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Jacquelyn Martin/APMexico's president has appointed Roberto Velasco as the new foreign minister during a critical time for Mexico-U.S. relations. The previous minister, Juan Ramón de la Fuente, stepped down for health reasons. -
Ramon Espinosa/APThe Cuban government says it will release 2,010 prisoners in a move that comes while the Trump administration puts extreme pressure on the island's government with a suffocating oil blockade. The announcement Thursday said the pardons were a "humanitarian gesture" in connection with Holy Week and didn't mention mounting pressures with the U.S. The government said the prisoners affected are foreigners and Cubans but didn't name them.
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Chile's new president is a devout Catholic in a country that has grown increasingly secular but retains conservative traits in various areas. José Antonio Kast's faith resonates with some supporters, even as analysts say it may shape — but not immediately change — policy on issues such as abortion and LGBTQ+ rights. -
Haiti's government says it is implementing new austerity measures as the war in Iran disrupts critical oil supplies and drives up prices worldwide. Officials in the troubled Caribbean country imposed a ban on the purchase of any new vehicles, will reduce fuel expenditures for public institutions and said foreign travel will be limited to essential missions authorized by the prime minister. -
A Russian vessel laden with 730,000 barrels of oil has docked at the Cuban port of Matanzas, the first time in three months that an oil tanker reached the island. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump allowed the shipment to proceed despite its ongoing energy blockade. -
The United States has formally reopened its embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, after the restoration of full diplomatic relations with the South American country. It follows the Trump administration's ouster of then-President Nicolas Maduro in early January. -
President Donald Trump says he has "no problem" with a Russian oil tanker off the coast of Cuba delivering relief to the island, which has been brought to its knees by a U.S. oil blockade. When asked if a New York Times report that the tanker would be allowed to reach Cuba was true, Trump said: "I told them, if a country wants to send some oil into Cuba right now, I have no problem whether it's Russia or not." -
Violence erupted in the central Haitian town of Petite-Rivière de l'Artibonite early Sunday morning as a powerful gang warred with a vigilante group. -
A U.S. judge pressed the Trump administration Thursday about its basis for barring Venezuela's government from paying former President Nicolás Maduro's legal fees in the drug trafficking case that has put him behind bars in New York. -
Former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro heads to court again this week. The judge overseeing this case is longtime federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein. At 92 years old, Hellerstein is older than the average age of a federal judge by more than 20 years. -
The U.S. and Cuban governments have been at odds since the conclusion of the Cuban Revolution 67 years ago. From my perspective as an expert on Havana-Washington ties, however, this moment seems different. -
The U.S. and Cuba have been at odds — economically and sometimes militarily — since the Cuban revolution led by Fidel Castro in 1959. But the current crisis is among the most difficult Cuba has faced since then.
