Tag: Latin America and Caribbean
On Day One, Biden to undo Trump policies on climate, virus
WASHINGTON (AP) — In his first hours as president, Joe Biden will aim to strike at the heart of President Donald Trump’s policy legacy,...
Trump blocks Venezuelans’ deportation in last political gift
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — With the clock winding down on his term, U.S. President Donald Trump shielded tens of thousands of Venezuelan migrants from...
Large migrant caravan dissolves in Guatemala
EL FLORIDO, Guatemala (AP) — A once large caravan of Honduran migrants that pushed its way into Guatemala last week had dissipated by Tuesday...
‘We know this is real’: New clinics aid virus ‘long-haulers’
NEW YORK (AP) — COVID-19 came early for Catherine Busa, and it never really left.
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Oxygen-starved city in Brazil’s Amazon starts immunization
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The Amazonian city of Manaus began administering vaccines against the coronavirus, providing a ray of hope for the rainforest’s...
Colombia says it’s ready to distribute coronavirus vaccines
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian officials say that they are ready to distribute millions of COVID-19 vaccines, once the shots arrive in the South...
Teeter-totters at U.S.-Mexico border win UK design prize
LONDON (AP) — A collection of teeter-totters that briefly allowed children on both sides of the US-Mexico border wall to play together has won...
Earthquake injures 3 in Argentina; tremor also felt in Chile
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck in northwestern Argentina near the border with central Chile, injuring at least three people, authorities...
Spaniards killed women, kids over slaying of conquistadores
MEXICO CITY (AP) — New research suggests Spanish conquistadores butchered at least a dozen women and their children in an Aztec-allied town where the...
Guatemala troops, police break up caravan of weary migrants
VADO HONDO, Guatemala (AP) — Guatemalan police and soldiers on Monday broke up a group of hundreds of migrants who had spent two nights...
Venezuela’s Maduro sends oxygen to Brazil amid virus spike
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has authorized the dispatch of oxygen to Brazil to help its South American neighbor treat people...
Military nurses, tests coming to help hard-hit Arizona city
PHOENIX (AP) — Exhausted nurses in rural Yuma, Arizona, regularly send COVID-19 patients on a long helicopter ride to Phoenix when they don't have...
Four Colombia players ruled out of match against the US
Four Colombians have ruled out of Monday's match against the U.S. women's soccer team because of coronavirus protocols.
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Guatemala forces stall migrant caravan with tear gas, batons
VADO HONDO, Guatemala (AP) — Guatemalan police and soldiers launched tear gas and wielded batons and shields against a group of Honduran migrants that...
The Latest: Slovakia wants tests for nearly all in nine days
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Slovakia is launching a project to test almost all citizens for the coronavirus in nine days.
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Brazil’s health agency approves the use of two vaccines
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s health regulator on Sunday approved the urgent use of coronavirus vaccines made by Sinovac and AstraZeneca, enabling Latin...
Mexico publishes heavily edited probe of exonerated general
MEXICO CITY (AP) — One day after Mexico angered U.S. officials by publishing an entire 751-page U.S. case file against former Defense Secretary Salvador...
Guatemala tries blocking caravan of 9,000 Honduran migrants
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemalan soldiers blocked part of a caravan of as many as 9,000 Honduran migrants Saturday at a point not far...
The Latest: China reports a few new cases of COVID-19
BEIJING — China on Sunday reported 109 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, two-thirds of them in a northern province that abuts Beijing, and no deaths.
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Amazon city scrambles to provide oxygen to COVID-19 patients
SAO PAULO (AP) — Doctors in the Amazon rainforest’s biggest city are having to choose which COVID-19 patients can breathe amid dwindling oxygen stocks...
AP EXCLUSIVE: Maduro ally presses for dialogue with Biden
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said Friday he’s hopeful the Biden administration will roll back a “cruel”...
In Mexico, women take the front lines as vigilantes
EL TERRERO, Mexico (AP) — In the birthplace of Mexico’s vigilante “self-defense” movement, a new group has emerged entirely made up of women, who...
Mexico clears general, publishes US evidence against him
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has accused the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration of fabricating drug trafficking charges against the...
Migrant caravan on the move in Honduras in uncertain times
COPAN, Honduras (AP) — More than 1,000 Honduran migrants pushed their way into Guatemala Friday night without registering, a portion of a larger migrant...
