Fear, grief follow deadly quake on Ecuador’s southwest coast
March 19, 2023 GMTQUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Some affectionally call Machala the "Banana Capital of the World." This port community on Ecuador's Pacific coast is home to about a quarter million people and normally bustles with commercial activity.
Pope offers prayer for earthquake victims in Ecuador, Peru
March 19, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis offered prayers Sunday for the victims of an earthquake that shook vast swaths of territory in Ecuador and parts of Peru.
During his weekly Sunday noon blessing, Francis recalled that the 6.8-magnitude temblor caused “death, injuries and heavy damage.”
Mexico president holds massive rally ahead of 2024 elections
March 19, 2023 GMTMEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador held a massive rally in Mexico City’s main plaza attended by tens of thousands of people Saturday.
Though it was called to commemorate Mexico's 1938 expropriation of the oil industry, many of those attending the rally Saturday agreed that it was the de-facto opening salvo to the 2024 elections that will choose the president’s successor.
Vatican closes embassy in Nicaragua after Ortega’s crackdown
March 18, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican said Saturday it had closed its embassy in Nicaragua after the country's government proposed suspending diplomatic relations, the latest episode in a yearslong crackdown on the Catholic Church by the administration of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.
Mexican migrant killed in California capsize left daughter
March 18, 2023 GMTMEXICO CITY (AP) — Yecenia Lazcano Soriano left behind a 4-year-old daughter in her home town of Tehuacan, Mexico, when she set out almost in secret to reach the United States.
The last message she sent to relatives was a heart emoji.
US warns about fake, dangerous pills being sold in Mexico
March 18, 2023 GMTMEXICO CITY (AP) — The U.S. State Department has issued a travel warning about dangerous counterfeit pills being sold at pharmacies in Mexico that often contain fentanyl.
The travel alert posted Friday says Americans should “exercise caution when purchasing medication in Mexico.”
Governments pledge money, attention to Venezuela’s crisis
March 17, 2023 GMTCARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Governments and financial institutions pledged millions of dollars Friday for humanitarian and development projects to address the urgent needs of Venezuelans at home and abroad affected by a crisis that diplomats acknowledged requires renewed attention.
Lack of hugs caused US fentanyl crisis, Mexico’s leader says
March 17, 2023 GMTMEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president said Friday that U.S. families were to blame for the fentanyl overdose crisis because they don’t hug their kids enough.
The comment by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador caps a week of provocative statements from him about the crisis caused by the fentanyl, a synthetic opioid trafficked by Mexican cartels that has been blamed for about 70,000 overdose deaths per year in the United States.
Haiti PM turns to military for help in fighting gangs
March 17, 2023 GMTPORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Prime Minister Ariel Henry signaled Friday that he wants to mobilize Haiti’s military to help the National Police fight the country’s increasingly powerful gangs.
Henry said during an appearance at the Haitian Armed Forces headquarters that he intends to mobilize all of the country’s security forces in the fight against gang violence.
Jamaican government to increase minimum wage by 44%
March 17, 2023 GMTSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness says his government plans to increase the island’s minimum wage by 44% as the local economy rebounds.
Strong earthquake kills at least 14 in Ecuador, 1 in Peru
March 19, 2023 GMTQUITO, Ecuador (AP) — A strong earthquake shook southern Ecuador and northern Peru on Saturday, killing at least 15 people, trapping others under rubble, and sending rescue teams out into streets littered with debris and fallen power lines.
Tejano musician Fito Olivares dies in Houston at 75
March 18, 2023 GMTHOUSTON (AP) — Tejano musician Fito Olivares, known for songs that were wedding and quinceanera mainstays including the hit “Juana La Cubana,” died Friday. He was 75.
The noted saxophonist died in the morning at home in Houston, according to his wife, Griselda Olivares.
Panama buries last 13 bodies of dozens of bus crash victims
March 17, 2023 GMTPANAMA CITY (AP) — Panama buried the last 13 unclaimed bodies Friday from a Feb. 15 bus crash that killed over three dozen migrants from several countries.
The migrants buried Friday included people from Haiti, Eritrea and Nigeria.
6 women who went missing in Mexico were killed, burned
March 17, 2023 GMTMEXICO CITY (AP) — Prosecutors in Mexico confirmed Friday that six women who went missing on March 7 were killed and their bodies burned by a gang of armed men.
It was one of the largest collective killings of a group of women in recent years in Mexico.
3 police dead in Mexico City shootout with cartel gunmen
March 17, 2023 GMTMEXICO CITY (AP) — Three police officers and one suspect were killed and seven suspected drug cartel members were arrested Friday following a dramatic running gun battle on the eastern edge of Mexico City.
