Latin America

World News

Venezuela's Next Leader Faces Tough Choice On Oil Program

10:59am April 11, 2013

by Tom Gjelten

During his presidency, Hugo Chavez gave Venezuelan consumers cheap gasoline. He propped up the Cuban regime, and he offered oil on preferential terms to 18 regional countries. But Chavez died before he had to confront the economic and political problems certain to plague his successor.

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Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles waves to supporters during a campaign rally in Valencia, Venezuela, on Tuesday. The country's voters go to the polls this weekend to choose a successor to longtime leader Hugo Chavez, who died

World News

Venezuelan Candidates Campaign In Chavez's Long Shadow

8:16pm April 10, 2013

by Juan Forero

Hugo Chavez won't be on the ballot in Sunday's presidential election, but in many ways he's still the dominant figure. Chavez's hand-picked successor is favored over the opposition candidate, leading by double digits in some polls.

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Hugo Chavez, shown here in February 2012, was the president of Venezuela for over a decade. His career is the subject of a new book by Rory Carrolll.

'Comandante' Chavez Still Revered By Some, Despite Failings

9:42am April 10, 2013

by NPR Staff

As a journalist with Britain's The Guardian newspaper, Rory Carroll spent seven years living in Venezuela. His new book on Venezuela's recently deceased president explores Hugo Chavez's popularity with the poor and critiques his failures in governance and management.

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World News

Hugo Chavez's Legacy Looms Over Venezuelan Election

7:20am April 10, 2013

Morning Edition is in Venezuela ahead of Sunday's vote to elect a successor to the late President Hugo Chavez. Interim President Nicolas Maduro is running as Chavez's heir apparent. The opposition candidate is Henrique Capriles.

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Newly elected Cuban Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel attends a tribute to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in March. Diaz-Canel is expected to eventually succeed Raul Castro as the island nation's leader in 2018.

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Official On Deck To Succeed Castros Still A Question Mark To Many Cubans

8:50pm April 03, 2013

by Nick Miroff

Miguel Diaz-Canel, Cuba's new vice president, has been tapped to take over from Raul Castro when he steps down as president in 2018. The 52-year-old former education minister is relatively unknown outside his home province, but is now on a campaign to increase his national exposure.

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Nolvia Cruz waits to be seen at an HIV/AIDS health clinic on Jan. 25 in La Ceiba. Nolvia is open about her diagnosis, but many people are afraid to go to the clinic for fear that someone they know will see them and gossip about their HIV status.

World News

In Honduras, Fighting HIV/AIDS Through Music And Theater

11:14am March 29, 2013

by Jens Erik Gould

The Afro-Caribbean people known as the Garifuna have a rich tradition of music, dance and storytelling much like their forebears. They also have another parallel to Africa: a severe HIV and AIDS epidemic. The Garifuna are using their culture as a weapon to fight the spread of the virus.

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Chief Almir of Brazil's Surui tribe attends a press conference with Google representatives in Rio de Janeiro last year. Chief Almir has brought technology to his previously isolated people, who now use smartphones to send photos of illegal logging in the

From The Stone Age To The Digital Age In One Big Leap

6:38pm March 28, 2013

by Juan Forero

Deep in the Amazon, an isolated Brazilian tribe almost vanished when it first had contact with the modern world. Now the Surui tribe is working with Google to do things like report on illegal logging in the forest.

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World News

Dramatic Testimony Marks Start Of Guatemalan Genocide Trial

9:30am March 27, 2013

by Carrie Kahn

The genocide trial of former U.S.-backed Guatemalan General Ephraim Rios Montt began Tuesday. The charges stem from the bloody civil war which lasted for more than three decades. More than 200,000 people died or went missing.

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U.S. Men's Soccer Team Ties With Mexico

5:56am March 27, 2013

by Carrie Kahn

Brad Guzan swatted away shot after shot and the U.S. team hung on for a 0-0 draw with Mexico Tuesday night. The U.S. earned only its second point in a World Cup qualifier at Azteca Stadium.

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World News

Three Decades On, Ex-Guatemalan Leader Faces Genocide Charges

9:44pm March 18, 2013

by Carrie Kahn

Former military ruler Efrain Rios Montt, now 86, presided over one of the bloodiest periods in Guatemala's 36-year civil war. During his rule, thousands of Guatemala's Indians were killed.

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