CUBA

Canadian goes on trial in Havana for corruption scandal

Sarkis Yacoubian says he will plead guilty to one charge, but that he’s innocent of other corruption charges

Pacific Alliance Summit

In bloc-happy Latin America, the Pacific Alliance hopes to stand out

The four nations of the Pacific Alliance — Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Peru — are holding a summit in Colombia Thursday. Can the bloc turn into the regional juggernaut it aspires to be?

PORTMIAMI

Army Corps of Engineers awards contract to deepen Miami port

A dredging contract ws awarded to make the port’s channels deep enough for the ships that will traverse an expanded Panama Canal

Colombia

U.S. exports gain in first year of U.S.-Colombia trade pact

The U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement marked its first anniversary Wednesday.

World Trade

Brazilian will be the first Latin American to head the WTO

Roberto Azevêdo, a career diplomat, will take the reins at a time when the world trading system is at a crossroads.

International trade

World Trade Month celebrates global ties

A series of international events will be held in South Florida in May

REMITTANCES

IDB: Remittances sent to Latin America and the Caribbean on the upswing

A new Inter-American Development Bank report shows remittances sent to the region in 2012 reached $61.3 billion — a slight increase

In My Opinion

Andres Oppenheimer: Latin America’s fastest-growing economies of 2013

New economic projections from the World Bank and the United Nations show that Latin America countries will keep growing at moderate rates this year, except for the booming economies of three countries that start with the letter P — Paraguay, Panama and Peru.

design

The art of the mola comes from Panama’s Guna women

Sculptures in cloth are all-purpose pieces traditionally made by Guna women from the San Blas Islands

International Trade

New IDB study offers a prescription for growth in Latin America and the Caribbean

The Rethinking Reforms study says Latin American and Caribbean nations needs to increase productivity, improve education and reform labor markets and tax collections

Haiti

Haitian government: Welcome to Hugo Chávez International Airport

Newly renovated airport in Haiti’s second largest city will bear the name of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, Haitian prime minister says.

Ports

Port executives say a funding gap for port upgrades could hurt U.S. competitiveness

Port-authority directors, bankers, and maritime-industry executives met in Miami to discuss how to ready U.S. ports for shifts in global-trade patterns.

Business

Florida full of potential, African leader says

The prime minister of Namibia, a tiny country in Southern Africa, visited South Florida last week and hopes to build partnerships soon.

Brazil

Florida is overwhelming choice of Brazilian visitors

But Brazil’s ambassador to the U.S. says negotiating a visa waiver program between the two countries may take some time.

Brazil

Brazil is in the market for immigrants — millions of them

Authorities say Brazil has one of the lowest rates of foreign-born populations in the world and opening up Brazilian society is important for the long-term development of Latin America’s largest economy.

THE AMERICAS | ECONOMIC GROWTH

IDB: Challenges ahead despite growth in Latin America, Caribbean

The Inter-American Development Bank concludes its 54th annual meeting with a call for more reforms to spur economic growth.

IDB meeting

New generation of social entrepreneurs transforming Americas

A seminar on the role of young social entrepreneurs in development opens the annual meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank

Shadow Inventory 2011

COURTS

Promises of Costa Rican dream homes fueled a 'Ponzi-type scheme,' lawsuit says

She wanted a piece of paradise — a tropical retirement home where the temperature is warm, the air is clean and the crowds and stress of South Florida are far, far away.