US ships mega generators to ease outages in Puerto Rico
March 17, 2023 GMTSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico’s governor announced Friday that the U.S. government has shipped three mega generators to the island to help stabilize the U.S. territory’s rickety electric grid and minimize continuing outages.
Texas, Florida push border laws as governors eye presidency
March 17, 2023 GMTPHOENIX (AP) — Led by tough-talking Republican governors weighing presidential runs, Texas and Florida are debating especially strict legislation on border security as the GOP tests federal authority over immigration.
14-year-old boy arrested in Mexico for murder of 8
March 17, 2023 GMTMEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican authorities have arrested a 14-year-old boy nicknamed “El Chapito” for the drug-related killing of eight people near Mexico City, the federal Public Safety Department said Thursday.
El Salvador’s congress extends anti-gang crackdown
March 17, 2023 GMTEl Salvador’s congress has voted to approve yet another extension of emergency rules allowing police to round up suspected members of street gangs.
The vote late Wednesday was widely expected, and marks the 12th such one-month extension granted to President Nayib Bukele since the measure was first approved on March 27, 2022.
Report scrutinizes US efforts to rebuild post-quake Haiti
March 16, 2023 GMTSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.S. Agency for International Development built only half of eight major projects meant to help Haiti recover from a devastating 2010 earthquake, a federal audit report said Thursday.
Prosecutor: Some of the 6 missing women in Mexico found dead
March 16, 2023 GMTMEXICO CITY (AP) — A prosecutor in Mexico said Thursday there is evidence that some of the six women who went missing on March 7 have been found dead.
Carlos Zamarripa, the head prosecutor of the violence-plagued state of Guanajuato, said that “unfortunately we have found signs that some of them were killed.”
Argentines struggle to make ends meet amid 100% inflation
March 16, 2023 GMTBUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Jesica Fernández used to join seven family members every weekend for a large beef barbeque. Beef is no longer on the menu, and now they’re more likely to eat spaghetti or chicken wings.
Officials say 21 workers killed at coal mine in Colombia
March 16, 2023 GMTBOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Rescue operations at a coal mine in central Colombia that collapsed earlier this week ended Thursday and officials said the accident had left 21 workers dead.
The mine near the town of Sutatausa collapsed late Tuesday following an explosion that blocked several of its entrances.
Guatemala’s government arrests another former prosecutor
March 16, 2023 GMTGUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemala's government arrested former prosecutor Orlando Salvador López on abuse-of-authority charges Thursday, the latest in a series of detentions seen as weakening anti-corruption efforts in the country.
3 dead in rioting blamed on gangs in Brazil’s northeast
March 16, 2023 GMTBRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — National guard troops patrolled northeastern Brazil on Thursday after three nights of rioting allegedly ordered by imprisoned gang members left windows smashed, buses ablaze and at least three people dead.
Top court ruling unleashes permit upheaval in Puerto Rico
March 16, 2023 GMTSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A ruling by Puerto Rico’s Supreme Court has thrown into limbo hundreds of thousands of business and construction permits issued by a U.S. territory already struggling to attract investors amid an economic crisis.
UN announces new advisers to bolster young voices on climate
March 16, 2023 GMTUnited Nations Secretary-General António Guterres named seven young climate leaders Thursday to be his Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change, underlining the role of youth advocates in climate action.
Foreign policy of Brazil’s Lula takes shape, irking the West
March 16, 2023 GMTRIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s new President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has so far shown little concern about defying consensus in the West on foreign policy -- even when it comes to dealing with authoritarian governments.
Don’t leave Global South out of green tech growth, UN warns
March 16, 2023 GMTThe majority of developing nations are set to miss out on the economic benefits of booming green technologies, slowing progress toward their climate goals and widening the inequality gap between rich and poor countries, a United Nations report warned Thursday.
Musk brought internet to Brazil’s Amazon. Criminals love it.
March 16, 2023 GMTATALAIA DO NORTE, Brazil (AP) — Brazilian federal agents aboard three helicopters descended on an illegal mining site on Tuesday in the Amazon rainforest. They were met with gunfire, and the shooters escaped, leaving behind an increasingly familiar find for authorities: Starlink internet units.
Honduras ditching Taiwan raises larger geopolitical concerns
March 16, 2023 GMTMEXICO CITY (AP) — Honduras' decision to cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of China is yet another sign of growing Chinese influence in Latin America.
For decades the Asian superpower funneled billions of dollars into investment and infrastructure projects across the region.
