Americas - International News - The New York Times

Workers pack salmon pieces at a plant in Puerto Chacabuco in Chile in 2009.

Norwegians Concede a Role in Chilean Salmon Virus

By ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO

A Norwegian aquaculture company endorsed a scientific study that found salmon eggs shipped from Norway to Chile are the “likely reason” for a devastating virus outbreak in 2007.

Raúl Castro at a revolutionary holiday gathering on Tuesday.

Castro Offers a Wave at Cuban Fete, but, Again, No Speech

By DAMIEN CAVE

Raúl Castro left the speeches to his vice president at a revolutionary hospital, another sign of the new tone he has adopted since taking over power from his brother Fidel.

Edgar Jiménez Lugo being interviewed while under custody in December 2010.

Killer, 15, Is Sentenced in Drug Case in Mexico

By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD

Edgar Jiménez Lugo, hired by a Mexican drug cartel, was convicted of beheading four men and sentenced to three years in prison.

Ciudad Juárez Journal

Youngsters visiting Modesto, a 20-foot male giraffe, at Central Park in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.

A Long-Necked Sign of Hope for a Frightened City

By DAMIEN CAVE

Modesto the giraffe has helped a city held captive by drug violence entice residents to come outside again and enjoy themselves.

Recent Features on the Americas

Newly hired workers, wearing yellow jerseys, were trained at Spellman High Voltage's second manufacturing plant, which makes X-ray components in Matamoros, Mexico.

Despite Violence, U.S. Firms Expand in Mexico

By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD

American manufacturers in Mexico are expanding along the border, a stark paradox during violent times there.

JOBS AT HOME In the state of Jalisco and nearby, jobs for farmers cutting agave and other kinds of work began to increase wages in Mexico in the 1990s, making illegal immigration less attractive.

Better Lives for Mexicans Cut the Allure of Going North

By DAMIEN CAVE

Economic, demographic and social changes in Mexico are suppressing illegal immigration as much as the poor economy or legal crackdowns in the United States.

Cambios en México Reducen Inmigración Ilegal a Estados Unidos

By DAMIEN CAVE

Los cambios económicos, demográficos y sociales en México aminoran la inmigración ilegal al mismo grado que lo hacen la triste economía o las enérgicas medidas legales en EU.

Salvadorans who rely on the waters of the Rio Lempa for their farms blamed Pacific Rim's exploration work for drying up a tributary near the mining site. The company's chief executive said river water was used only briefly.

First a Gold Rush, Then the Lawyers

By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD

After a mining project in El Salvador failed to launch, thwarted investors headed to courts to seek out lost profits.

Protesting last month in Santiago, Chile. Government approval of a plan for a dam in a pristine part of the country has brought thousands to the streets.

Plan for Hydroelectric Dam in Patagonia Outrages Chileans

By ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO

The Chilean government has been rattled by several weeks of large protests against a plan for a $3.2 billion dam complex in a pristine region famous for its beauty.

Chilean Court Blocks Plan for Patagonia Dam Project

Cuban-Americans and Cubans living abroad are a source of goods and cash for their relatives on the island. Travel to Havana has surged since some travel limits were lifted.

An Airlift, Family by Family, Bolsters Cuba’s Economy

By VICTORIA BURNETT

With the relaxation of travel restrictions to Cuba, more Cuban-Americans are going back for visits, with emotional and economic results.

One of the two armored trucks seized in Camargo on Sunday like those used by drug cartels.

Monster Trucks on the Road, From Gangs in Mexico

By DAMIEN CAVE

The Mexican authorities seized two makeshift armored vehicles on Sunday like those being used more often by drug cartels.

The sexes mix freely at San Antonio prison in Venezuela.

Where Prisoners Can Do Anything, Except Leave

By SIMON ROMERO

Carrying assault rifles and sipping whiskey poolside, inmates at Venezuela’s San Antonio prison serve amid a surreal mix of hedonism and force.

Video: Venezuela's Prison Paradise

Mexico City Journal

Delfín Montañana, left, Lucie Nguyen and Elías Cattan on a walking bridge over Viaducto Miguel Alemán in Mexico City. They are proposing a ring of parks around the central city.

A Vision of an Oasis Beneath the Sprawl

By DAMIEN CAVE

Young planners in Mexico City are urging a radical concept to refresh their dusty megalopolis with a ring of water and parks around the city center.

The Saturday Profile

“I reject and lament the errors and crimes that were committed by officials in my father’s government.” KEIKO FUJIMORI

A Second Fujimori Contends for Peru’s Presidency

By SIMON ROMERO

Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of former President Alberto K. Fujimori, who is in prison for rights abuses, says she wants her father cleared through the courts.

Slide Show: A Candidate Fights a Contested Legacy in Peru

A farmer harvested soy in Uruaçu, Brazil.

China’s Interest in Farmland Makes Brazil Uneasy

By ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO

Even as Brazil, Argentina and other nations move to impose limits on farmland purchases by foreigners, the Chinese are seeking to more directly control production themselves.

Tourists on the government-owned golf course in the Cuban resort area of Varadero Beach. It is now Cuba's only 18-hole course.