AP EXCLUSIVE: Maduro ally presses for dialogue with Biden
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said Friday he’s hopeful the Biden administration will roll back a “cruel”...
Haiti braces for unrest as opposition demands new president
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Flying rocks. Burning tires. Acrid smoke.
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Mexico says US ‘fabricated’ charges, releases evidence
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Friday that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration had “fabricated” drug trafficking accusations against...
WHO cites human behavior more than variants as virus spreads
GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization's emergencies chief said Friday that the impact of new variants of COVID-19 in places like Britain, South...
World Golf Championship moving from Mexico to Florida
The World Golf Championship is moving from Mexico City to the Gulf Coast of Florida, a change driven by the COVID-19 pandemic that has...
Pompeo offers burst of actions, attacks before leaving State
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mike Pompeo isn't quietly fading away. In his final days as secretary of state, he's issuing orders that have caused international...
UK toughens up borders over Brazil virus variant fears
LONDON (AP) — The U.K. moved Friday to toughen up its entry requirements beyond its surprise decision to ban travel from South America and...
‘This is not a game’: Global virus death toll hits 2 million
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The global death toll from COVID-19 topped 2 million Friday, crossing the threshold amid a vaccine rollout so immense but...
Strong 5.9-magnitude quake shakes Guatemala
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — A strong 5.9 magnitude earthquake swayed buildings in Guatemala's capital Friday morning. There were no immediate reports of damage or...
The Latest: China says COVID-19 hospitalizations above 1,000
BEIJING — China says it is now treating more than 1,000 people for COVID-19 as numbers of cases continue to surge in the country’s...
Honduran migrants trek north toward Guatemalan border
SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras (AP) — Hundreds of migrants hoping to reach the U.S. border gathered outside a bus station in this Honduran city...
Oxygen shortage in Amazon city forces mass patient transfer
SAO PAULO (AP) — Dozens of COVID-19 patients in the Amazon rainforest's biggest city will be flown out of state as the local health...
NY Democrat’s ties to Maduro may help Biden unlock stalemate
MIAMI (AP) — It was the aftermath of a failed coup against Hugo Chávez and Rep. Gregory Meeks was lounging at the Kennedy compound...
Advocacy group: Biden should revamp US human rights policy
GENEVA (AP) — U.S. President-elect Joe Biden should bring “fundamental change” to U.S. policy on human rights and allow criminal investigations of President Donald...
Turkey approves China-based Sinovac vaccine’s emergency use
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish authorities gave the go-ahead for the emergency use of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. on...
Indonesia starts mass COVID vaccinations over vast territory
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian President Joko Widodo received the first shot of a Chinese-made coronavirus vaccine Wednesday after the government authorized it for...
Colombia struggles to keep social leaders safe
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Just taking a walk in the streets of Colombia’s capital can feel dangerous for Luz Nelly Santana.
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The Latest: Fla. lawyer in tobacco cases dies from COVID-19
PENSACOLA, Fla. — Florida attorney Fred Levin, who won a major legal battle against the tobacco industry in the 1990s, has died several days...
Trump takes no responsibility for riot, visits Texas
ALAMO, Texas (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday took no responsibility for his part in fomenting a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol...
Mexico sees holiday bump in tourism amid pandemic surge
TULUM, Mexico (AP) — The friends from Jackson, Mississippi, relaxed on lounge chairs dug into a white sand beach and romped in the turquoise...
Ford announces closing of Brazil manufacturing operations
SAO PAULO (AP) — Ford Motor Co. said Monday it will close three plants in Brazil and stop producing automobiles in the South American...
Trump hits Cuba with new terrorism sanctions in waning days
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Monday re-designated Cuba as a “state sponsor of terrorism,” in a move that hits the country with...
Indonesia green-lights emergency use of Chinese vaccine
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s Food and Drug Authority on Monday green-lighted emergency use of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by China-based Sinovac Biotech Ltd.,...
Pompeo to designate Yemen’s Houthi rebels as terrorist group
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced that he will designate Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels as a “foreign terrorist organization” as...
Yemen, China, Cuba top Pompeo to-do list as time runs down
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday announced that he will designate Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels as a “foreign terrorist organization”...
Trump to visit U.S.-Mexico border to laud border wall
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is expected to travel to the U.S.-Mexico border on Tuesday to highlight his administration's work on the border...