Colombian coal mine blast kills 11, search on for survivors
March 16, 2023 GMTBOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A powerful explosion tore through a series of five coal mines interconnected by tunnels and ventilation systems in a rural area of central Colombia, killing at least 11 people and leaving 10 others missing, the government said Wednesday.
Ecuador, Argentina order out envoys amid diplomatic clash
March 16, 2023 GMTQUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Argentina and Ecuador are in a diplomatic clash after a former Ecuadorian Cabinet minister who had been convicted of corruption and taken refuge with the Argentine ambassador escaped from Ecuador’s capital of Quito to Venezuela
El Salvador: 2,000 more to prison, vows will ‘never return’
March 15, 2023 GMTSAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — El Salvador’s government sent 2,000 more suspects to a huge new prison built especially for gang members Wednesday, and the the justice minister vowed that “they will never return” to the streets.
Sharp drop in illegal border crossings continues in February
March 15, 2023 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — A sharp drop in illegal border crossings along the Southwest border that started in January after the Biden administration announced stricter immigration measures continued into February, the administration announced Wednesday.
UN warns gangs consuming Haiti despite help for police
March 15, 2023 GMTSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.N.’s special envoy to Haiti warned Wednesday that the ongoing training and resources the international community is providing to Haiti’s national police force is not enough to fight increasingly violent gangs.
Mexican president floats fentanyl ban, faults US drug policy
March 15, 2023 GMTMEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president called anti-drug policies in the U.S. a failure Wednesday and proposed a ban on using fentanyl in medicine — even though little of the drug crosses from hospitals into the illegal market.
US issues travel alert for Spring breakers in Mexico
March 15, 2023 GMTMEXICO CITY (AP) — The U.S. State Department issued a travel alert Wednesday for Americans planning to spend Spring break in Mexico.
The alert warns travelers to “exercise increased caution” especially after dark at Caribbean beach resorts like Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum, which have been plagued by drug gang violence in the past.
Indigenous farmworker leader bids for Guatemala presidency
March 15, 2023 GMTGUATEMALA CITY (AP) — An Indigenous female farmworker leader hopes to become Guatemala’s next president. But Thelma Cabrera faces an uphill fight, after the country’s Electoral Tribunal refused to allow her to register her candidacy.
Brazil reintroduces visa requirement for US tourists, others
March 15, 2023 GMTRIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil is reintroducing the requirement to obtain tourist visas for citizens of the U.S., Australia, Canada, and Japan starting Oct. 1, the foreign ministry said.
Former president Jair Bolsonaro had scrapped the visa requirements in 2019 to bolster the country’s tourism industry, but the four countries continued to demand visas from Brazilians.
Honduras will seek ties with China, spurning Taiwan
March 15, 2023 GMTTEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Honduras President Xiomara Castro announced Tuesday that her government will seek to establish diplomatic relations with China, which would imply severing relations with Taiwan.
16 migrants detained after cargo ship jump in Puerto Rico
March 14, 2023 GMTSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Federal authorities are investigating a group of at least 16 migrants who apparently were stowaways aboard a cargo ship headed to Puerto Rico and jumped into the ocean as it neared the U.S.
Mexican soldiers find 1.8 million fentanyl pills in Tijuana
March 14, 2023 GMTMEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s Defense Department said Tuesday that soldiers found over 1.83 million fentanyl pills at a stash house in the border city of Tijuana.
The department said in a statement that soldiers staked out the house Sunday after authorities received a tip that the site was being used for drug trafficking.
Five years after Rio councilwoman slain, questions and hope
March 14, 2023 GMTRIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Relatives and supporters gathered Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro to mark five years since the assassination of Black, bisexual city councilwoman Marielle Franco amid hope that investigations into her death will accelerate under Brazil’s new leftist president.
Mexico to use traditional medicine, more Cuban doctors
March 14, 2023 GMTMEXICO CITY (AP) — Health authorities in Mexico said Tuesday they will use more traditional medicine and more Cuban doctors in the country’s woefully under-equipped public hospital system.
Zoe Robledo, the head of Mexico’s largest public hospital network, said at a news conference that the system will hire 753 practitioners of traditional massage and herbal treatments.
Could scientist Claudia Sheinbaum be Mexico’s next leader?
March 14, 2023 GMTMEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico is a year away from electing its next head of state and the potential candidate getting the most attention is an environmental scientist who might become the first female leader of Latin America’s second-largest economy.
Cubans search for holiday food amid deepening crisis
March 14, 2023 GMTHAVANA (AP) — As Belkis Fajardo, 69, walks through the dense streets of downtown Havana with a small bag of lettuce and onions in hand, she wonders how she’ll feed her family over the holidays.
