The Associated Press
Mexico City Plastic Bag Ban to Take Residents Back in Time
“We have a very rich history in ways to wrap things,” said Claudia Hernández, the city’s director of environmental awareness. “We are finding that people are returning to baskets, to cucuruchos,” she said, referring to cone-shaped rolls of paper once used to wrap loose bulk goods like nuts, chips or seeds.
Mexico President Says ‘El Chapo’ Had Same Power as Previous President
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador closed out 2019 with a parting shot at his predecessors, saying imprisoned drug kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera had had the same power as the country’s president.
Mexico’s Zapatistas Host ‘Women Who Fight’ Gathering
CARACOL MORELIA, Mexico (AP) — More than 3,000 women came together in an autonomous Zapatista enclave in the southern Mexico state of Chiapas over the weekend to unite against the patriarchy, violence and capitalism.
Bolivia Says It’s Expelling Mexican Ambassador
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivia’s interim president says her government is expelling the top Mexican and Spanish diplomats in the country over an alleged attempt by members of Bolivia’s former government to leave refuge in the Mexican embassy with Spanish help and flee the country.
AP Exclusive: Trump Ally May Have Broken Venezuela Sanctions
MIAMI (AP) — Erik Prince, a major Republican donor and founder of controversial security firm Blackwater, has been referred to the U.S. Treasury Department for possible sanctions violations tied to his recent trip to Venezuela for a meeting with a top aide of President Nicolás Maduro, two senior U.S. officials said.
Nicaragua Frees 91 Protesters
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Nicaraguan government freed 91 protesters Monday, including 16 activists arrested in Nicaragua in November for taking water to demonstrators. Those released included a student leader who is a Belgian dual-national.
Denied Asylum, Migrants Return to Place They Fear Most: Home
SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras (AP) — It had been nearly a year since the soft-spoken factory worker applied for U.S. asylum, saying he feared being killed. It had been four months since he’d been deported and flown home to Honduras.
Bolivia Boots Spanish Diplomats Who Visited Mexican Mission
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Spanish officials involved in a diplomatic incident left Bolivia on Sunday amid accusations that they tried to help former high-ranking members of deposed President Evo Morales’ administration exit the country.
Death Toll in Chile Protests Since October Rises to 27
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chile’s human rights watchdog is calling for an investigation into the death of a man during anti-government protests.
Spain Pulled Into Diplomatic Spat Between Bolivia, Mexico
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — A tense diplomatic feud between Bolivia’s conservative interim government and Mexico expanded to include Spain on Friday when a confrontation broke out as Spanish diplomats visited the Mexican ambassador’s residence in La Paz, where members of the ousted leftist government have taken refuge.
Mexico Reveals Webs of Corruption in Contracts, Trafficking
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s top financial investigator on Friday reported on the webs of corruption and money laundering that thieves, traffickers and political figures have used to hide their wealth.
Mexico to Take Bolivia Embassy Dispute to The Hague
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico said Thursday that it will file a complaint against the interim government of Bolivia at the International Court of Justice at The Hague.
Colombia’s Conflict Spills Over to Museum of Memory
BOGOTÁ, Colombia (AP) — On a vacant grassy lot squeezed between several smoggy highways lies the property where Colombia’s government hopes to build a large museum paying homage to victims of the country’s long civil conflict.
Biden Answers Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez With Cárdenas, Others
Joe Biden’s presidential bid got a boost Monday from one of the leading Latinos in Congress, with the chairman of the Hispanic Caucus’ political arm endorsing the former vice president as Democrats’ best hope to defeat President Donald Trump.
Buzz Over Venezuela’s Guaidó Fades as Maduro Holds Firm
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Tour operator Alejandro Palacios joined hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans protesting in the streets early this year, wanting to believe that things would finally change in the country as upstart opposition leader Juan Guaidó rallied international support and promised a swift end to President Nicolás Maduro’s rule.
Gender Gap Opens Among Hispanics Who Could Be Key in 2020
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Yolanda Avila and Andres Pico are friends who sit next to each other on the Colorado Springs’ city council. But politically the two couldn’t be further apart—Avila is a durable Democrat and Pico an unflinching Republican.
Rights Groups Protest Ramming of Protester in Chile
A video showing a protester being smashed between two Chilean police vehicles has inflamed complaints about the government’s reaction to two months of continuing street demonstrations.
‘Homosexual Face’: Brazil’s Bolsonaro Lashes Out at Press
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro lashed out at journalists on Friday, saying one had a homosexual’s “face” in a remark that was promptly mocked by the president’s critics.
DHS Watchdog Finds No Wrongdoing in Deaths of 2 Migrant Kids
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security’s internal watchdog found no wrongdoing or misconduct by immigration officials in the deaths of two migrant children last December.
Panamanians Honor Victims of US Invasion on 30th Anniversary
PANAMA CITY (AP) — Relatives of Panamanians killed during the 1989 U.S. invasion brought flowers to their loved ones’ graves Friday to honor their memory on the 30th anniversary of the military action that ousted then-dictator Manuel Noriega.
UN Mexico Rights Office Criticizes Government on Mayan Train
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexico office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a string of criticisms Thursday of the government’s handling of consultations with indigenous communities over a planned megaproject known as the Mayan Train in the country’s southeast.

