The Marine Corps general tapped to lead U.S. military operations in Latin America says he's ready to oversee an expanded presence but isn't sure what the Trump administration has planned.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has linked the seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela to the Trump administration's counterdrug efforts.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the United States is designating two Ecuadorian gangs as foreign terrorist organizations.

Security, sovereignty, tariffs, trade, drugs and migration will top Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s agenda this week on his third trip to Latin America since becoming chief U.S. diplomat.

Bolivians have headed to the polls for a pivotal election that could end the long reign of the leftist Movement Toward Socialism party.

Latin America's top human rights court has issued a groundbreaking advisory opinion linking states’ human rights obligations to their duty to address climate change.

HBO’s new bio series “Chespirito: Not Really on Purpose” or “Sin Querer Queriendo” has been received with delight by many fans in the U.S. and Latin America who grew up watching Roberto Gómez Bolaños.

Colombia’s wind energy plans in La Guajira are faltering as major companies exit and projects remain stalled.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Democratic senators have sparred over a wide range of the Trump administration’s foreign policies: Ukraine and Russia, the Middle East, Latin America, the slashing of the U.S. foreign assistance budget, refugee admissions and more.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says President Donald Trump’s desire to acquire Greenland and retake control of the Panama Canal is driven by legitimate national security interests stemming from growing concerns about Chinese activity in the Arctic and in Latin America.

Democratic senators have grilled three of President Donald Trump’s cabinet picks during their confirmation hearings.

Thousands of people have disappeared in Latin America during decadeslong conflicts.

President-elect Donald Trump's pick of Sen. Marco Rubio to become U.S. secretary of state is likely to jolt Latin America after decades of neglect from Washington.

Commuters in Buenos Aires are being hit by an abrupt 360% increase in subway fares.

Both jeers and cheers for Argentina’s right-wing presidential candidate resounded with acoustic perfection inside the country’s legendary Colón Theater, laying bare the country’s polarization.

Spirits and beer giant Diageo saw billions wiped off its market value on Friday after it warned that a sharp slowdown in its business in Latin America and the Caribbean was hitting sales and potential profits.

As the number of migrants coming to the U.S.’s southern border is climbing, the Biden administration aims to admit more refugees from Latin America and the Caribbean over the next year.

Former President Donald Trump's arraignment in federal court has highlighted a popular strategy among Republicans: likening their opponents to “Marxists” and “communists.”.

As Taiwan’s diplomatic partners dwindle and turn instead to rival China, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen is aiming to shore up ties with the self-governing island’s remaining allies during a trip this week to Central America.

Honduras’ decision to cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of China is yet another sign of growing Chinese influence in Latin America.

LGBTQ people fight for their rights across the world.

Xin Xin, the last panda in Latin America, is not your average bear.

The United Nations says almost three-quarters of the 6 million Venezuelan migrants currently in Latin America lack adequate food, shelter, employment or medical care.

Some 200 environmental and land defense activists were killed around the world in 2021, including some 54 in Mexico, which assumed the position of the deadliest country.

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The National Basketball Association and Mamsa Sports Performance announced a multiyear partnership to launch the first NBA Basketball School in the Dominican Republic.

The Summit of the Americas is a little more than two weeks away in Los Angeles, and there's still no clear answer on which countries are going.

Across Latin America, the sharpest price spike in a generation has left many widely consumed local products suddenly hard to attain.

As women in the United States find themselves on the verge of possibly losing the constitutional right to access abortion services, courts in other parts of the world, including in many historically conservative societies, have moved in the opposite direction.

A new report by Pew Research Center says about 6 million adults in the United States identify as Afro Latino, a distinction with deep roots in colonial Latin America.

Marjorie Miller has been named as the new administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes.

Colombia has become the latest country in Latin America to expand access to abortion, with the nation’s Constitutional Court voting to legalize the procedure until the 24th week of pregnancy.

In Costa Rica, election officials are encouraging those infected with the coronavirus to skip voting in upcoming national elections.

