Americas

Brazilian investors buy Miami real estate. Haitian earthquake survivors attend South Florida schools. It's clear what happens in Latin America and the Caribbean has a profound effect on South Florida.

WLRN’s coverage of the region is headed by Americas editor Tim Padgett, a 23-year veteran of TIME and Newsweek magazines.

He joins a team of reporters and editors at the Miami Herald, El Nuevo Herald and NPR to cover a region whose cultural wealth, environmental complexity, vast agricultural output and massive oil reserves offer no shortage of important and fascinating stories to tell.

The Cuban Exiles Are Back! Sounds Like Good News For The Cuban Regime

By • Jun 21, 2017
Sebastian Ballestas / Miami Herald

COMMENTARY

President Trump's speech in Little Havana last Friday wasn’t about remaking America’s Cuba policy. It was about reliving the Cuban-American past.

It was an exile Woodstock reunion, a nostalgic return to a time when Miami Cubans (and their impressive voter turnout) convinced Washington to isolate communist Cuba. When they tightened the economic and diplomatic screws until the head slots stripped – in the certain hope it would drive the Castro dictatorship from their mother island.

Did President Trump Lay Out A Cuba Case In Miami – Or A Cuba Con?

By • Jun 20, 2017
Roberto Koltun / Miami Herald

President Trump’s Cuba speech in Miami last Friday offered chest-thumping, cold-war nostalgia sound-bites like:

“Now we hold the cards.”

“We challenge Cuba to come to the table with a new agreement.”

500 Latin American Officials Flock To Miami To Learn How To Strengthen Their Municipalities

By Isabella Cueto • Jun 14, 2017
Isabella Cueto / WLRN News

More than 500 Latin American officials gathered downtown this week for the annual Inter-American Conference of Mayors and Local Authorities.

 

The conference, which is hosted at the Hilton Downtown, includes panels and workshops about how to create sustainable development in Latin American municipalities by decentralizing government.

 

Puerto Rico Wants To Be 51st U.S. State – But Is There Much Thrill On Capitol Hill?

By • Jun 12, 2017
Carlos Giusti / AP via Miami Herald

Puerto Ricans want to become America’s 51st state. But right now it's doubtful America – at least President Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress – feels the same way.

In a non-binding referendum on Sunday in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 97 percent of those who voted chose statehood over the two other options: remaining a U.S. territory or becoming an independent country.

Export Tax A Good Way To Stick It To Cuba? Or A Good Way For Cuba To Stick It To Us?

By • Jun 8, 2017
Cliff Owen / AP via Miami Herald

COMMENTARY

While South Florida breathlessly awaits President Trump’s decision on whether to roll back his predecessor’s normalization of relations with Cuba, something else is happening in Washington that could nudge normalization forward – or severely set it back.

Venezuela's Crisis Leads To Political Witch Hunts In South Florida

By • Jun 6, 2017
Tim Padgett / WLRN.org

On the night of May 12, a group of Venezuelan expats gathered in front of the house of former Venezuelan judge Dayva Soto in Weston. They screamed insults at her in Spanish.

As Venezuela Enters 3rd Month Of Protests, Anti-Maduro Ire Finds New Target

By • May 31, 2017

It has been more than 60 days since Venezuela's Supreme Court moved to dissolve the country's National Assembly. The move, intended to eliminate a thorn in the side of embattled President Nicolas Maduro, was reversed after three days — but the political fallout has barreled into its third month, roiling city streets across the country.

Dictator's Demise: Noriega Dies In Panama As The Americas Ponder His Tragedy

By • May 30, 2017
U.S Marshal

This interview was originally published on March 20.

Former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega is dead at the age of 83.  The Panamanian government announced his death late Monday night, May 29. In March Noriega had undergone surgery to remove a brain tumor, and for a time had been in a coma.

Puerto Rico Governor: Florida Diaspora Will Be 'Critical' To Statehood Effort

By • May 22, 2017
Carlos Giusti / AP via Miami Herald

Ricardo Rosselló became Governor of Puerto Rico in January at the age of just 37 – and he inherited a disaster.

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