Category: Regions

Strategy, Cease-Fires and Public Opinion: Inside Colombia’s Peace Process

BOGOTÁ, Colombia — On Sunday, diplomats in Havana, Cuba announced that the Colombian government will de-escalate its military campaign against the FARC rebel group, if that group adheres to the […] Read More >

‘El Chapo’ Escapes, Threatening to Derail Peña Nieto Presidency

The Sinaloa Cartel chief Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán escaped for the second time in his life from a Mexican prison on Saturday night. Guzmán, who is widely considered the world’s […] Read More >

Pope Apologizes For Colonial-Era Church Abuses

Top Story — Pope Francis publicly apologized on Thursday for the abuses committed by the Catholic Church against the indigenous populations of the Americas during the colonial period, using stronger […] Read More >

After Hiccups in Colombia’s Peace Talks, Rebels Announce Unilateral Ceasefire

Top Story — Colombia’s FARC rebels on Wednesday announced they will observe a unilateral ceasefire starting on July 20, a positive sign amid a recent escalation of tensions between the […] Read More >

With a New Unilateral Truce, New Bilateral Challenges for Colombia’s Peace Process

BOGOTÁ, Colombia — The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, announced on Wednesday that it will institute a month-long unilateral ceasefire, beginning on July 20. The truce called by […] Read More >

Former Guatemalan Dictator on Trial For Genocide Declared “Unfit”

Top Story — An official team of government-backed doctors declared 89-year-old former Guatemalan dictator Jose Efraín Ríos Montt is “mentally incompetent,” a consensus that could stall his ongoing trial on […] Read More >

Pope Francis Draws Half a Million to Ecuador Mass

Top Story — Pope Francis held mass in the Ecuadorian port city of Guayaquil on Monday, drawing more than half a million people from across the country. The pontiff arrived […] Read More >

Wikileaks Reveals Details of NSA Spying on Brazil

Top Story — The whistleblower website Wikileaks has released documents detailing the extent of the U.S. surveillance that targeted Brazil’s president and others, causing a major diplomatic row in 2013. […] Read More >

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice: House Passed Criminal Age Measure Unconstitutionally

BRASÍLIA, Brazil — A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has described the approval of a controversial measure to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 18 to 16 as an illegal […] Read More >

Brazilian Congress Rejects Controversial Bill Regarding Age of Criminal Responsibility

Top Story — Brazil’s Lower Congressional House voted against a controversial constitutional amendment that would have lowered the age of criminal responsibility from 18 to 16. The proposed bill, which […] Read More >