Revolutionary Cuba Now Lays Sand Traps for the Bourgeoisie

By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD

Fifty years after Fidel Castro rid Cuba of golf courses, developers say the country’s government has given preliminary approval for four large luxury golf resorts on the island.

Workers took the coffin of former President Salvador Allende for an exhumation on Monday.

Exhumation of Allende of Chile Aims to Settle Mystery

By ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO

The remains of President Salvador Allende were exhumed and a second autopsy will be conducted to determine if he shot himself during a coup as his family has long believed.

São Paulo Journal

Andreia Soares played with a child at her employer's home. The training she has received has helped her command higher pay.

Upwardly Mobile Nannies Move Into the Brazilian Middle Class

By ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO

A revolution in child care is giving Brazilian nannies better pay and hours, but it is also pricing them out of the reach of many families.

The Saturday Profile

Violence Suffocated a Father’s Poetry, but Not His Voice

By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD

The voice of Javier Sicilia, a poet whose son was killed in a drug-trafficking attack, has put an exclamation point to Mexico’s campaign against drug cartel violence.

So many construction projects are under way at the same time in Bogotá, Colombia, that they have caused months of traffic chaos.

Colombia’s Resurgent Capital Backslides Amid Crime and Congestion

By SIMON ROMERO

Bogotá’s hard-won accomplishments are being eclipsed by traffic chaos, attacks on tourists, and a corruption scandal that has resulted in the mayor’s suspension.

In Paramaribo, Suriname, a bus carried a portrait of Desi Bouterse, who took part in a military coup in 1980 and was elected president last year by Parliament.

Returned to Power, a Leader Celebrates a Checkered Past

By SIMON ROMERO

Desi Bouterse, a former military ruler who has been convicted of drug trafficking and is still on trial for official killings in the 1980s, is once again Suriname’s leader.

Ollanta Humala, the leader in Peru’s presidential race, picked Brazil over Venezuela as a guide.

A Candidate in Peru Tacks Toward Brazil’s Course

By SIMON ROMERO

Ollanta Humala rejects talk of seizing private companies and celebrates Brazil’s market-oriented economic model.

Slide Show: Walking a Tightrope Between Nationalist and Populist

The Saturday Profile

A Prolific Father of Haitian Letters, Busier Than Ever

By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD

At 75, Frankétienne, whose output includes novels, poems, plays and artwork, embraces chaos as a style that befits Haiti’s tumultuous history.

Residents of a tent camp outside a Port-au-Prince soccer stadium have been asked to leave.

Haitians Forced Out of Tents to Homes Just as Precarious

By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD

More than half of the Haitians driven into camps by the 2010 earthquake have moved out, but most of them appear to have been forced out or to have left to escape crime and living conditions.

Photographs: Leaving Tent Camps, Haitians Live in Limbo

Pink dolphins in the rivers of the Amazon rain forest compete for the same fish that fishermen try to catch to feed their families. Many are illegally killed.

Fishermen in Amazon See a Rival in Dolphins

By ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO

The Amazon’s pink dolphins are protected by law, but fishermen kill them to use as bait.

Video: Amazon Dolphins in Danger

Fernando Ferre, 17, dug the grave of a neighbor who was killed near San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

Drug Wars Push Deeper Into Central America

By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD and DAMIEN CAVE

Aggressive crackdowns on criminal organizations in Mexico and Colombia have increasingly brought the powerful drug syndicates into Central America.

Photographs: Central America’s Drug Problem

President Obama and President Felipe Calderón of Mexico at the White House on March 3.

U.S. Drones Fight Mexican Drug Trade

By GINGER THOMPSON and MARK MAZZETTI

The Obama administration has begun sending drones deep into Mexico to gather intelligence on trafficking.

Thousands from across Colombia have flocked to mining sites in Antioquia, where armed groups vie for control of operations.

In Colombia, New Gold Rush Fuels Old Conflict

By SIMON ROMERO

Seizing on the surge in gold prices, combatants from multiple sides of the conflict in Colombia are shifting into gold mining.

Video | Photographs

More News

Immigration Upended: Damien Cave Answers Readers' Questions

July 6, 2011

Reader Q. and A.: Upending Immigration in Mexico

July 5, 2011

Overlooked Vancouver Video Shows 'Kissing Couple' Was Knocked Down by Riot Police

June 24, 2011

Go to Blog »

Letters From

The Problems of a Graying Population

By CHRYSTIA FREELAND | REUTERS

One way to understand this season's global acrimony is as diverse symptoms of a shared condition: The West is getting old, a demographic fact that is becoming a generational war.

Multimedia

Interactive Feature

Opportunities at Home Reduce Illegal Immigration From Mexico

Thanks in part to new economic and educational opportunities in Mexico, the extraordinary flow of migrants that delivered millions of illegal immigrants to the United States over the past 30 years has sputtered to a halt.

Video

Immigration Upended | Staying Home

According to academic research, the likelihood of Mexicans coming to the United States has fallen to a historic low. Members of the Orozco family talk about their decisions to make the journey or not.