The Americas
Blow up
Brazil’s biggest drug gang has gone global
The First Capital Command is now a mafia with links throughout Europe
Cry me a river
Severe drought is constraining the Panama Canal
Costs for ships to go through it are spiralling. Consumers will feel the pinch
From cosplayer to president
Javier Milei will be Argentina’s first libertarian president
But how much can he actually do?
The great divider
Is Argentina’s new president too divisive to fix a broken economy?
Javier Milei’s libertarian policies may be too radical to pass, or to work
Missing in action
Mexico’s foreign policy is unambitious and erratic
Blame its president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador
The exodus economy
Latin America’s most powerful new gang built a human-trafficking empire
It took advantage of millions of Venezuelan migrants
A rare success
Andrés Manuel López Obrador has reduced poverty in Mexico
But he could have done better
All that glitters
Illegal gold is booming in South America
Blame geopolitical tensions and the Indian marriage market
No country for old men
Why are there so many suicides in rich, stable Uruguay?
Despite being South America’s happiest country, it has a high suicide rate
Bonanza or bust?
Oil traders are flocking to sanctions-free Venezuela
But how long will that last, given Nicolás Maduro’s disregard for democracy?
Dashed dreams of democracy
Venezuela’s Supreme Court tests President Joe Biden
By barring the opposition primaries, the country risks an escalation of sanctions
The new narco network
Gang violence is spreading across Latin America
Previously safe countries such as Ecuador are now racked with crime