A leftist millennial who rose to prominence during anti-government protests has been elected Chile’s next president after a bruising campaign against a free-market firebrand likened to Donald Trump.

Fernando González, the head of Caribbean newsgathering for The Associated Press, has died in Havana.

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A UNICEF report says severe acute childhood malnutrition is expected to more than double this year in Haiti as the country struggles with the coronavirus pandemic, a spike in violence and dwindling resources.

Space-related news is not just flowing from the world’s richest, biggest nations.

Books from Europe and Latin America that blur the boundaries of fiction, history and memoir are the final six contenders for the 50,000 pound ($69,000) International Booker Prize.

Facing swift blowback from allies and aid groups, the White House says President Joe Biden plans to lift his predecessor’s historically low cap on refugees by next month.

A deep 7.4% recession in the Latin America and Caribbean last year wiped out nearly a decade’s worth of growth, according to International Monetary Fund data. The slowdown in lending to Latin America reflects a broader, global pullback, as China turns inward to bolster its own recovery efforts amid the pandemic. The China Development Bank and the foreign ministry didn’t respond to questions about the reasons for the decline in Chinese loans to Latin America. AdFor the region’s leaders, Chinese loans for big ticket infrastructure projects are hard to resist. No American firms placed bids for the project, which did not directly benefit from any Chinese loans.

The abortion law goes into force Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)BUENOS AIRES – Argentina’s groundbreaking abortion law went into force Sunday under the watchful eyes of women’s groups and government officials, who hope to ensure its full implementation despite opposition from some conservative and church groups. Supporters of the law say they expect lawsuits from anti-abortion groups in Argentina’s conservative provinces and some private health clinics might refuse to carry out the procedure. The law’s supporters expect backlash in Argentina’s conservative provinces. Gómez Alcorta said criminal charges currently pending against more than 1,500 women and doctors who performed abortions should be lifted.

WASHINGTON – When Joe Biden took the oath of office as the 46th president, he became not only the oldest newly inaugurated U.S. chief executive in history but also the oldest sitting president ever. That’s 78 days older than President Ronald Reagan was when he left office in 1989. A look at how the country Biden now leads has changed over his lifetime and how his presidency might reflect that. The world population in Biden’s lifetime has grown from about 2.3 billion to 7.8 billion. The month Biden was born, a dozen eggs averaged about 60 cents in U.S. cities -- two hours of minimum wage work.

Many expressed hope Biden would right U.S. democracy two weeks after rioters stormed the Capitol, shaking the faith of those fighting for democracy in their own countries. Biden “understands the importance of cooperation among nations,” said former Colombian president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Juan Manuel Santos, who left office in 2018. “President Biden’s message of unity as he takes office is one that resonates with New Zealanders,” Ardern said. World leaders also acknowledged the history of Vice President Kamala Harris taking office. “That is an historic moment and one that, I think as a father of daughters, you can only celebrate," Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has met with his designated successor as America’s top diplomat and is rejecting suggestions that the United States is a “banana republic” because of the attack on the U.S. Capitol. As Pompeo spoke, the State Department instructed U.S. embassies overseas to defend the American political process even while Trump sought to subvert it. “In the wake of yesterday’s reprehensible attack on the U.S. Capitol, many prominent people – including journalists and politicians – have likened the United States to a banana republic,” Pompeo said late Thursday. “The slander reveals a faulty understanding of banana republics and of democracy in America.”“In a banana republic, mob violence determines the exercise of power,” he continued. “In the United States, law enforcement officials quash mob violence so that the people’s representatives can exercise power in accordance with the rule of law and constitutional government.

Abortion-rights activists watch live video streaming of lawmakers in session, outside Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. Congress approved a bill that legalize abortion in Argentina. “Safe, legal and free abortion is now the law,” Fernández tweeted after the vote, noting that it had been an election pledge. The generational shift was reflected in the stance taken by Vice President Fernández de Kirchner. Argentina’s feminist movement has been demanding legal abortion for more than 30 years and activists say the bill’s approval could mark a watershed in Latin America, where the Catholic Church has long dominated.

