'Dead Animals, Barren Fields, and Hunger': AFP Documents El Niño's Grip on Central America's Dry Corridor

An AFP wire feature published Sept. 16 documented the human toll of the El Niño-driven drought across Central America's Dry Corridor, where more than 10 million people live and 80% of small-scale producers are poor, per UN figures. In San Lorenzo, Honduras, 76-year-old Lidia Ochoa said 'sometimes I break down in tears — sometimes you eat, sometimes you don't,' while farmer Francisco Molina surveyed barren fields and livestock carcasses and Darwin Cruz reported reduced dairy output after losing animals. In El Matazano, El Salvador — which recorded a scorching 42°C — 31-year-old Maria de la Paz Portillo described rationing depleted water supplies, while 53-year-old Vilma Ortiz said she had turned to growing drought-resistant chili peppers to adapt. In Cunén, Guatemala, Indigenous leader Elvira Pasa warned 'all the corn harvests are going to be lost,' with corn now selling at 50% above normal prices. WFP regional director Lena Savelli reiterated the agency's estimate that 16 million people across Latin America face El Niño-driven food shortages. The dispatch adds first-person testimony to the food-security data already tracked from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.