New Hints at Looser Travel Rules Stir Hope in Cuba

Sun, 20 May 2012 17:20:42 GMT

For five decades, tight restrictions have governed who can leave the island, who can return and how long they can be gone.

Architecture Review: Fighting Crime With Architecture in Medellín, Colombia

Sat, 19 May 2012 16:04:38 GMT

Medellín, Colombia, once famed for murder and cocaine, is now drawing notice for its ambitious urban projects, many aimed at easing life in the city’s slums.

From Honduras, Conflicting Tales of a Shootout

Sat, 19 May 2012 05:00:45 GMT

Some Honduran officials and residents have said that the victims of a fatal gun battle last week were innocent people, challenging the account of American drug enforcement agents.

The Saturday Profile: From Field to Congress, Romário Leaves His Mark

Sat, 19 May 2012 12:17:15 GMT

Romário de Souza Faria, a former soccer star known for his nighttime escapades and public quarreling, is stirring up Brazilians in a new realm: politics.

Mexico Detains Third General Tied to Drug Cartel

Sat, 19 May 2012 15:08:36 GMT

The arrests suggest the depths that drug cartels have gone to in trying to infiltrate one of the primary forces President Felipe Calderón has counted on to combat them.

World Briefing | The Americas: Mexico: 8 Held in Investigation of Dismembered Bodies

Sat, 19 May 2012 05:13:01 GMT

The army said it had detained eight suspected members of the Gulf cartel and seized drugs and weapons during investigations into last week’s discovery of dismembered bodies on a Mexican highway.

World Briefing | The Americas: Brazil: An Apology for Torture

Sat, 19 May 2012 05:17:09 GMT

The Rio de Janeiro State government said Friday that it would apologize to President Dilma Rousseff for the human rights abuses she suffered during the dictatorship that ruled Brazil.

World Briefing | The Americas: Quebec Government Passes Law to Restrain Protests

Sat, 19 May 2012 05:05:08 GMT

Quebec’s government passed an emergency law Friday restricting demonstrations and shutting some universities, seeking to end three months of protests against tuition increases.

World Briefing | The Americas: Cuba: Scholars Denied U.S. Visas

Sat, 19 May 2012 04:52:26 GMT

The State Department rejected the visa applications of 11 of the more than 70 Cuban scholars who had applied to attend the meeting of the Latin American Studies Association.

Anger Rises After U.S.-Honduras Drug Sweep

Fri, 18 May 2012 18:45:08 GMT

Residents of the isolated Mosquito Coast of Honduras have burned down government buildings and are demanding that American drug agents leave the area immediately.

Two Held on Terrorism Charges at NATO Meeting

Sun, 20 May 2012 23:34:38 GMT

Protesters and police clashed in the most fractious confrontation yet following a series of weekend protests against the NATO summit meeting being held here.

World Briefing | The Americas: Canada: A Diamond Takes Forever

Fri, 18 May 2012 18:48:12 GMT

A man accused of stealing a $20,000 diamond and swallowing it is being held in custody in Windsor, Ontario, until it passes through his system, the police say.

World Briefing | The Americas: Republicans Block Iran Sanctions Vote

Fri, 18 May 2012 18:00:39 GMT

Senate Republicans blocked legislation for new economic sanctions on Iran’s oil sector on Thursday, saying they needed more time to study the bill.

World Briefing | The Americas: Canada: Quebec Seeks to End Protests

Fri, 18 May 2012 17:40:11 GMT

Quebec’s legislators on Thursday night began to debate an emergency bill that the provincial government hopes will end a 14-week student strike over tuition increases.

Havana Journal: In Cuba, Cross-Cultural Art Project Involves Food

Fri, 18 May 2012 18:50:05 GMT

An international collaboration between chefs, part of the Havana Biennial, combines a boundary-crossing art project with the simple delight of complicated food.

Chasing a Soccer Dream All the Way to Brazil

Fri, 18 May 2012 19:05:07 GMT

After graduating from Princeton, an American soccer player traveled to South America chasing his dream of becoming a professional player in one of the game’s hotbeds.

World Briefing | The Americas: Mexico: Generals Held in Drug Inquiry

Thu, 17 May 2012 17:59:29 GMT

Two army generals, including a former assistant defense secretary, were detained by antidrug prosecutors and are being questioned for alleged links to drug traffickers, the authorities said Wednesday.

