Latin America

During a press conference, Mexico’s president said the government had estimated a 120,000 person deficit in medical staff

The pandemic has spotlighted the wide gap between rich and poor in Peru and elsewhere in Latin America, and economists say a looming recession worse than any since World War II could push the continent’s long-suffering poor into even more dire circumstances.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The ACLU said Sunday it is seeking an injunction to block part of Puerto Rico’s strict curfew against the new coronavirus, arguing that some of its restrictions are unconstitutional as the governor imposed even tighter measures, including requiring anyone entering a business to wear a face mask.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian health officials grappling with the new coronavirus outbreak have issued a stark warning about a lack of hospital beds, masks, testing devices and trained staff across Latin America’s largest nation.

The spreading global pandemic has tested the competing interests of public health and privacy, with thousands of individuals experiencing both physical illness and the less-visible stigma that can come with it. While there are many stories about good deeds and people coming together, the coronavirus is also bringing out another, darker side of some people: Fear, anger, resentment and shaming.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — With gas lines across Venezuela growing, a controversial shipping magnate has stepped in to prevent the country from running out of fuel amid the coronavirus pandemic, The Associated Press has learned.

The move came a week after the United States charged Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and other members of the government with “narco-terrorism.”

HAVANA (AP) — For two years the Trump administration has been trying to stamp out one of Cuba’s signature programs: state-employed medical workers treating patients around the globe in a show of soft power that also earns billions in badly needed hard currency.

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Daniel Larrea died Monday after a week of high fever, struggling to breathe and steadily turning blue. Then a new nightmare began for his family. No one in their city on Ecuador’s Pacific coast would pick up his body.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican government is sanitizing a public hospital in a northern steel town that has become the center of a coronavirus outbreak that has sickened at least 26 members of the medical staff and killed one of its doctors.

Many Indigenous groups are now blockading access to their communities, fearing COVID-19 infection.

Ecuador is facing an ongoing public health crisis as medical facilities run out of space for COVID-19 victims.

LA VICTORIA, Venezuela (AP) — The Santa Teresa distillery in Venezuela has lifted spirits for generations with its amber-red rum, famous around the world for being slowly sipped over ice or mixed into cocktails like the Cuba Libre.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Guatemalan migrant died during a riot at an immigration detention center in Mexico, where detainees burned mattresses to protest conditions they say could expose them to the new coronavirus, officials said Wednesday.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico’s newest health secretary on Wednesday acknowledged a series of mistakes the government has committed as the U.S. territory prepares for a peak in coronavirus cases.

MIAMI (AP) — The Trump administration will soon announce that the U.S. is moving naval ships toward Venezuela as it enhances counter-narcotic operations in the Caribbean following a U.S. drug indictment against Nicolás Maduro, according to three people familiar with the situation.

The “Democratic Transition Framework for Venezuela,” presented by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, proposes a five-person governing council and a new election cycle

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico has started taking tougher measures against the coronavirus after weeks of its president hugging followers and saying religious medals would protect him. Some experts warn the sprawling country of 129 million is acting too late and testing too little to prevent the type of crisis unfolding across the border in the United States.

SÃO PAULO (AP) — Major social media companies are taking aim at Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s dismissal of social distancing, joining others in the country who have lined up against his controversial stance regarding the new coronavirus.

Cuba has sent more than 400,000 healthcare professionals to work in 164 countries, according to statistics published by the state media.

MIAMI (AP) — The Trump administration is prepared to lift crippling sanctions on Venezuela in support of a new proposal to form a transitional government requiring both Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaidó to step aside in favor of a five-person governing council, U.S. officials said.