Latin America
Suriname: first woman president faces challenges
Jennifer Geerlings-Simons has made history as Suriname’s first female president, elected amid political and economic turmoil. The 71-year-old physician and lawmaker was backed by a two-thirds parliamentary vote after inconclusive May elections and…
Colombia: reversing the migration trend
In the coastal town of Necocli, migrant families are now returning south after failed attempts to enter the USA, marking a reversal of a once-dominant northward migration trend. Harsh immigration policies under Donald…
Colombia: 57 soldiers kidnapped in rebel area
57 Colombian soldiers have been seized by civilians and armed rebels in the Micay Canyon area, a vital cocaine-producing area in the southwest. The first group was captured on 21 June during an…
Brazil: offshore oil exploration auctions test Lula’s climate pledges
In a northern region of Brazil known as the Equatorial Margin, where the Amazon River meets the Atlantic, a major environmental and political debate is unfolding. After researching the possibility of offshore oil…
Argentina: supreme court upholds prison sentence for former president
Argentina’s supreme court has upheld a six-year prison sentence for former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner on corruption charges, barring her permanently from public office. The ruling sparked protests in Buenos Aires, where…
El Salvador: three colonels convicted for 1982 murder of Dutch journalists
Three retired colonels have been sentenced to fifteen years in prison for orchestrating the 1982 killings of four Dutch journalists during El Salvador’s civil war. They are former defence minister Jose Guillermo Garcia…
Colombia: an alternative approach to fighting cocaine production
Colombia is pursuing a peaceful alternative to its enduring drug crisis by offering payments to farmers who agree to uproot coca (the plant used to make cocaine) and replace it with legal crops…
Peru: farmer’s lawsuit against polluting German firm
A German court has dismissed a lawsuit by Peruvian farmer Saul Luciano Lliuya against energy giant RWE, rejecting his claim for damages over flood risks in his hometown linked to climate change. Lliuya…
Panama: locals threatened by new dam proposal
Hundreds of residents in Panama’s Indio River region are opposing a proposed dam project that threatens to flood their homes. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) plans to build a 4,600-hectare reservoir to supply…
Uruguay: beloved former president dies
Jose ‘Pepe’ Mujica, Uruguay’s beloved former president and leftist rebel, has died at 89 after battling throat cancer. Revered for his humility, Mujica led Uruguay from 2010 to 2015, promoting civil liberties, legalising…
