Latin America

A boy stands on a pile of rocks used for the construction of new homes in the hills overlooking Camp Corail, just north of Port-au-Prince. Squatters are streaming into the area and setting up communities, with little government oversight.

Despite Billions In Aid, Many Haitians Still Live In Squalid Camps

9:06am January 14, 2013

by Jason Beaubien

Three years ago, a massive earthquake destroyed much of Haiti's capital city. Aid agencies from around the world pledged billions of dollars to help Haiti rebuild. But since then, many of the grand plans have fizzled, and some 350,000 Haitians still live in makeshift camps.

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Father Kevin Mullins' parish, the Comunidad Catolica de Corpus Christi near Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, is located at the epicenter of the country's drug cartel war. After years of violence, murders are down and the city's shuttered shops and cafes are beginni

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Juarez Priest Finds 'Hand Of God In The Midst Of Mayhem'

6:11pm January 11, 2013

by John Burnett

The Mexican border city was the epicenter of the drug cartel wars, and it's still a violent place. Some 800 people were murdered last year, but that's down from 3,000 a couple years back. A priest who has lived through the worst of it says things are getting better.

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Our Lady of Assumption Catholic Church in downtown Port-au-Prince, Jan. 17, 2010.

Haiti Then And Now: 3 Years After The Earthquake

4:07pm January 11, 2013

by Ben de la Cruz

Evidence of loss remains even three years after a massive earthquake claimed the lives of as many as 200,000 people in Haiti. One of the first photojournalists to capture the grim aftermath of the quake, NPR's David Gilkey traveled back to Haiti to revisit images he originally took in 2010.

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Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez remained in Cuba, where he's receiving treatment for cancer, and was not present for his planned inauguration in Caracas on Thursday. However, thousands of supporters gathered outside the presidential palace to show their

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Hugo Chavez Misses Inauguration Day, But Supporters Fill The Streets

6:26pm January 10, 2013

by Juan Forero

The Venezuelan president remains in Cuba, receiving treatment for cancer. His supporters — with the backing of the Supreme Court — say that he can be sworn in at a later date.

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In Mexico City, Sara Martinez Franco holds a .38-caliber revolver that belonged to her grandfather. She traded in the weapon — which she says was used during the Mexican Revolution — under the buyback program.

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Buyback Program Gets Some Guns Off Mexican Streets

6:31pm January 09, 2013

by Carrie Kahn

In Mexico City, the government is offering cash, new bikes and computers for guns. The mayor says the buyback program is taking dangerous weapons out of commission. But mayors of some cities overrun by drug traffickers say law-abiding citizens need guns for protection.

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Ill In Cuba, Chavez Likely To Miss His Swearing-In

9:10am January 09, 2013

by Juan Forero

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is scheduled to be sworn in for a fourth term on Thursday, but he remains in Cuba undergoing treatment for cancer. In a very loose interpretation of the constitution, the government is prepared to inaugurate him later. The opposition says the constitution is being violated.

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A member of Rio de Janeiro's Social Work Department speaks with crack addicts in a slum area known as "Crackland," during a police operation in the city in November.

World News

Brazil's Drug Epidemic: Welcome To 'Crackland'

2:19pm January 08, 2013

by Juan Forero

Crack has been in Brazil since the 1990s, but the drug has exploded in the past six years. The government has poured billions into a prevention and treatment program, but officials are still trying to figure out the best way to combat the epidemic.

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Katia Abreu, a senator and landholder who heads the powerful landowners bloc in Brazil's legislature, takes a look at the new plantations on her 12,000-acre farm.

A Strong Voice For Brazil's Powerful Farmers

7:56am January 07, 2013

by Juan Forero

Brazil is now a world power when it comes to food production. And a leading symbol of that might is Katia Abreu, a senator, landowner and head of the country's most powerful Big Agro association. But environmentalists say limits need to be placed on the farming industry in order to protect the forests of the Amazon.

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Policymakers Planning For A Venezuela After Chavez

7:02pm January 04, 2013

by Tom Gjelten

Venezuelan officials say their president Hugo Chavez remains in a "delicate" condition in a Havana hospital following his fourth cancer surgery. If Chavez cannot be sworn in to a new presidential term on Jan. 10, a process of selecting a new president will begin. How well prepared is the U.S. government is for a post-Chavez Venezuela?

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Mexican Bakers Go Big To Celebrate 3 Kings Day

8:46am January 04, 2013

Rosca de Reyes is a sweet bread with a Baby Jesus figurine baked inside. The version for Sunday will weigh 10 tons, and the cake's border will stretch nearly a mile. Tradition says the person who gets the slice with the plastic Jesus hosts a party.

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