Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro seems on a constant quest to deflect attention from his country’s economic mess, its violent-crime crisis and the fact that he only narrowly won last month’s special election to succeed …
Latin America
OAS to White House and Hemisphere: It’s High Time to Consider Legalizing Pot
On the Latin American street, the Organization of American States has always borne a reputation, often undeserved, as Washington’s lackey. But the OAS, based in Washington, just sent the western hemisphere a message the White …
Jorge Rafael Videla, Argentina’s Disappearer in Chief, Dies at 87
He would never have been cast to play the role of a bloody South American dictator in a Hollywood film. Soft-spoken, deeply religious, rake thin and awkward, his lean face cut horizontally by an incongruously thick walrus …
In Latin America’s Second Largest Rainforest, an Indigenous Tribe Fights for Its Land
Deep inside the verdant expanse of Nicaragua’s Bosawás Biosphere Reserve—the western hemisphere’s second largest rainforest—a group of Mayangna indigenous warriors wielding spears, bows, snakes and reputed magical powers …
The Obama Administration Looks to Latin America After Years of Neglect
President Barack Obama is sending Vice President Joe Biden on a swing through Brazil, Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago later this month. Which means two things: first, the prospect of off-the-cuff gaffes in three different …
Legalizing Marijuana and Other Ways the U.S. and Mexico Can Win the Drug War
There was a lot of drug-war hand-wringing in the U.S. leading up to President Barack Obama’s visit to Mexico this week. That’s because Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto is in change-the-conversation mode: he wants the
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Venezuela’s Brawl Is the Latest Edition of Parliament Fight Club
The first rule of Parliament Fight Club is try not to be among the opposition. On the evening of April 30, members of Venezuela’s political opposition, including a former presidential candidate, were apparently roughed up by …
Spain and Portugal’s Huddled Masses Seek Jobs in Former Colonies
There are few better places that illustrate the impact of the Spanish conquest of Latin America than the Plaza de Armas in Cuzco, Peru. Cathedrals with foundations of perfectly hewn Incan stone sit atop the ruins of what was once the mountain capital of the great Incan empire. Chapels gleam with Andean gold and silver, a testament to the …
Obama’s Mexico Visit: Not Just About the Drug War Anymore
When former Mexican President Felipe Calderón waged his war on drug cartels, the media were guaranteed a crime photo op every few weeks. Alleged gangsters were thrust before the press along with heaps of guns, money and …
Why Latin America’s Homophobic Leaders Should Stop Their Gay Bashing
We tend to think of mean-spirited homophobia as the political purview of right-wing conservatives. But Nicolás Maduro showed us that, in Venezuela at least, it can be one of socialism’s ugly undercurrents too. Maduro narrowly …
After Venezuela’s Election, Chavistas and the Opposition Ready for Long Fight
On a hill in west of Caracas, the 23 de Enero slum stands as the flagship of Hugo Chávez’s socialist dream. His body currently lies in a military museum here which overlooks el comandante‘s former presidential home, …
In Caracas, Tensions Simmer over Venezuelan Election
In the immediate aftermath of Venezuela’s tightly contested presidential election this past Sunday, supporters of Venezuela opposition leader Henrique Capriles demanded a recount after a slim electoral defeat to Nicolas Maduro,
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Venezuela’s Election: Even if Nicolás Maduro Won, He Lost
Here is the one unmistakable reality of Sunday’s special presidential election in Venezuela: even if Nicolás Maduro won, he lost. This race had a rarefied gauge, and it wasn’t simply the vote tally. It was whether the …