Why do we even have to ask?

Editor’s Note: This story was developed as a collaboration between Carolina Drake (@CarolinaADrake on Twitter) and Luis Marentes (@marentesluis on Twitter). Since our site does not allow for double bylines, we ran Carolina’s byline at the top, but want to acknowledge Luis as well for his contribution to this piece. On Sunday, January 19 the […]

While the struggle in Michoacán continues between the self-defense groups, the Knights Templar drug cartel and the Mexican army and police, media reporting from Mexico has portrayed the various views from locals. But what do those who emigrated from nearby areas of Michoacán, and follow the news from the U.S. think? So far, reports from […]

[View the story “Social Media Images of #Autodefensas Michoacán Occupation” on Storify]

Yesterday we reported the story of Christian Santiago Tapia, social media manager and adviser to the governor of Michoacán, who via Facebook called for the burning of teacher colleges and student protesters in the Mexican state. The protesters were raided by Mexican police on Monday, and several disturbing images have been shared online. Here is just one […]

In yet another example of how not to behave on social networks, the Facebook page of Christian Santiago Tapia—an adviser to the government of Michoacán, Mexico, and, according to reports, the social media manager of Fausto Vallejo Figueroa, Michoacán's governor—called for the burning of the teaching colleges where student protesters have been demonstrating against curriculum changes […]

An Indigenous anti-mining activist has been killed in western Mexico, authorities confirmed Tuesday. The killing of Eustacio Alcalá comes just over two months after two other anti-mining activists disappeared near where his body was found.

Mexico is undergoing a fevered competition among states to win a potential Tesla facility in jostling reminiscent of what happens among U.S. cities and states vying to win investments from tech companies.

Given the recent controversy surrounding Latino members of the Los Angeles City Council, it is important that we differentiate between Latino representation and Latino political power and define what each one means given the persistent issues facing the city and county.

Avocados sell for as much as $2.50 apiece in the United States, so a single crate holding 40 is worth $100, while an average truckload is worth as much as $80,000 to $100,000. Mexico supplies about 92 percent of U.S. avocado imports, sending north over $3 billion worth of the fruit every year.

A wrap-up of the most important and interesting Latino news items from the past week

A powerful magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Mexico early Thursday, causing at least two deaths, damaging buildings, and setting off landslides. The earthquake struck at 1:19 a.m. near the epicenter of a magnitude 7.6 quake that hit three days earlier in the western state of Michoacan.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A magnitude 7.6 earthquake shook Mexico’s central Pacific coast on Monday, killing at least one person and setting off a seismic alarm in the rattled capital on the anniversary of two earlier devastating quakes.

The Huehuetenango-based crime ring Los Huistas is trafficking cocaine produced by Colombian FARC dissidents for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel through the turf of its rival, the Sinaloa Cartel. The arrests of colluding Guatemalan military officers and the Huistas’ family ties to legislators beg the question of just how far the drug trade has penetrated the government and politics.

“The part of the district I’m running for has been my home since birth. My dad grew up there. My grandmother and grandfather came here through the bracero program and set down roots in L.A.,” Nicole López, 27, tells Latino Rebels. “My district has a lot of heart. We work really hard.”

As producers continue to suffer extortion from organized crime, and loggers continue to chop down pine forests to clear land for avocado orchards, another threat looms: campaigns for greener competition and perhaps even a boycott.

Authorities in Buenos Aires reported that at least 24 people have died since Wednesday as a result of a contaminated batch of cocaine. Over 80 persons were said to have been hospitalized, with some requiring the life-sustaining support of mechanical ventilators.

A day after residents in a Mexican town dominated by a drug cartel claimed soldiers fired on a protest and wounded several people, the army on Sunday said its troops were attacked.

The U.S. State Department announced on Tuesday that it will remove the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) from its list of designated terrorist organizations. The updated list will include two dissident groups that were formed as offshoots of the FARC.

As a researcher of culture and performance, I know only too well that the truth is Day of the Dead has always been commodified.

Representatives of the Venezuelan opposition and government have started talks to resolve the crisis facing the country.