In Quebec, University Strike at Crucial Stage

Thu, 17 May 2012 15:10:05 GMT

A tuition dispute has paralyzed many of Quebec’s French-speaking universities and colleges, and sometimes erupted into violence on Montreal’s streets.

D.E.A.’s Agents Join Hondurans in Drug Firefights

Thu, 17 May 2012 18:07:52 GMT

The Central American country is a growing focus of American efforts aimed at drug cartels that have sought to use its ungoverned spaces.

Brazil’s President Faces Defining Decision Over Forest Bill

Fri, 18 May 2012 14:02:48 GMT

The bill awaiting action by President Dilma Rousseff would effectively give amnesty to landowners who illegally deforested areas before 2008.

Canadian Police Violated Laws in G-20 Sweep, Inquiry Finds

Thu, 17 May 2012 17:59:29 GMT

Police officers jailed people illegally and escalated violence at protests surrounding the Group of 20 meeting in Toronto two years ago, an independent review concluded Wednesday.

Fatal Bomb Attack in Bogotá Targeted Ex-Official

Wed, 16 May 2012 17:30:06 GMT

The attack on a former justice minister stunned residents of Bogotá, the Colombian capital, which is recovering from years of violence between the government, drug cartels and insurgents.

Mexicans Unflinching in Face of Drug War’s Carnage

Wed, 16 May 2012 20:29:09 GMT

Many Mexicans are increasingly disturbed by their disaffection as drug violence has taken a turn for the worse.

Boca Sanibeni Journal: Dam Project Would Displace Villages in Jungle Valley of Peru

Wed, 16 May 2012 18:08:41 GMT

A hydroelectric dam supported by the country’s president would send thousands of people to live elsewhere.

Police Find 49 Bodies by a Highway in Mexico

Mon, 14 May 2012 19:43:29 GMT

A message near the scene suggested the Zetas drug cartel was responsible for the deaths of 6 women and 43 men.

Gramalote Journal: Residents Trickle Back to Ruins of Gramalote, Colombia

Fri, 11 May 2012 18:10:06 GMT

Dispersed to nearby towns and cities, Gramalote, Colombia, residents are slowly returning to the devastated town, to live among the ruins or at least in sight of them.

At Wal-Mart in Mexico, a Bribe Inquiry Silenced

Tue, 08 May 2012 05:10:51 GMT

Confronted with evidence of widespread corruption in Mexico, top Wal-Mart executives focused more on damage control than on rooting out wrongdoing, an examination by The New York Times found.

Venezuela Faces Shortages in Grocery Staples

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 18:12:04 GMT

Staples like milk, meat and toilet paper can be hard to find in Venezuela, and many blame the government’s price-control policies.

Colombian Escort Speaks About Secret Service Scandal

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 21:41:55 GMT

A dispute over what a Secret Service agent owed a Colombian woman working as a high-priced escort led to a scandal that has now prompted the exit of three employees from the agency.

Women Take the Reins of Power as Brazil’s Energy Industry Expands

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:41:02 GMT

Brazil’s president, Dilma Rousseff, has made it her priority to secure leadership positions for women.

U.S. Alert as China’s Cash Buys Inroads in Caribbean

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 11:50:15 GMT

China’s economic might has rolled up to America’s doorstep, with loans from state banks, investments by companies and outright gifts from the government.

High in Chilean Desert, a Huge Astronomy Project

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 19:17:19 GMT

High in the Chilean desert, scientists have installed one of the world’s largest ground-based astronomical projects to look for clues to the origins of the universe.

Political Memo: Mexico’s Presidential Race Could Be Pivotal

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 20:25:07 GMT

Still recovering from decades of single-party rule and facing many challenges, Mexico has scant faith that any of the candidates will confront its problems.

Fatal Car Crash in Brazil Spotlights Class Division

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 20:05:08 GMT

The death of a cyclist in a car accident involving Thor Batista, the 20-year-old son of Brazil’s richest man, has awakened a debate over wealth, influence and traffic deaths.

Paraguay’s Chaco Forest Being Cleared by Ranchers

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:43:02 GMT

Huge sections of the Chaco forest are being razed by local Mennonite farmers and Brazilian cattle ranchers amid a surge in the global demand for beef.

