El Salvador (Security threat level – 4): On 22 July 2021, the attorney general ordered the arrest of former President Salvador Sánchez Cerén and nine other former officials with the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) — the country’s main opposition party — on charges of embezzlement, money laundering and illicit enrichment. Authorities stated they will seek an Interpol Red Notice for Sánchez Cerén, as he is out of the country. Five of the other individuals under arrest were detained shortly after the order — including a former minister of health, a former vice minister of science and technology, a former vice minister of agriculture, a former legislator and a former minister of finance — while four more have yet to be arrested.
Analyst Comment: In February, President Nayib Bukele replaced the country’s top judges and attorney general with individuals widely considered loyal to him.
Haiti (Security threat level – 4): On 22 July 2021, violent protests in the coastal city of Cap-Haitien continued in the lead-up to the funeral of President Jovenel Moïse. Protesters erected roadblocks composed of burning tires and fired shots in the air to demand justice for the assassinated president. A vehicle belonging to a heavily armed police convoy nearly flipped over as it attempted to break through a flaming barricade. Demonstrators also marched peacefully throughout Cap-Haitien. Additional violent protests are likely to occur on 23 July in conjunction with Moïse’s funeral.
China / Japan (Security threat levels – 3 / 1): As of 1800 local time (0900 UTC) on 23 July 2021, Typhoon In-fa was located approximately 340 km (210 mi) southwest of the Japanese island of Okinawa and was tracking northwest at 7 kph (4.5 mph), according to the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center. At that time, In-fa had maximum sustained winds of 150 kph (90 mph), with gusts of up to 185 kph. The storm is forecast to strengthen slightly over the next 12 hours, and to remain close to its current track over the next 48 hours. The outer bands of the storm are expected to brush Taipei before the storm makes landfall on or near the Chinese city of Ningbo in Zhejiang province during 25-26 July.
As In-fa tracks northwest throughout the day on 23 July, the storm is expected to produce an additional 510 mm (20 in) of rain in the area of Miyakojima, Japan. The storm is expected to pass more than 160 km (100 mi) north of Taiwan; however, it may produce as much as 1,000 millimeters of rain in the island’s mountains. The storm is expected to produce 380-500 millimeters of rain in Taiwan throughout 24 July.
Vietnam / China (Security threat levels – 3 / 3): As of 1600 local time (0900 UTC) on 23 July 2021, Tropical Depression Cempaka was located approximately 180 km (110 mi) east of Hanoi, Vietnam, and was tracking south at 9 kph (6 mph), according to the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center. At that time, Cempaka had maximum sustained winds of 45 kph (30 mph), with gusts of up to 65 kph. The storm was forecast to remain at its current strength while turning and moving eastward for the next 24 hours, before dissipating as a significant tropical cyclone over the Gulf of Tonkin near Hainan island, China, on 26 July. Forecasts indicate flooding from Cempaka is still possible in the southern portions of Guangxi province and on Hainan island through the end of the day on 23 July.
Portugal (Security threat level – 2): On 22 July 2021, authorities expanded coronavirus-related warnings, placing an increasing number of counties under tighter restrictions. Ninety counties have been deemed very high risk and 55 counties have been deemed high risk for COVID-19 — subjecting residents to a 2300-0500 local time (2200-0400 UTC) curfew, mandatory telework for able industries, nightly closure of restaurants, cafes and patisseries at 2230 local time with limits on indoor dining, as well as other restrictions on select businesses and social gatherings. Approximately 80% of the population of mainland Portugal — nearly 7.7 million people — have been placed under curfew and other restrictions. According to the most recent data released by the European Center for Disease Control, Portugal ranks fourth among EU countries for its high incidence rate of COVID-19.
Slovakia (Security threat level – 2): On 23 July 2021, police officers deployed tear gas to disperse demonstrators gathered outside the building that houses the National Council of the Slovak Republic in the capital Bratislava. Protesters threw eggs and ketchup at the building and nearby police officers, while demanding that the government step down and declaring their opposition to proposed legislation that would allow vaccinated individuals more access to public spaces and events than unvaccinated individuals. One police officer was injured during the altercation. The protest continued peacefully after security personnel intervened.
World: At approximately 1100 Central Daylight Time (1600 UTC) on 22 July 2021, a widespread outage caused disruptions to numerous high-traffic websites across the world. The nearly hour-long outage affected websites of a number of companies, including Airbnb, Amazon, AT&T, British Airways, Delta Airlines, FedEx and UPS. The outage was reportedly connected with a disruption to the Edge Domain Name System service of the Massachusetts-based Akamai Technologies firm. The content delivery network company — which also experienced technical issues on 17 June that caused a similar outage — stated that a software update triggered a bug, resulting in the latest outage.
Croatia (Security threat level – 2): On 22 July 2021, the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) issued updated travel advice for Croatia, which reads in part as follows: “On 21 July 2021, Croatian authorities announced that from Monday 26 July 2021 all travellers from the UK must present a negative COVID-19 antigen test which must not be older than 48 hours or a negative PCR test no older than 72 hours on arrival, regardless of their vaccination status.”
Cyprus (Security threat level – 2): On 23 July 2021, the U.S. Embassy in Nicosia issued a Demonstration Alert, which reads in part as follows: “U.S. citizens are advised that ongoing demonstrations are expected the weekend of July 24-25. Large crowds and a strong police presence in the vicinity of the demonstrations is expected.
“On Saturday, July 24th at 6:00pm, a demonstration is expected in the vicinity of the the Presidential Palace. The demonstration will be one of several held simultaneously worldwide and may result in protests in other locations in Cyprus. On Sunday, July 25th at 6:00pm, a demonstration is expected at the Ministry of Justice.”
Malawi (Security threat level – 3): On 22 July 2021, the U.S. Embassy in Lilongwe issued an Alert regarding the temporary closure of the Consular Section, which reads in part as follows: “As a result of COVID-19 generated constraints, the United States Embassy in Lilongwe Consular Section will be closed from July 16, 2021 to August 13, 2021. During this time, all routine consular services will be suspended and only U.S. citizens with consular emergencies will be assisted. In the event of an U.S. citizen emergency, please contact the U.S. Embassy using the numbers listed on the Embassy’s Emergency Contact Information for U.S. Citizens page. “
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