panama

C. In Nicaragua, 6.3 million people live in 50,336 square miles, while 6.5 million people live in the 8,123 square miles of El Salvador, the smallest Central American nation. Guatemala is the region’s most populous nation with 17.7 million people, followed by Honduras with 9.4 million.

Q: Many Central Americans seeking asylum in the United States say they are fleeing gang violence. Nicaragua reports the lowest murder rate in the region. Which Central American nation has the highest rate of intentional homicides?

A. Belize

B. El Salvador

C. Guatemala

D. Honduras

B. The United Nations says El Salvador has rate of 37.3 murders for every 100,000 people, followed by Honduras, Belize and Guatemala. Nicaragua’s police say the country has a rate of 7.2 murders per 100,000 people.