Scarcity and economic turmoil are nothing new to Cuba, but Fajardo is among many Cubans to note that this year is different thanks to soaring inflation and deepening shortages.
Netherlands repatriates indigenous remains to Caribbean isle
March 14, 2023 GMTSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The Netherlands has returned the remains of nine indigenous people that archaeologists found more than 30 years ago on the tiny Dutch Caribbean island of St. Eustatius, officials said.
Lula meets with Indigenous in Brazil’s Amazon, pledges lands
March 14, 2023 GMTRAPOSA SERRA DO SOL INDIGENOUS TERRITORY, Brazil (AP) — On his first trip to Indigenous land in the Amazon rainforest since taking office, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed support for creating new territories for those communities, but stopped short of announcing any demarcations.
7 killed in capsized San Diego boats were Mexican migrants
March 14, 2023 GMTAt least seven of eight people killed when two boats capsized in shallow but turbulent surf off the San Diego coast were Mexican migrants, Mexican officials said Monday.
Preliminary identification was based on records found with people's bodies when they were recovered, the Mexican consulate in San Diego said in a news release.
5 dead, 3 wounded in attack on Nicaraguan indigenous group
March 13, 2023 GMTMEXICO CITY (AP) — Local authorities said Monday that at least five members of a Nicaraguan indigenous group were killed and three others wounded in an attack by suspected settlers over the weekend.
Ex-Haiti mayor accused of killing, torture faces civil trial
March 13, 2023 GMTBOSTON (AP) — Accusations of political violence and terror have followed a former Haitian mayor all the way to a Boston courtroom, where a civil trial began Monday that shines a light on the wider issue of bloodshed and unaccountability in the Caribbean nation's politics.
Mexican president says his country safer than United States
March 13, 2023 GMTMEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president claimed Monday that his country is safer than the United States, a week after two U.S. citizens were killed and two kidnapped and later rescued in the border city of Matamoros.
Agents stop crowd at Texas border crossing amid asylum woes
March 13, 2023 GMTEL PASO, Texas (AP) — A large group of migrants in Mexico who were poised to barge into the U.S. over the weekend were blocked from crossing a bridge leading from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, to El Paso, Texas, a U.S.
Confirmed: Global floods, droughts worsening with warming
March 13, 2023 GMTThe intensity of extreme drought and rainfall has “sharply” increased over the past 20 years, according to a study published Monday in the journal Nature Water. These aren’t merely tough weather events, they are leading to extremes such as crop failure, infrastructure damage, even humanitarian crises and conflict.
Nicaragua proposes suspending Vatican ties after comments
March 12, 2023 GMTMANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) — Nicaragua ’s government said Sunday it has proposed suspending relations with the Vatican days after Pope Francis reportedly compared President Daniel Ortega’s administration to a communist or Nazi dictatorship amid a crackdown on the Catholic Church in the Central American country.
Haunted by post-election riot, Brazil’s Lula reins in army
March 11, 2023 GMTSAO PAULO (AP) — When rioters stormed Brazil’s top government buildings in January to dispute the outcome of the presidential election, many soldiers stood by as far-right protesters broke windows, defecated in offices and destroyed valuable art.
Americans’ fun road trip to Mexico became days of horror
March 11, 2023 GMTLAKE CITY, S.C. (AP) — It was supposed to be a fun road trip to Mexico, a post-pandemic adventure for a group of childhood friends.
One was treating herself to cosmetic surgery after having six children.
3 women missing in Mexico after crossing from Texas on trip
March 11, 2023 GMTPEÑITAS, Texas (AP) — Two sisters from Texas and a friend are missing in Mexico after they crossed the border last month to sell clothes at a flea market, U.S. authorities said Friday.
Puerto Rico breaks world record as baseball fans go blond
March 10, 2023 GMTSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The blonds are back.
Puerto Rico on Friday broke the Guinness World record for the most hair dyed, with 192 men going blond to support the U.S. territory’s team that is vying to win the World Baseball Classic after finishing twice as runner-up.
Chile’s president shakes up Cabinet, replaces five ministers
March 10, 2023 GMTSANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — President Gabriel Boric shook up his Cabinet on Friday, replacing five of his 24 ministers on the eve of beginning his second year in power, announcing the change two days after Chile's lawmakers rejected a proposed tax overhaul for financing most of his government program.
Here’s how the 4 Americans abducted in Mexico were found
March 10, 2023 GMTCIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico (AP) — The anonymous tip that led Mexican authorities to a remote shack where four abducted Americans were held described armed men, people wearing blindfolds and plenty of activity around a ranch.
