Latin America News
By Matthew Smith A controversial article from the Bloomberg news agency claims that cocaine is poised to overtake oil and become Colombia’s largest export. This worrying report came on the heels of the United Nations Office On Drugs And Crime (UNODC) announcing that cocaine production in Colombia, the world’s largest manufacturer of the narcotic, soared to […]
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By Megan McArdle In 2015, El Salvador was the world’s murder capital, with 107 homicides per 100,000 people — as if one of Chicago’s worst neighborhoods was a country unto itself. Since then, homicide in El Salvador has fallen so far, so fast that it looks comparable to the United States’ rate and may still […]
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Amautas, or Andean wise men, offered gifts, prayers and native music to Mother Earth as part of a ritual at more than 5,200 meters above sea level to appease the extreme drought affecting Bolivia. “We are asking Mother Earth (Pachamama) for water for all of Bolivia’s departments,” Víctor Mamani, the main representative of the ancestral […]
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In its new report published earlier this week, Regularize and Protect: International obligations for the protection of Venezuelan nationals, Amnesty International claims that Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Chile are failing to comply with their obligations under international law to protect those fleeing Venezuela in order to safeguard their lives, integrity and human rights. “In the […]
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By Juan Diego Quesada That day, he woke up late. The sun was already scorching the red bricks of a two-story house on the outskirts of Cali, Colombia. The air inside was suffocating. On the wall, he saw the picture of red roses that he had drawn for his mother — “Mom, I love you” […]
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By Luke Taylor Noralba Galvis usually returns home to her village in the Colombian jungle with fresh supplies of rice, meat, salt and other foods stuffed into bags. But today, as the 40-year-old steps onboard a boat for the two-hour journey home along the Putumayo River, she carries just a single cardboard box. “My mother […]
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Colombian artist Fernando Botero, who gained worldwide fame with his sculptures and paintings of corpulent figures, has died at the age of 91. His works feature outsized people and animals. But Botero also tackled politics and other serious subjects. President Gustavo Petro called him “the painter of our traditions and defects, the painter of our […]
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By Vanessa Buschschlüter The area planted with coca bushes in Colombia reached a record high last year, an annual UN report says. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said that potential coca production had risen by 24% since 2021. Coca leaves are the key ingredient in cocaine and Colombia has long been […]
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By Stacey Leasca An indigenous-owned tour company is offering something special to female travelers. In 2024, Alpaca Expeditions, a company specializing in sustainable travel in Peru, is launching its first-ever women-only Sacred Valley and Salkantay tour to Machu Picchu. According to tour operators, the seven-day hiking tour will provide guests with a mix of scenery […]
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By Joshua J. Mark The Inca civilization (c. 1400-1533 CE) is among the most vital of South America in terms of its cultural influence and legacy. The Inca began as a small tribe who steadily grew in power to conquer other peoples all down the coast from Colombia to Argentina. They are remembered for their […]
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By Michael Stott Transnational criminal gangs have become such a serious problem in Latin America that they are damaging the region’s overall economic performance, according to a top IMF official. Rodrigo Valdés, the fund’s western hemisphere director, said governments in the region needed to work together to fight the illegal groups, whose activities — including […]
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By Monica Machicao In a break with the past, Bolivia’s government has acknowledged that the country is becoming a production hub for cocaine rather than a mere transport hub and grower of raw coca leaves. Along with Colombia and Peru, Bolivia is widely recognized as a leading world producer of coca, the raw ingredient for […]
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The Cuenca Dispatch
Week of September 24.
Financial ‘Stress-test’ Highlights Weaknesses in Ecuador’s Private Banks
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Ecuador Has One of the Weakest Passports in Latin America
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Cuenca’s Tram Celebrates 3-Year Anniversary Without System Integration or Funding Solutions
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