The Latest: Mexico sees record 16,105 new virus cases
MEXICO CITY — Mexico has posted another daily record for newly confirmed coronavirus cases, with 16,105 new infections reported Saturday, and a near-record of...
US motions expand drug claims against Honduras president
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. federal prosecutors have filed motions saying that Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández took bribes from drug traffickers and had...
US judge blocks Trump administration’s sweeping asylum rules
PHOENIX (AP) — A U.S. judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration’s most sweeping set of asylum restrictions less than two weeks before President-elect...
Mexican farmers find rare female statue in citrus grove
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Farmers digging in a citrus grove near Mexico’s Gulf coast have found a striking, six-foot-tall statue of a female figure...
The Latest: China city offers rewards to root out untested
BEIJING — A city in northern China is offering rewards of 500 yuan ($77) for anyone who reports on a resident who has not...
The Latest: Australia moves up vaccination start to February
CANBERRA, Australia — Australia is advancing the start of its coronavirus vaccination program to mid-February, with plans to inoculate 15% of the population by...
Arizona border deaths hit 10-year high after record heat
PHOENIX (AP) — A project that maps the bodies of border-crossers recovered from Arizona’s inhospitable deserts, valleys and mountains said it documented 227 deaths...
Mexico to vaccinate rural elderly, but still awaits vaccine
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Once Mexico has vaccinated its frontline medical workers against COVID-19, the government will turn its attention to the elderly living...
Pandemic haunts new year as virus growth outpaces vaccines
LONDON (AP) — Despite growing vaccine access, January is looking grim around the globe as the coronavirus resurges and reshapes itself from Britain to...
Trump administration announces $3.7 billion for Puerto Rico
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it will award a $3.7 billion grant to help Puerto Rico rebuild water and wastewater...
Venezuela’s socialists take control of once-defiant congress
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Parading giant portraits of Hugo Chavez and independence hero Simon Bolivar, allies of President Nicolas Maduro retook control of Venezuela's...
Puerto Rico to reopen beaches, relax coronavirus curfew
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico’s new governor announced Tuesday that he will reopen beaches, marinas and pools, eliminate a Sunday lockdown...
Colombia brings back lockdowns as coronavirus cases rise
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — As the holiday season winds down, Colombia is experiencing a sharp rise in coronavirus infections that has prompted several cities...
Brazilian city in Amazon declares virus state of emergency
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The Brazilian city of Manaus in the heart of the Amazon has declared a 180-day state of emergency due...
Caribbean hotelier Gordon “Butch” Stewart dies at 79
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Gordon “Butch” Stewart, a Jamaican hotelier who founded Sandals Resorts International, has died. He was 79.
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3 killed in flooding in southern Bolivian city of Sucre
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — A heavy downpour in southern Bolivia caused floods that killed three people and washed away vehicles and street kiosks,...
The Latest: China makes parts of province high danger zones
BEIJING — China has designated parts of Hebei province near Beijing as a coronavirus high danger zone after 14 new cases of COVID-19 were...
Alberta leader reverses course, punishes for pandemic travel
TORONTO (AP) — Alberta’s premier has reversed course and is now punishing members of his government for vacationing outside Canada despite government guidelines urging...
Mexico approves AstraZeneca vaccine for emergency use
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico approved the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine for emergency use Monday, hoping to spur a halting vaccination effort that has only...
Boat with more than a dozen migrants sinks off Colombia
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Rescue workers in Colombia were searching for five migrants missing after their boat carrying 16 people sank as it tried...
Mexico’s president reaches the people with morning show
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Retired auditor Rafael Silva pours himself a cup of coffee and turns on his television at 7:00 a.m. each weekday...
New governor sworn in as a wary Puerto Rico demands changes
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Pedro Pierluisi vowed to achieve statehood for Puerto Rico and fight against poverty, corruption and COVID-19 after he...
Bolsonaro’s tough 2021 balance between ideology, pragmatism
BRASILIA (AP) — Brazil’s pugnacious president, Jair Bolsonaro, survived 2020 in surprisingly good shape personally and politically, with buoyant popularity ratings despite his own...
Mexico City ban on single-use plastics takes effect
MEXICO CITY (AP) — A broad ban on single-use containers, forks, straws and other ubiquitous items takes effect in Mexico’s capital, one of the...