Haiti police pursue new suspects in presidential slaying
March 10, 2023 GMTPORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Authorities in Haiti have identified new suspects in the July 2021 killing of President Jovenel Moïse, including a pastor and a well-known gang leader.
Police spokesman Garry Desrosiers said in an interview Friday with Radio Télévision Caraïbes that warrants also have been issued for eight police officers.
Letter claims Mexican cartel handed over men who killed Americans
March 10, 2023 GMTCIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico (AP) — A letter claiming to be from the Mexican drug cartel blamed for abducting four Americans and killing two of them condemned the violence and said the gang turned over to authorities its own members who were responsible.
Mexican president to US: Fentanyl is your problem
March 9, 2023 GMTMEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president said Thursday that his country does not produce or consume fentanyl, despite enormous evidence to the contrary.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador appeared to depict the synthetic opioid epidemic largely as a U.S.
Indonesia unveils construction site of new capital city
March 9, 2023 GMTPENAJAM PASER UTARA, Indonesia (AP) — Orange-red ground has been broken in the jungle of East Borneo, where the Indonesian government has begun construction of its new capital city.
OAS boss traveled with female aide at center of ethics probe
March 9, 2023 GMTMIAMI (AP) — The head of the Organization of American States made almost three dozen work trips with a female staffer with whom he maintained a long-running intimate relationship, according to travel records uncovered by The Associated Press.
La Nina, which worsens hurricanes and drought, is gone
March 9, 2023 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — After three nasty years, the La Nina weather phenomenon that increases Atlantic hurricane activity and worsens western drought is gone, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday.
Fear, anxiety follow Nicaraguan faith leaders into exile
March 9, 2023 GMTSAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica (AP) — For two hours each afternoon, the Catholic priest listens to confessions behind a glass wall where anyone nearby can spot him. Yet that visibility is deceptive; he yearns to keep his name and exact whereabouts a secret to the outside world.
Friend warned police Americans feared missing in Mexico
March 9, 2023 GMTLAKE CITY, S.C. (AP) — The frantic effort to rescue four Americans taken captive in Mexico in a kidnapping that left two dead came after a woman traveling with the group contacted police when they did not return to the U.S.
Cuba tobacco farmers recuperate after ruinous Hurricane Ian
March 9, 2023 GMTSAN LUIS, Cuba (AP) — A neighbor lent him a house to dry leaves, and he had a little fertilizer saved, so he plucked up the courage to plant. Now, Hirochi Robaina can hardly believe the resulting miracle.
Officials to transfer animals, drop probe on Puerto Rico zoo
March 9, 2023 GMTSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Federal authorities said Wednesday they are dropping all investigations into Puerto Rico’s lone zoo where various species have died, saying the decision came after reaching an agreement with local officials to transfer the animals to sanctuaries on the U.S.
Americans found quickly, but Mexico’s missing remain lost
March 9, 2023 GMTMEXICO CITY (AP) — When four Americans were kidnapped in the border city of Matamoros, authorities rescued the survivors within days, but thousands of Mexicans remain missing in a state long associated with cartel violence — some in cases dating back more than a decade.
Panama reaches 20-year deal with Canadian copper mine
March 8, 2023 GMTPANAMA CITY (AP) — Panama’s government announced Wednesday that it reached an agreement with a local subsidiary of a Canadian mining company that will allow it to operate for 20 years more.
The government had ordered the company to cease operations at its huge open pit copper mine in December, after it failed to sign a new contract outlining substantially higher payments.
Women’s Day measures by Brazil’s Lula take aim at setbacks
March 8, 2023 GMTSAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced measures Wednesday seeking to promote and protect women after years of setbacks in their causes blamed in part on a rise in far-right forces.
Chile: Attempted $32 million airport heist leaves two dead
March 8, 2023 GMTSANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — An airport shootout in Chile's capital killed a security officer and an alleged robber Wednesday in what authorities said was an attempted heist of more than $32 million in cash aboard a plane from Miami.
Aid group shutters hospital in Haiti amid spike in violence
March 8, 2023 GMTSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Doctors Without Borders announced Wednesday that it was forced to temporarily close its hospital in Cite Soleil given a sharp rise in gang violence that has left dozens dead in recent weeks.
Women enlist in Colombia’s army for first time in 25 years
March 8, 2023 GMTBOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Dressed in camouflage, Zulma Stefania Perez reflected on her first weeks of training at a military base in the capital — and on her life as one of Colombia's first female recruits in more than two decades.