Cartel warriors now carry shoulder-fired launchers that can take down helicopters — and reach across the U.S. border. Should they be redefined as terrorists and rebels instead of just gangsters?
Latin America
Colombian Peace Talks Start — and So Do the FARC’s Delusional Tirades
After a ceremonial kickoff in Oslo, negotiations between Colombia’s government and Marxist guerrillas resume in Cuba next month. Colombians hope the rebels get back in touch with reality by then
Uruguay Diverges from a Continent Where Abortion Is Worse than Rape
Abortion is illegal in most of Latin America–but it still has one of the world’s highest abortion rates, most of it unsafe. Uruguay is now one of the few exceptions to that rule.
The Cuban Missile Crisis at 50: America and Cuba Still Frozen in 1962
Raúl Castro’s decision this week to let Cubans travel freely outside their communist island is a reminder of the jaded cold-war policies Washington and Havana adopted after the 1962 U.S.-Soviet standoff
Brazil’s Largest Corruption Trial Yields Its Most Important Guilty Verdict
José Dirceu, one of Brazil’s most powerful political figures, has been convicted in the wide-ranging mensalão scandal trial, which is considered a key test of the nation’s modernization
Mexico Says ‘The Executioner’ Is Dead—But Where’s the Body?
The Mexican government claims it killed Heriberto Lazcano, leader of the monstrous Zetas drug gang, but its bungled handling of the kingpin’s corpse undermines what should have been a triumph
How Latin America May Lead the World in Decriminalizing Drug Use
Even as Latin American countries are at the forefront of the war against narcotraffickers, they are also pushing alternative strategies — including the legalization of drugs, particularly marijuana
Six More Years: Hugo Chávez Wins a Third Term in Venezuela
It was not as huge a rout as his previous victories, but the Venezuelan president knew how to turn on the electoral charm–and clout–despite a serious bout with cancer.
Hugo Chávez Wins Big, Gives Rivals Six More Years to Climb out of the Hole
Venezuela’s socialist President easily won re-election on Sunday, reminding opposition leaders – and Washington – just how badly their earlier anti-Chávez strategies may have set them back
Hugo Chávez’s Re-election Bid: Is the Latin American Left Stumbling?
Venezuela’s firebrand socialist president is no longer a shoo-in to win re-election on Oct. 7—for reasons that are also haunting other leaders on the Latin American left.
Behind the Story: TIME’s Tim Padgett Discusses Venezuela’s Coming Election
TIME’s Latin America correspondent talks about the growing discontent with President Hugo Chávez in Venezuela’s barrios and how he reported his magazine story on the possible end of Chávez’s hold on power
Will Venezuela’s Pandemic of Crime Destabilize Hugo Chávez’s Regime?
The socialist government has stopped releasing statistics, but on the eve of Chávez’s re-election bid his country’s murder rate is much worse than Mexico’s—which is fighting a narco war
Must-Reads from Around the World
The U.S. ambassador in China gets cornered; Uruguay pushes ahead with legalizing pot