Latin America

Along with giving up the chair of St. Peter, Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI gave up his stylish red shoes. Now, he's wearing shoes made by a man in Leon, Mexico.

International aid agencies are pouring millions of dollars into a large industrial park on Haiti's north coast. The Caracol Industrial Park is intended to create 60,000 jobs and encourage people to move out of the overcrowded capital Port-au-Prince.

Latin America's largest economy is growing fast and has plans to put up dozens of dams in the coming years. Environmentalists and residents in some areas are opposed, but the projects are moving ahead rapidly.

A pristine rainforest in Ecuador sits on top of the equivalent of millions of barrels of oil. Ecuador has offered a deal to the rich countries of the world: Pay us billions of dollars, and we'll leave the rainforest untouched.

Haiti is trying to sell itself as an international vacation hub in a bid to revive its once-vibrant tourism industry. Officials say tourism could be a major driver of economic growth and help lift Haitians out of poverty.

Mexico has sent guest workers to Canada for nearly four decades, filling agriculture jobs that Canadians don't want, with Mexicans who do. Some say the U.S. should consider this model as it looks at overhauling the immigration system.

The cocaine market in the Americas is changing among both producers and consumers. The old model was Colombian cocaine going to the U.S. Now, it's increasingly common for Bolivian cocaine to be headed to Brazil.

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.

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.

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.