MiamiHerald.com: Americas Wires

Mexico judge orders prison for suspects in killing

Sat, 18 May 2013 21:54 EDT

A judge on Saturday issued an order for the imprisonment of two waiters accused in the beating death of Malcolm Shabazz, grandson of civil rights activist Malcolm X, the Mexico City attorney general's office said.

Dissident ex-general released in Venezuela

Sat, 18 May 2013 18:19 EDT

Venezuelan authorities have released a dissident ex-general who was jailed on charges of inciting unrest after the country's disputed presidential election.

Reporter remembers fear in Videla's Argentina

Sat, 18 May 2013 16:14 EDT

It was just about a day after Argentine strongman Jorge Rafael Videla had seized power in March of 1976, and the bloodletting was already beginning.

3 killed, 3 injured in Puerto Rico shooting

Sat, 18 May 2013 13:04 EDT

Three people have been killed and three others injured during a shooting at a gas station in Puerto Rico.

Brazil beefs up security for Confederations Cup

Sat, 18 May 2013 12:34 EDT

Brazil is using more than 20,000 troops along its borders with 10 South American nations to reinforce security ahead of the Confederations Cup soccer tournament in June.

Sea turtle comeback in a corner of the Caribbean

Sat, 18 May 2013 10:59 EDT

Giant leatherback turtles, some weighing half as much as a small car, drag themselves out of the ocean and up the sloping shore on the northeastern coast of Trinidad while villagers await wearing dimmed headlamps in the dark. Their black carapaces glistening, the turtles inch along the moonlit beach, using their powerful front flippers to move their bulky frames onto the sand.

Cayman Islands ex-premier denies new allegations

Sat, 18 May 2013 10:54 EDT

The former premier of the Cayman Islands who faces charges in a corruption probe is denying allegations that he donated $1 million to a Caribbean university to obtain an honorary PhD.

New board to oversee Trinidad's Caribbean Airlines

Sat, 18 May 2013 09:44 EDT

Trinidad's finance minister has appointed a new interim board to oversee Caribbean Airlines after announcing that the state-owned company posted losses of more than $70 million.

Mexico to create police unit to search for missing

Fri, 17 May 2013 20:10 EDT

Mexico's government says it will create a special investigative unit to search for the missing, heeding a request by relatives of the disappeared who have been on a hunger strike for nine days.

AP PHOTOS: Cuba's LGBT community celebrates

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:44 EDT

A week of drag shows, colorful marches and social and cultural events in Havana culminates Friday with celebrations of the International Day Against Homophobia.

Correction: Honduras-Death Squads story

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:07 EDT

In a story May 13 about suspects disappearing or dying after being in the custody of the Honduran National Police, The Associated Press misquoted U.S. Assistant Secretary of State William Brownfield as suggesting that the Honduran armed forces have engaged in vigilantism. In fact, Brownfield was speaking of the danger of communities carrying out vigilantism.

Burmese Python caught in Puerto Rico river

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:37 EDT

Authorities in Puerto Rico have caught a 12-foot (3.6-meter) Burmese Python that they had been trying to find for several weeks following complaints from residents in the area.

Photos sought of Guantánamo man hit in clash

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:22 EDT

A lawyer for a Guantánamo Bay prisoner is calling on the U.S. Justice Department to release photos of wounds the man suffered when struck with non-lethal rounds at a recent clash with guards at the prison.

Hundreds of dead animals wash up on Chile's shores

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:47 EDT

Chilean officials are investigating the death of hundreds of penguins, pelicans and other animals that are washing up on the county's shores.

Brazil approves law to modernize ports

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:02 EDT

Brazil plans to modernize and expand its overcrowded ports, attract private investments to the sector and make it easier for companies to hire skilled foreign workers, in a bid to spur economic growth,

OAS drug study eyes marijuana legalization

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:47 EDT

An Organization of American States study released Friday is calling for a serious discussion on legalizing marijuana.

Venezuela's military enters high-crime slums

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:57 EDT

Stern-looking soldiers clutching assault rifles wave down the beat-up Chevy Caprice entering this sprawling slum on the outskirts of Caracas.

Argentine dictator Videla dies in prison at age 87

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:57 EDT

Former dictator Jorge Rafael Videla, who took power over Argentina in a 1976 coup and led a military junta that killed thousands of his fellow citizens in a dirty war to eliminate so-called "subversives," died quietly in his sleep Friday while serving life in prison for crimes against humanity. He was 87.

Road-builder: landowner allowed pyramid excavation

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:37 EDT

The owner of a road-building company in Belize that has been blamed for the near destruction of one of the country's biggest Mayan pyramids said Thursday that the landowner gave permission to extract the material.

Bolivia's Morales faces 11th day of protests

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:02 EDT

Hundreds of miners, teachers and other workers have marched in Bolivia's capital on the 11th day of protests called by the country's largest union to demand higher old-age pensions.