Latin America News

TIJUANA, Mexico - A suspected drug cartel lieutenant with a quarter-million-dollar reward on his head was captured in the border state of Chihuahua, where rival gangs are waging a bloody turf war, police said Wednesday. Full Story »

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Christopher Columbus is on the move again in the New World, after numerous rejections in a nearly two-decade quest to find him a suitable spot. Full Story »

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Distraught parents mourned the loss of two children in a camp for Haitian earthquake survivors Wednesday, a day after rains caused a wall to collapse on top of a row of tarp homes. Full Story »

MIAMI - A recently freed Cuban political prisoner arrived in the United States on Wednesday, where he greeted 100 well-wishers who cheered as the paralyzed former boxer called for the overthrow of the Castro government. Full Story »

BRASILIA, Brazil - The Galapagos Islands have been removed from the UNESCO list of sites endangered by environmental threats or overuse. Full Story »

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico - It's practically a daily ritual: Accused drug traffickers and assassins, shackled and bruised from beatings, are paraded before the news media to show that Mexico is winning its drug war. Once the television lights dim, however, about three-quarters of them are let go. Full Story »

RIO DE JANEIRO - A former TV crime show host and state legislator accused of commissioning killings to boost ratings has died, a hospital spokeswoman said Wednesday. Full Story »

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Throngs of supporters greeted a Puerto Rican nationalist leader Tuesday as he returned from nearly 30 years in prison for participating in a group that used violence against U.S. control of the island. Full Story »

MEXICO CITY - A letter purportedly written by the kidnappers of former Mexican presidential candidate Diego Fernandez de Cevallos suggests he is still alive and hints no ransom has been paid. Full Story »

MANAGUA, Nicaragua - Two foreigners detained in Nicaragua have been identified as the American couple wanted in Panama in the death of a U.S. woman, and police said Tuesday they would hand the couple over to Panamanian authorities. Full Story »

NOGALES, Mexico (AFP) - Mexico braced for mass deportations as a new Arizona immigration law was due to take effect, though a US federal judge on Wednesday blocked the most controversial parts of the legislation. Full Story »

MEXICO CITY (AFP) - Three men and a woman were gunned down late Wednesday at a pizzeria in Mexico City, according to authorities who said the shootings bore the hallmarks of an organized crime hit. Full Story »

SAO PAULO (AFP) - A Brazilian television presenter accused of ordering murders to boost his crime show's ratings has died of an infection while hospitalized, media reported Wednesday. Full Story »

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Suspected drug hitmen have kidnapped four Mexican journalists who were reporting on organized crime in northern Mexico, the latest attempt by cartels to silence the media, a Mexican media group said on Wednesday. Full Story »

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Families of those killed in a rig explosion and fishermen who lost their livelihoods due to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill will face energy giant BP in court for the first time Thursday. Full Story »

SAO PAULO - Brazilian authorities say gunmen used a pickup truck to block an air taxi from taking off at a small airport and stole money and documents it was carrying for the country's federation of banks. Full Story »

BUENOS AIRES (AFP) - Argentina and Uruguay have agreed to a joint environmental monitoring program along the shared Uruguay River, ending a seven-year pollution controversy over a Finnish paper mill on the Uruguayan side. Full Story »

RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) - Brazil's new coach, Mano Menezes, said Monday he intended to build a side capable of achieving his nation's football "dreams," as he was officially presented in his new job. Full Story »