In Mexico, a Kidnapping Ignored as Gang Crimes Go Unpunished

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 13:05:10 GMT

Six years into a mostly military assault on drug cartels, impunity has worsened, and justice is harder to find.

In Latin America, Prisons Condemned to Crisis

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 19:25:10 GMT

A Honduran fire and a Mexican massacre have drawn new attention to dangerous conditions in Latin American prisons, which have outlasted scrutiny before.

Memo From Paraguay: In Paraguay, Indigenous Language With Unique Staying Power

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 18:40:14 GMT

Unusual features of Paraguay’s history and politics mean that Guaraní is widely spoken, despite a relatively small indigenous population.

The Saturday Profile: Bernardo Paz’s Inhotim Is Vast Garden of Art

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 06:00:56 GMT

Bernardo Paz, a mining magnate, employs 1,000 people at Inhotim, his 5,000-acre complex of contemporary art and exotic gardens.

Brazil Faces Obstacles in Preparations for Rio Olympics

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 18:39:28 GMT

Ambitious development plans for the 2016 Summer Olympics, as well as the 2014 soccer World Cup, involve large-scale evictions from numerous slums, whose residents are refusing to leave.

Cochrane Journal: In Patagonia, Caught Between Visions of the Future

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 20:20:09 GMT

Within eyeshot of a proposed dam project near Cochrane, Chile, is the entrance to a different view of the region’s destiny: the 660,000-acre Patagonia National Park.

Havana Journal: Real Estate Fever Spreads in Cuba

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:38:38 GMT

Cubans are injecting money into real estate, spurred by government measures to stimulate construction and a new law that allows property trades for the first time in 50 years.

Mexico Drug War Bloodies Areas Thought Safe

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:40:41 GMT

The drug carnage is spreading to Mexico’s interior and south, a trend believed to be linked to a widening turf war between the country’s two biggest criminal organizations.

Trading His Uniform for a Suit

Sat, 19 May 2012 13:30:03 GMT

Despite his election to Congress in Brazil, Romário de Souza Faria insists that he is still the same man he was running up and down the soccer field for so many years.

A Dam Clouds The Future of Peru’s Indigenous People

Wed, 16 May 2012 08:13:25 GMT

On the eastern slopes of the Andes in Peru, home mainly to indigenous peoples like the Ashaninka, the government wants to dam the Ene River and sell most of the hydroelectric power to Brazil.

Trickling Back to Live Among, and Off of, a Hill Town’s Ruins

Fri, 11 May 2012 18:07:17 GMT

Dispersed to nearby towns and cities, residents of Gramalote, Colombia, are slowly returning to the devastated town, to live among the ruins or at least in sight of them.

In Ciudad Juárez, a New Emotion

Thu, 10 May 2012 03:13:23 GMT

Signs that Ciudad Juárez is on the road to recovery after years of an onslaught by drug-trafficking cartels include the young people who have joined art collectives in lieu of gangs and the recently reopened nightclubs that are drawing crowds out after dark.

Amid Brazil’s Rush to Develop, Workers Resist

Mon, 07 May 2012 18:20:16 GMT

As the country moves to tap one of the world’s last great reserves of hydroelectric power, the Amazon basin, strikes and worker uprisings at the biggest projects are producing delays and cost overruns.

The Lede Blog: Argentina Tweaks Britain With Olympic Ad Shot Secretly in Falklands

Fri, 04 May 2012 20:21:42 GMT

Britain's defense minister demanded an apology from the Argentine government on Friday for a "provocative" television commercial tied to the London Olympics that restates Argentina's claim to the Falkland Islands.

The Lede Blog: Discovery Shuttle Makes Final Flight

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:57:17 GMT

Before being permanently brought down to Earth, the space shuttle Discovery hitched a final ride to its new home at the Smithsonian on the back of a 747.

The Lede Blog: Coast Guard Fires Cannon on Unmanned Japanese Ship Set Adrift by Tsunami

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:38:34 GMT

The United States Coast Guard began its operation Thursday afternoon to sink a Japanese vessel that was set adrift by the 2012 earthquake and tsunami.

News Analysis: The Fight Over Who Fights in Israel

Sun, 20 May 2012 03:29:00 GMT

A question of exemption from army service for the ultra-Orthodox has come to a boil.