The country's 1.4 million health workers will be the first to get the shots, followed by the elderly, those with underlying health conditions that make them more vulnerable to the disease, and teachers. Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said Mexico was the first country in Latin America to get the vaccine, though others were close behind. In Costa Rica, which is the third country in the region to begin using the Pfizer vaccine, the first shot was given Thursday to Elizabeth Castillo, 91. Argentina, which has run into problems obtaining the Pfizer vaccine, received a flight carrying 300,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine. Argentina plans to become the first country in Latin America to administer the Russian vaccine starting next week.

New York police officers move in on the scene of a shooting at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020, in New York. A man was shot by police after shots rang out at the end of a Christmas choral concert on the steps of the Manhattan cathedral Sunday afternoon. The shooting happened just before 4 p.m. at the church which is the mother church of the Episcopal Diocese of New York and seat of its bishop. The note was first reported by NBC New York. In the note, the law enforcement official said, Vasquez wrote he did not expect to make it home.

MILAN – A rebound in car production in Fiat Chrysler on Wednesday reported record third-quarter earnings as production returned to nearly pre-pandemic levels. The Italian-American automaker, which is finalizing its full merger with French rival PSA Peugeot, reported a net profit in the three months ending Sept. 30 of 1.2 billion ($1.4 billion). The carmaker reported adjusted earnings before tax and interest in North America of 2.5 billion euros. Overall, the carmaker said global earnings before tax and interest were a record 2.3 billion euros despite a 6% fall in revenues to 26 billion euros. Fiat Chrysler announced earlier Wednesday that its merger with PSA Peugeot is on track to be finalized by the end of the first quarter of 2021, as planned.

(AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)BOGOTA – Colombia reached 1 million confirmed coronavirus cases on Saturday, becoming the second country in Latin America to report that number in less than a week. The nation of 50 million saw cases peak in August and has seen a decline since but still continues to register around 8,000 new infections a day. Argentina hit 1 million confirmed cases on Monday and Peru and Mexico are expected to reach the grim marker in the weeks ahead. Brazil ranks third worldwide in the number of virus cases and passed 1 million infections back in June. Colombia has become the eighth country to hit 1 million confirmed coronavirus cases.

All remain in quarantine at a Christchurch hotel, and health officials say they expect more to test positive. — British PM Johnson imposing strict coronavirus restrictions on Greater Manchester, England’s second-largest urban area, after talks fail on financial support. Local health officials said Tuesday that the surge is overwhelming their ability to confront the pandemic. Officials say coronavirus cases related to the university represent 61% of the total in Washtenaw County, compared to just 2% in August. ___PHOENIX — Arizona reported more than 1,000 daily coronavirus cases for the second time in a week.

Argentina reached 1 million confirmed coronavirus cases on Monday, Oct. 19, 2020, according to the Ministry of Health. But as Argentina passed 1 million virus cases Monday, it is now smaller cities like Ushuaia that are seeing some of the most notable upticks. Argentina has seen cases spiral despite instituting one of the world’s longest lockdowns. “We had a plateau.”Throughout the region, testing remains a hurdle. Brazil reached 1 million cases in June and now is up to 5.2 million for the pandemic.

All rights reserved)MEXICO CITY – The U.N.’s International Labour Organization said Wednesday that at least 34 million jobs have been lost in Latin America due to the coronavirus pandemic. The count was up from the ILO’s previous estimates in early August that 14 million jobs had been lost in the region. The organization's Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Vinícius Pinheiro, called it “an unprecedented challenge.”Pinheiro said the third quarter had brought a recovery in economic activity and, according to preliminary data, a tentative recovery in employment. The ILO figures were based on data from nine countries which account for 80% of the region's workforce. The ILO lists Latin America and the Caribbean as the worst-hit region in the world in terms of lost working hours, with a drop of 20.9% in the first three quarters of the year, compared to an average of 11.7% worldwide.

