Latin America

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Cuban artist Tania Bruguera poses for a photograph near the statue of José Martí in Havana's Revolution Plaza. She was arrested in December for planning a political performance there.

In Havana, A Journey Into The Forbidden With A Provocative Artist

8:00pm March 25, 2015

by Robert Siegel

In December, Tania Bruguera planned a performance at Revolution Square. She ended up in jail and had her passport taken. Now she returns to the scene of her alleged crime. This time for an interview.

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Yoan Francisco, a rookie for the Havana Industriales, warms up before a game at Havana's Latin American Stadium. Cuban baseball has been facing hard times, but improved diplomatic relations with the U.S. have raised the possibility of increased cooperatio

With Improved Relations, Are The U.S. And Cuba Ready To Play Ball?

5:57pm March 25, 2015

by Robert Siegel

Cuban baseball has been struggling. A lack of money means facilities are in disrepair. Defections mean some of the best players have left. But new relations with the U.S. may mean new opportunities.

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Maria Carmen Castro, 46, of Lima, Peru, is a survivor of MDR-TB — multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Partners In Health treated her and loaned her money to open a small store. "Because of my TB and thanks to God and Partners In Health, now I have my own

TB Patients That The World Writes Off Are Getting Cured In Peru

9:23am March 25, 2015

by Marc Silver

When a person is diagnosed with extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, the treatment is so long and painful that some countries decide it's not worth bothering. Partners In Health disagrees.