Latin America

People, most of them unemployed, line up March 19 at a popular Itaborai, Brazil, restaurant where they can have lunch for about 30 cents. The Petrobras refinery and processing plant on the outskirts of town has been shut down; tens of thousands are now ou

World News

Huge Scandal At Top Of Petrobras Trickles Down, With Devastating Effect

4:14pm April 02, 2015

by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro

Tens of thousands of people are suffering after losing their jobs in the wake of wide-scale corruption at Brazil's state oil company. Scores of politicians and executives have been implicated.

Queue Listen Now

Venezuela Cuts Oil Subsidies To Caribbean Nations

2:16pm April 02, 2015

by Jackie Northam

For a decade, Venezuela sold oil at subsidized payment rates to 13 neighbors, including Cuba. But tumbling oil prices have hit Venezuela's economy hard, forcing it to trim those subsidies.

Queue Listen Now

A new section of the Airbnb home rental site shows places available for short-term stays in Havana.

World News

Airbnb Starts Listing Homes In Cuba; Average Rate Is $43 A Night

11:53am April 02, 2015

by Bill Chappell

A look at the offerings finds everything from "beautiful colonial rooms" in the heart of Havana for $27 to "a holiday sanctuary" on the outskirts of Havana that sleeps 10 for $1,000.

Matamoros had a reputation as a laid-back border town and was relatively quiet when NPR paid a visit last year. Now, a feud between rival drug gangs keeps citizens inside and visitors away.

World News

Matamoros Becomes Ground Zero As Drug War Shifts On Mexican Border

8:00pm April 01, 2015

by John Burnett

Violence has descended on the once laid back tourist town of Matamoros, across from Brownsville, Texas. From mechanics to Twitter users, residents are feeling the effects of a turf war.

Queue Listen Now

World News

Mexican Drug Lords File Complaint Over Inhumane Prison Conditions

6:39pm April 01, 2015

by Carrie Kahn

Some of Mexico's most infamous drug traffickers, including El Chapo Guzman and Edgar "La Barbie" Valdez Villarreal, have written a letter to the country's National Human Rights Commission.

Queue Listen Now

Say cheese and solve a global health problem: 140 students took part in Emory University's challenge.

The Challenge: Curb Violence In Most Violent City. Hint: Nuns Can Help

2:50pm March 31, 2015

by Jim Burress

This year, at Emory University's global health challenge, students had to come up with clever solutions for a pressing problem. Only it wasn't a superbug. It was the extreme violence in Honduras.

Cholita, an Andean bear, was abused in a circus in Peru and is now in a small zoo. An animal welfare group has now received permission to take Cholita to a wildlife sanctuary in Colorado, along with more than 30 former circus lions.

World News

Cholita, An Abused Bear In Peru, Gets A New Home In Colorado

8:48pm March 30, 2015

by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro

An animal welfare group says it now has permission to bring the Andean bear to a sanctuary in Colorado along with more than 30 lions that have been removed from circuses.

Queue Listen Now

World News

In Argentina, Friends, Families Torn Apart By Political Discord

10:56am March 28, 2015

by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro

In Argentina these days no one talks politics. It's not because no one cares but rather because one stray word can lose you a friend or a family member.

Queue Listen Now

Carlos Varela, a Cuban protest singer, poses for a picture at the bar of the historic Hotel Nacional in Havana.

LISTEN: A Cuban Protest Singer On The State Of U.S.-Cuba Relations

8:07pm March 27, 2015

by Eyder Peralta

For decades, Carlos Varela has doled out incisive criticism of the Cuban government. On our recent visit to Havana, he sang a song he says reflects the mood of the country at this historic moment.

Queue Listen Now

U.S. Refugee Program Ignores Dangers Children Face, Critics Say

8:00am March 27, 2015

The White House has been trying to stem the flow of unaccompanied children into the U.S. from Mexico. Steve Inskeep talks to Human Rights Watch's Bill Felick and the State Department's Simon Henshaw.

Queue Listen Now