Latin America

“If you have balloons, it has an omnidirectional signal. I know the balloon is there. I know the signal comes down. I block it,” said Menendez, who like Rubio, is of Cuban descent.

We look at two Trump-era policies, the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) and Title 42 expulsions to see where they are under President Biden.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The mainly female volunteers who fan out across Mexico to hunt for the bodies of murdered relatives are themselves increasingly being killed, putting to the test the government’s promise to help them in their quest for a final shred of justice: a chance to mourn.

HAVANA (AP) — Cuba criticized the United States and President Joe Biden on Wednesday for a series of statements by senior officials after the unprecedented protests on the island last week, accusing the U.S. government of seeking to justify a military intervention.

HAVANA (AP) — The COVID-19 pandemic is slamming Cuba like never before, even as the country races to roll out its homegrown vaccines, the only locally developed shots being widely used in Latin America.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haitians held official ceremonies Tuesday to honor assassinated President Jovenel Moïse while installing a new interim leader and arresting at least three police officers implicated in the killing.

LIMA, Peru (AP) — A teacher in one of the poorest communities in the Andes who had never held office is now Peru’s president-elect after officials in the South American country declared him the winner of a runoff election held last month.

BOGOTÁ, Colombia (AP) — Colombian President Iván Duque on Monday announced reforms to the nation’s police forces that are meant to improve accountability and decrease human rights abuses, following weeks of protests in which officers were accused of killing at least two dozen demonstrators.

To be clear: this isn’t about Trump. This isn’t about Obama. This isn’t about any of your favorite or most hated politicians. And this isn’t about the embargo.

Some long-time leftists say that old regional alliances and unwavering support for the Cuban regime are cracking.

Latino Rebels: July 15, 2021

MIAMI (AP) — For the owner of a small private security company with a history of avoiding paying debts and declaring bankruptcy, it looked like a good opportunity: Find people with military experience for a job in Haiti.

HAVANA (AP) — Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel for the first time is offering some self-criticism while saying that government shortcomings in handling shortages and other problems played a role in this week’s protests.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Latino Rebels returned to the Capitol this week where on Monday afternoon and Tuesday we asked Senators to comment on reports of unrest in Cuba over existing shortages of food and medicine during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cubans on the island have been historically ignored by the American people despite being less than 100 miles away.

On Tuesday morning, Latino Rebels spoke with Claudia Genlui, art curator and leader of the San Isidro Movement.

Restricting internet access has become a tried-and-true method of stifling dissent by authoritarian regimes around the world, alongside government-supported disinformation campaigns and propaganda.

Authoritarian leaders tend to seek to hold on to power by any means they deem necessary—whether through censorship, media control, or coups. Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is one of those leaders.

HAVANA (AP) — Large contingents of Cuban police patrolled the capital of Havana on Monday following protests around the island nation against food shortages and high prices amid the coronavirus crisis. Cuba’s president said the demonstrations were stirred up on social media by Cuban-Americans in the United States.

HAVANA (AP) — Thousands of Cubans marched on Havana’s Malecón promenade and elsewhere on the island Sunday to protest food shortages and high prices amid the coronavirus crisis, in one of biggest anti-government demonstrations in memory.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haitian authorities have made more arrests in the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, raiding Taiwan’s Embassy where several suspects are believed to have sought refuge, while also detaining two Haitian-Americans and several former Colombian soldiers allegedly tied to the plot.