Latin America

Salvadorean Children Hope To Reunite With Parents Under U.S. Program

6:23pm July 01, 2015

by Carrie Kahn

Under a new program started this year, children from Central America who fear for their lives in their home country and have a relative living legally in the U.S. can petition for refugee status. In part two of NPR's look at one family's attempt to reunite under the program, a story of two children in El Salvador who haven't seen their father in more than 16 years.

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U.S., Cuba To Reopen Embassies In Step Toward Normal Relations

6:22pm July 01, 2015

by Michele Kelemen

The White House announced Wednesday the opening of a U.S. embassy in Havana, Cuba, which is seen as a key step toward more normal diplomatic ties with the Cold War foe.

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Puerto Rico Says With Restructuring It Can Pay Off Debts

6:22pm July 01, 2015

NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with Luis Vega Ramos, representative of Puerto Rico, about the commonwealth's debt deadline Wednesday. The governor says the island's $73 billion debt is unpayable.

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Dominican Deportations Reach Crisis Levels, Haitian President Says

3:59pm July 01, 2015

by Peter Granitz

Haitian President Michel Martelly claims his country has accepted 14,000 people from the Dominican Republic. But the Dominican government claims official deportations won't begin until August.

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Brazilian President Makes First U.S. Visit Since NSA Spying Scandal

3:59pm July 01, 2015

by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro

President Dilma Rousseff will visit the White House on Tuesday for talks with President Obama. The National Security Agency spying scandal prompted her to cancel a state visit two years ago.

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Puerto Rico's Governor Seeks To Delay Debt Payments

3:59pm July 01, 2015

by Greg Allen

Puerto Rico's governor said Monday night that the commonwealth can't pay its bills. He also said that big changes are needed to get the economy growing, so it can pay down its debt in the future.

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Brazilian President Mends Ties With President Obama On White House Visit

3:42pm July 01, 2015

by Scott Horsley

President Obama sought to downplay any major impact the Greek debt crisis could have on the U.S. economy. He spoke at a news conference with the president of Brazil and also addressed the ongoing talks on Iran's nuclear program and his administration's recent wins on the domestic policy front.

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U.S. And Cuba To Formally Re-Establish Diplomatic Ties

3:41pm July 01, 2015

by Michele Kelemen

For the first time since Dwight Eisenhower was president, the U.S. will have an embassy in Cuba. The two countries are to announce on Wednesday that they'll open embassies in Havana and in Washington.

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Marta Elsie Leveron, 19, (left) and her brother Freddy David Leveron, 18, have not seen their father since he left El Savador to work in California in 1999. A new U.S. program allows families to reunite if one parent is a legal U.S. resident. The girl in

A Father In California, Kids In El Salvador, And New Hope To Reunite

2:46pm July 01, 2015

by Richard Gonzales

Unaccompanied minors surged across the U.S. southern border last year, fleeing violence in Central America. This year the Obama administration hopes to forestall a new wave with a quiet new program.

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President Obama, accompanied by Vice President Joe Biden, spoke about U.S. ties with Cuba during remarks Wednesday in the Rose Garden of the White House.

U.S., Cuba Formally Resume Diplomatic Relations

2:26pm July 01, 2015

by Brian Naylor

The two countries have agreed to reopen embassies in Washington and Havana. President Obama calls it a historic step forward after 50 years of hostilities.