Presidential opposition candidate Pablo Perez smiles during a campaign rally in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday Feb. 9, 2012. In the run-up to the Feb. 12 primary, Perez looks to be one of the favorites to face President Hugo Chavez in the presidential election on Oct. 7.

Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo

Venezuelans: Will Chavez's challenger pose threat?

With Venezuela's first-ever opposition primary set to begin, allies and adversaries of President Hugo Chavez are focused on one burning question: Will the winner have what it takes to defeat a shrewd and charismatic leader who thrives during election campaigns? 1329054788

Mystery disease kills thousands in Central America

Jesus Ignacio Flores started working when he was 16, laboring long hours on construction sites and in the fields of his country's biggest sugar plantation.
Former President Silva hospitalized in Brazil

Brazil's popular former president has been hospitalized.
Mob in Mexico kills 3 suspected kidnappers

Authorities say a mob in central Mexico has beaten three suspected kidnappers to death.
Guatemala prez to propose legalizing drugs

Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina said Saturday he will propose legalizing drugs in Central America in an upcoming meeting with the region's leaders.
Correction: Haiti 'Baby Doc' case story

In a story Feb. 10 about the court case of Jean-Claude Duvalier, The Associated Press erroneously reported the year of the death of Simone Ovide, Duvalier's mother. She died in 1997, not 1971. Ovide is also mentioned in the story as a co-defendant who died more than 40 years earlier. That number should be 15 years.
Dominican Republic police target news site in raid

Police in the Dominican Republic have raided the office and home of the manager of an online newspaper suspected of hacking into people's emails.
Police strike ends in Brazil's 3rd-largest city

A police strike in a northeastern Brazilian state has ended, though a similar action in Rio de Janeiro continued but was having little effect Sunday just days before Carnival celebrations draw some 800,000 tourists to the city. 1329052381
New ferry to serve nearby Puerto Rico islands

Traveling by ferry just became easier for tourists visiting the popular Puerto Rico islands of Vieques and Culebra.
Jamaica's 'godfather of talk radio' dies at 80

Wilmot Perkins, a veteran Jamaican journalist considered the island's "godfather of talk radio," has died. He was 80.
Oil spill fouls river in eastern Venezuela

Crude oil that spilled from a ruptured pipeline has blackened a river in eastern Venezuela, and the state oil company said workers are containing the spill.
DEA: Mexican governor got millions in drug cash

U.S. drug agents have evidence that cartel leaders paid millions to a Mexican border state governor and other figures in Mexico's former ruling party in exchange for political influence, according to a court filing in Texas.
2 Venezuelans to court for posing kids with guns

Venezuelan prosecutors say two women have been ordered to appear in court for allegedly posing children with assault rifles during a public event organized by an armed group that supports President Hugo Chavez.
Haiti 'Baby Doc' case spurs claim of gov't sway

Before President Michel Martelly took office in May 2011, Haiti's top prosecutor had recommended that former strongman Jean-Claude Duvalier face trial for the abuses associated with his 15-year rule.
Argentine rights workers to Spain: Lay off Garzon

The president of the Argentine human rights group Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo said Friday that Spain's prosecution of crusading judge Baltasar Garzon is an "assault on the entire human race."
US increases travel warning to 14 Mexican states

The U.S. State Department is recommending that Americans avoid travel to all or parts of 14 of 31 Mexican states in the widest travel advisory issued since Mexico stepped up its drug war in 2006.
Peru says rebel leader may be wounded from battle

One of two remaining fugitive leaders of Peru's once-powerful Shining Path rebel group may have been wounded in combat in a remote coca-growing region, the government said Friday.
US Virgin Islands police slaying case solved

The mysterious disappearance 11 years ago of a veteran U.S. Virgin Islands police officer that long vexed detectives has been solved, authorities said Friday.
Crime cutting into Brazil's Carnivals amid strike

In the run-up to this city's huge Carnival, the cash register at the souvenir shop where Vania Alves works is normally buzzing as hoards of revelers scoop up rubber thong sandals, teeny bikinis and sarongs printed with the Brazilian flag.
Chavez foe seeks public worker support for primary

Opposition presidential contender Pablo Perez finished off his campaign Thursday urging public employees to join his supporters and vote in a primary election choosing a single challenger to face President Hugo Chavez.