Whats happening with the journalists in Peru is somewhat a reflection of whats happening with the Peruvian population, said Zuliana Lainez, secretary general of the National Association of Journalists of Peru, a union based in Lima. At least 82 reporters in Peru died from the disease between March 16, when Peru imposed a lockdown because of the health crisis, and Aug. 17, according to the association. The Press Emblem Campaign, a Geneva-based group launched by journalists, said July 1 that Peru had lost the most journalists to COVID-19 of any country in the world. It has logged 560,000 coronavirus cases, placing it in the top 10 countries half of them in Latin America with the most confirmed cases in the world. Freelancer Ricardo Gutirrez Aparicio was among the first Peruvian journalists reported to have died of COVID-19.

SAN SALVADOR For months, the strictest measures confronting the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America seemed to keep infections in check in El Salvador, but a gradual reopening combined with a political stalemate has seen infections increase nearly fourfold. Both have an eye on legislative elections scheduled for early next year and appear unwilling to cede any advantage. Its a reversal in a country that early in the pandemic seemed to have the situation under control. But the legislative body has declined to do so, and lawmakers have been locked in a monthslong standoff with Bukele. "If El Salvador collapses, we all go down and were already sinking.

Of course, it is good that countries are taking these measures of prudence against the virus, Grandi said. The impact could be especially stark for 3.7 million Venezuelans abroad, the world's second-largest nationality of refugees after the 6.6 million Syrians displaced by their country's war. One region about which were very worried is, of course, Latin America and South America and in particular where countries host many millions of Venezuelans, Grandi said in an interview. Amid the outbreak, UNHCR has stepped up its cash transfer programs that put money directly in the pockets of displaced people. Grandi says 65 countries now benefit from such programs, and we have added 40 countries in just the last few months.

Even amid a global pandemic, theres no sign that corruption is slowing down in Latin America. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)MIAMI Even in a pandemic, there's no slowdown for swindlers in Latin America. Coronavirus clusters are still spreading in Latin America, fueling a spike in deaths, swamping already-precarious hospitals and threatening to ravage slumping economies. To be sure, disasters breed corruption all over the world, not just in Latin America. But stealing state funds is especially vexing in Latin America because of gaping poverty and a tattered social safety net.

Statewide, New York reported its lowest number of daily coronavirus deaths 84 in many weeks in what Gov. To the south, Trump played golf at one of his private clubs for the first time during the pandemic the Trump National Golf Club in Virginia. He has been pushing for state and local leaders to fully reopen after months of closures and tight restrictions. New coronavirus cases reported in China were zero Saturday for the first time since the outbreak began but surged in India and overwhelmed hospitals across Latin America. Religious events helped spread the virus early in the pandemic; resuming such gatherings is an especially thorny issue.

(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic. Steve Sisolak has set a tentative June 4 date for reopening the states shuttered casinos, including the famous glitzy casinos of Las Vegas. Tate Reeves says he is adding another week to his statewide safer at home order because of the coronavirus pandemic. ___ROME All residents of nursing homes in Lombardy, Italys worst-stricken region in the COVID-19 pandemic, have now been tested for the infection. State health officials plan another round of testing at the facility next week.

Police patrol on the sidelines of a march by supporters of former President Evo Morales, arriving from El Alto and entering La Paz, Bolivia, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019. But the upheaval that has recently rocked the region, threatening Trump allies and anti-imperialist governments alike, defies easy categorization. "The left had a very long stretch but it's unlikely to be repeated," said Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue. Prior to Morales' resignation, the left had been hoping for a comeback following the 2017 election last year of far-right populist Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil. "The left was attractive for a very long time and justifiably so because it spoke for the people when nobody else did," said Arana.

WASHINGTON, DC Russia interfered in the 2016 election and may try to sway next year's vote as well. American officials sounding the alarm about foreign efforts to disrupt the 2020 election include multiple countries in that warning. "All of those countries in different ways are clearly interested in engaging in malign foreign influence," he added. Special counsel Robert Mueller exposed through his investigation the unregistered, covert Russian campaign to spread disinformation on social media. U.S. officials said the foreign influence campaigns didn't change midterm vote totals, but there's no question that concern remains for 2020.