Category: Americas

2 Hostages Have Been Released in Haiti, Group Says

PORT-AU-PRINCE—Two of the 17 American and Canadian Christian missionaries taken hostage in Haiti last month have been released, the group that arranged for their trip to the Caribbean nation said on Sunday, without giving further details. “We have learned that two of the hostages in Haiti were released,” Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries said in a…


El Salvador to Build Cryptocurrency-Fueled ‘Bitcoin City’

LA LIBERTAD, El Salvador—In a rock concert-like atmosphere, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele announced that his government will build an oceanside “Bitcoin City” at the base of a volcano. Bukele used a gathering of Bitcoin enthusiasts Saturday night to launch his latest idea, much as he used a an earlier Bitcoin conference in Miami to…


GM Flags Concern Over Renewable Energy in Mexico, Sees Investment Risk

MEXICO CITY—A senior executive of carmaker General Motors (GM) raised concern about the future of renewable energy usage in Mexico, saying that without a solid legal basis for it, automotive investment in Latin America’s No. 2 economy would suffer. Francisco Garza, chief executive of GM Mexico, spoke as debate rages over a Mexican government proposal…


10 Bodies, 9 Hanging From Overpass, Found in Central Mexico

MEXICO CITY—Mexican authorities on Thursday discovered 10 bodies—nine of them hanging from an overpass—in the central state of Zacatecas, the scene of a battle for territory among drug cartels. The Zacatecas state public safety agency said in a statement the bodies were found in Ciudad Cuauhtemoc, about 340 miles (550 kilometers) north of Mexico City….


Expert Explains Chile’s Highly Polarized Presidential Election

On Nov. 21, residents of Chile will cast their ballots in what many have called the most divided presidential election since the nation’s return to democracy in 1990. From a pool of seven candidates, there are two front runners, according to national opinion polls. Jose Antonio Kast, 55, a right-wing former congressman, and Gabriel Boric, 35, a member…


Euro Slumps as Austria Reimposes Lockdown; Dollar Flying High

LONDON—The euro slumped on Friday to near 16-month lows after Austria became the first country in western Europe to reimpose a full lockdown and Germany did not rule out doing the same. The single currency has been on the back foot all week, pressured by growing expectations that interest rates will be tightened faster elsewhere,…


Is This the End of Communist China’s ‘Integration’ into the World? What Happened to Peng Shuai?

The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) first historic resolution in 1945 cemented Mao Zedong as the Party’s undisputed leader; it followed a three-year, brutal campaign of purging his political adversaries. The CCP’s second historic resolution in 1981 came two years after the launch of China’s “economic reform and opening up,” under Deng Xiaoping. Unlike the previous…


Bodies Found Hanging From Bridge in Mexico, Gang Violence Blamed

MEXICO CITY—The bodies of 10 people were found in the central Mexican state of Zacatecas on Thursday, nine of them hanging from a bridge, in apparent gang-related killings, according to local officials. The tenth body was found on a nearby highway, according to an official from the state ministry of public security who declined to…


Turf War Between Drug Cartels Casts Shadow Over Mexico’s Tourism

Shots fired between rival drug cartels—near the Azul Beach Resort Riviera Cancun and Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun in the resort town of Puerto Morelos—left guests shaken and administrative officials scrambling to do damage control in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. The Nov. 4 incident further damaged the image of a state already hammered by another drug…


Turf War Between Drug Cartels Casts A Shadow Over Mexico’s Tourism

Shots fired between rival drug cartels—near the Azul Beach Resort Riviera Cancun and Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun in the resort town of Puerto Morelos—left guests shaken and administrative officials scrambling to do damage control in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. The Nov. 4 incident further damaged the image of a state already hammered by another drug…