Some Mexicans struggle to get oxygen amid virus case surge
MEXICO CITY (AP) — On New Year’s Day, dozens of people stood in line with empty oxygen tanks in one of Mexico City’s hardest...
Brazil scrambles to approve virus vaccine as pressure mounts
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil, a nation proud of its role as a regional leader in science, technology and medicine, finds itself falling...
New Year’s revelries muted by virus as curtain draws on 2020
This New Year’s Eve is being celebrated like no other in most of the world, with many bidding farewell to a year they’d prefer...
Ontario finance minister resigns after tropical vacation
TORONTO (AP) — The finance minister for Canada's most populous province resigned Thursday after going on a Caribbean vacation during the pandemic and seemingly...
Global pandemic meets 500th anniversary of 1st global voyage
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Disease, mutinies and uncharted waters nearly sabotaged the global circumnavigation of the expedition led by Portuguese mariner Ferdinand Magellan. Five...
Bill legalizing abortion passed in pope’s native Argentina
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina on Wednesday became the largest nation in Latin America to legalize elective abortion, a triumph for a feminist...
Eastern Caribbean issues rare alerts for rumbling volcanoes
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Volcanoes that have been quiet for decades are rumbling to life in the eastern Caribbean, prompting officials to...
Argentine Senate weighs fate of abortion in pope’s homeland
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — The decades-long fight by Argentine women’s groups for legal abortion was being decided by the Senate in a debate...
From Kobe to Maradona, a year of staggering losses in sports
There were so many this year.
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Belarus, Argentina start vaccinations with Russian shots
MOSCOW (AP) — Belarus and Argentina launched mass coronavirus vaccinations with the Russian-developed Sputnik V shot on Tuesday, becoming the first countries outside Russia...
Mexico might allow private firms to buy, distribute vaccines
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Monday he is not opposed to private companies buying coronavirus vaccines to distribute...
Aid groups aim to bring health care to migrants on way to US
MATAMOROS, Mexico (AP) — Aurora Leticia Cruz has tried to keep up with her blood pressure medication since fleeing Guatemala more than a year...
Mexican singer, composer Armando Manzanero dies at 85
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican ballad singer and composer Armando Manzanero died at the age of 85, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said...
The Latest: France confirms case of new virus variant
PARIS — French health authorities have confirmed the country’s first case of the virus variant that prompted strict new lockdown measures in Britain and...
Chinese vaccines are poised to fill gap, but will they work?
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — With rich countries snapping up supplies of COVID-19 vaccines, some parts of the world may have to rely on Chinese-developed...
The Latest: China tests millions in port over virus cluster
BEIJING — Authorities in China’s northeastern port city of Dalian are testing millions of residents after seven new coronavirus cases were reported there in...
Mexico starts giving first shots of Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine
MEXICO CITY (AP) — An intensive care nurse in Mexico City on Thursday became the first person in Latin America to receive an approved...
Coronavirus dampens Christmas joy in Bethlehem and elsewhere
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Bethlehem on Thursday ushered in Christmas Eve with a stream of joyous marching bands and the triumphant arrival of...
People yearn to connect across borders amid pandemic holiday
To slow the spread of COVID-19, the United States, Canada and Mexico agreed in March to close their shared borders to nonessential travel.
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Feral pigs flummox Puerto Rico, infiltrate communities
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Thousands of Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs are snorting and squealing their way across Puerto Rico in what many fear...
The Latest: Brazil is latest to ban flights from Britain
RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil has become the latest country to bar flights from the United Kingdom in a bid to prevent contagion from...
Global virus rules for Christmas: Tough, mild or none at all
In Peru, you can’t drive your car on Christmas. In Lebanon, you can go to a nightclub, but you can’t dance. In South Africa,...
The Latest: Coronavirus cases keep rising in South Korea
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea has added 1,092 new coronavirus cases in a resurgence that is erasing hard-won epidemiological gains and eroding public...
Falsely accused “Anonymous” re-emerges at VOA sister network
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former White House aide falsely accused of penning anonymous criticism of President Donald Trump has been named to head the...
Pandemic reaches Antarctica, last untouched continent
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — The pandemic has finally reached every continent on Earth.
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Biden: Reversing Trump border policies will take months
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden says it will take months to roll back some of President Donald Trump’s actions on immigration, tempering...
