Posts By: Mike Samras
Mike earned degrees in political science and journalism from the University of Pittsburgh. After graduating from college in 2006, Mike joined the Peace Corp and spent two and half years living and working in El Salvador. He is currently pursuing a master's degree in political management at George Washington University.
August 13, 2018 > Staff
Jailed Venezuelan lawmaker still hasn’t had contact with lawyers but appears in “confession” video
TODAY IN LATIN AMERICA VENEZUELA: Arrested lawmaker Juan Requesens has still not be allowed to talk to a lawyer or see his family since he was taken into custody without […] Read More >
August 10, 2018 > Staff
Brazil suffered record number of murders in 2017, says new independent data
TODAY IN LATIN AMERICA BRAZIL: New data shows that in 2017 the southern giant broke its own record for homicides with a 3.7 percent increase in the number of killings […] Read More >
August 9, 2018 > Staff
Argentina Senate rejects controversial bill to legalize abortion
TODAY IN LATIN AMERICA ARGENTINA: The Senate narrowly rejected a bill to legalize abortion during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy today before dawn. Senators began debating the bill […] Read More >
August 8, 2018 > Staff
New Colombian President Iván Duque takes office amid polarization
TODAY IN LATIN AMERICA COLOMBIA: Newly-elected President Iván Duque took office yesterday with a ceremony at Bogotá’s central Plaza de Bolívar. Duque, who defines himself as a centrist liberal, […] Read More >
August 7, 2018 > Staff
Brazil closes and then reopens its norther frontier to Venezuelan migrants
TODAY IN LATIN AMERICA BRAZIL: A judge issued an order on Sunday preventing Venezuelans from entering Brazil through the northern state of Roraima until conditions for a “humanitarian reception” […] Read More >
August 6, 2018 > Staff
Two drones explode during Venezuelan president’s speech at military parade
TODAY IN LATIN AMERICA VENEZUELA: Drones exploded near President Nicolás Maduro in an apparent assassination attempt while he was delivering a televised speech at a military event on Saturday. […] Read More >
August 3, 2018 > Staff
Venezuela relaxes foreign currency exchange controls
TODAY IN LATIN AMERICA VENEZUELA: The ruling party’s National Constituent Assembly voted yesterday to relax strict currency exchange controls as part of President Nicolás Maduro’s plan to combat the […] Read More >
August 2, 2018 > Staff
A federal judge ordered former Argentina President Cristina Fernández to testify on alleged corruption
TODAY IN LATIN AMERICA ARGENTINA: A federal judge ordered former President Cristina Fernández to testify in an investigation into alleged corruption involving public works contracts. Judge Claudio Bonadio also […] Read More >
August 1, 2018 > Staff
Federal control board overseeing Puerto Rico’s finances predicts “tepid” economic growth
TODAY IN LATIN AMERICA PUERTO RICO: The federal appointed control board overseeing the U.S. territory’s finances released on Monday its second annual report to the U.S. president, Congress and […] Read More >
July 31, 2018 > Staff
Murder rate in Mexico surpasses for the first time peak levels of 2011
TODAY IN LATIN AMERICA MEXICO: A new report by the national statistics institute says that there were 31,174 murders in 2017. This is higher by 2,000 than what was […] Read More >