Alan Hernandez
Emergency measures haven’t slowed rising violence against women in Mexico State
One year on from the declaration of a “gender alert,” things are looking as bad, or even worse, for women in Mexico’s most populated state.
Venezuela has a new 'forced labor' law that can require people to work in fields
President Nicolás Maduro has signed a decree that allows the labor ministry to order "all workers with enough physical capabilities and technical know-how" to join a government drive to increase food production in the context of severe shortages.
The US is expanding its refugee program for Central Americans fleeing violence
The plans come amid a renewed hike in children and families reaching the US from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. They include a deal in which Costa Rica has agreed to act as a kind of holding nation for asylum seekers in urgent need of relocation
Colombia says the Zika epidemic is over — but birth defects have yet to peak
The country's health authorities say the population must nevertheless continue protecting itself against contracting the virus that “is here to stay.”
Mayan king’s tomb had underground water system believed to lead to the underworld
Archeologists have found a huge and complex water system underneath the tomb of the Mayan king Pakal, which is itself beneath the Temple of the Inscriptions in the ruins of Palenque, in southern Mexico.
Athletes are pissed about clogged toilets at Rio's Olympic Village
With just 11 days to go before the Games start, others complaints include leaking pipes, exposed wiring, and dirty floors.
Llamas and alpacas are dying because of an unusually cold winter in the Andes
The situation is particularly acute in southern Peru where 55,000 alpacas have died in just one region where even these hardy highland grazers are going hungry and getting sick.
Most Brazilians think the Olympics are not worth it, a poll shows
With just over two weeks to go before the start of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, a new poll shows that nearly two thirds of Brazilians think the event will do the country more harm than good.
El Salvador could start going after war criminals — and the government isn’t happy
The government is headed by former members of the FMLN guerrilla group that transformed into a political party at the end of the country’s bloody civil war and went on to win two presidential elections.
Colombia's largest rebel group will stop collecting war taxes
The leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia announced he gave the order because the imminent signing of a final peace deal with the government means there is less pressure to raise funds to feed rebel troops.
El Salvador’s startling murder rate is dropping
The government claims the drop is due to its "iron fist" crackdown on the country's notorious gangs. Gang leaders say it is because they negotiated a truce.
Mexico’s army is airlifting food because striking teachers are causing shortages
The authorities say the airlifts will restock state-subsidized stores in 300 poverty-stricken communities in the southern state of Oaxaca that it says are running out of food because supplies cannot get through teachers’ roadblocks.