Americas: News on the Americas from The New York Times

Here is all of the latest news on the Americas from The New York Times.

A Chilean Ex-Soldier Guiltily Recalls His Unit’s Atrocities
Guillermo Padilla says he was part of a commando unit in 1973 that tortured and executed suspected opponents of General Augusto Pinochet.

Toronto Journal: In Toronto, a Neighborhood in Despair Transforms Into a Model of Inclusion
An ambitious plan for the 69-acre Regent Park neighborhood is disrupting entrenched notions of class, race and religion, at a time when concerns over income inequality and immigration are growing.

Monarch Butterfly Migration Rebounds, Easing Some Fears
Monarch butterflies, which fly each year to Mexico from Canada and the United States, covered about 10 acres this winter, an area more than three times as large as last year.

A Bolivian Town’s Emergence Under Evo Morales
Residents of Cobija, which has prospered under ​President​ Morales, expect his leftist policies to survive his political departure.

Bolivian Town Drifts from President, Despite Promises Kept to Leftists
Residents of Cobija, which has prospered under ​President​ Evo Morales, expect his left-wing policies to continue even though he was denied the chance to seek another term.

World Briefing: Cuba: Some Dissidents Will Be Allowed a Single Trip Overseas, an Activist Says
Officials contacted half a dozen former prisoners, who were incarcerated during a 2003 crackdown on dissidents, and told them that they could make one trip abroad.

A New Ruling on Marijuana in Canada
A Federal Court decision that prescription holders could grow their own supply for medical purposes adds to the confusion over the drug’s legal status.

Bolivian President Concedes Defeat in Term-Limit Referendum
The measure would have allowed President Evo Morales to run for a fourth term, but it lost narrowly in a vote held Sunday.

Ramón Castro, Brother to Cuban Revolutionaries, Dies at 91
Mr. Castro, a rancher and the elder brother of Fidel and Raúl, took a smaller role in the country’s Communist revolution and government.

Bolivia’s President, Evo Morales, Faces Setback in Bid for Fourth Term
An official tally, with 97 percent of the ballots counted, showed that voters had rejected a bid by President Evo Morales to seek a fourth term.

World Briefing: Canada: Students Stabbed at School
A high school student is in custody after eight people were stabbed at a school east of Toronto.

World Briefing: Brazil: 7 Charged Over Dam Disaster
The president of the Samarco mining company and six other people have been charged with aggravated homicide over the deaths of at least 17 people after a dam burst in November.

Fernando Cardenal, Nicaraguan Priest Who Defied Pope, Dies at 82
Steeped in a movement committed to a Marxist agenda of promoting social justice and easing poverty, Father Cardenal joined the revolutionary Sandinista cabinet.

Polls Show Bolivian Leader Losing Vote, but He Sees Tie
President Evo Morales said that exit polls indicating failure for a referendum to allow him to run again in fact showed a statistical tie as a final count continued.

Consultant to Politicians in Brazil Faces Arrest
João Santana, a campaign strategist for the nation’s last two presidents, has been accused in the widening Petrobras corruption scandal.

Bolivia to Vote on Term Limits Amid Growing Doubts About Its President
The popularity of Evo Morales, a left-wing leader whose years in office have coincided with wider prosperity, has slipped with the referendum’s approach.

In Zika Epidemic, a Warning on Climate Change
In the coming decades, global warming is likely to increase the range and speed the life cycle of the particular mosquitoes carrying viruses like Zika.

W.H.O. Advises Caution, but Not a Halt, in Blood Collection in Zika-Affected Areas
With the virus rapidly spreading throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, it may be “logistically impossible” to import blood for all of the region, officials say.

Contributing Op-Ed Writer: Will Democracy Follow Capitalism Into Cuba?
President Obama will encounter a different, more enterprising country in his visit next month. But freedom remains a distant goal.

Price of Gas Skyrockets in Venezuela (to 38 Cents a Gallon)
While the price, about 10 cents per liter, is still far below world rates, for drivers here it is an essential shift from paying basically nothing.

Francis Says Contraception Can Be Used to Slow Zika
The pope’s remarks stirred up divisions in the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church in South America about whether birth control should be widely allowed.

Pope Francis Suggests Donald Trump Is ‘Not Christian’
The pope, inserting himself into the presidential race, pointed to the harshness of Mr. Trump’s campaign promises to deport more immigrants.

Kingston Journal: Ontario Farmers Fight to Send a Herd of Ex-Cons Back to the Pen
Livestock owners, locals and a few celebrities have spent over five years trying to reopen the farm at the Collins Bay Institution, a prison complex.

Obama Going to Cuba; First Visit by U.S. President in 88 Years
The visit as part of an effort to end more than a half-century of estrangement and forge normalized relations with a Cold War adversary.

World Briefing: Colombia: Chief of Police Steps Down
The chief, Gen. Rodolfo Palomino, resigned Wednesday amid accusations of illegal enrichment and sexual misconduct with young cadets.

World Briefing: Bolivia: Demonstrators Set Deadly Fire
Six city workers died and 28 people were injured in a protest after a march by residents demanding better schools and more teachers.

Pope’s Presence Crosses Border Into U.S., Even if He Doesn’t
In Mexico, Ciudad Juárez was naturally consumed with the visit by Pope Francis on Wednesday. But across the border, El Paso was equally swept up.

Argentina Battles Major Outbreak of Dengue as Mosquito Population Swells
The authorities and experts said two provinces were especially hard hit by dengue, and that the outbreak — the worst in seven years — had not yet peaked.

Pope Francis Wades Into U.S. Immigration Morass With Border Trip
The Times will be blogging about the moment Francis steps to the edge of the border at Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.

Pope Francis Entreats Mexico’s Youth to Resist Call of Drug Cartels
Francis delivered a searing indictment of the Mexican underworld, urging the nation’s youth to value themselves and resist the temptation to join forces with groups “that sow terror.”

Conspiracy Theories About Zika Spread Along With the Virus
Rumors have replicated through social media and word of mouth, frustrating Brazilian officials as they grapple with a mysterious pathogen.

Pact on U.S.-Cuba Flights Reopens Battle for Seized Property
American law prohibits profiting from holdings confiscated from its citizens, and the exiled heir to the Havana airport hopes to stake a legal claim.

At Mass, Pope Francis Embraces ‘Misunderstood’ of Mexico
Francis invoked the harsh treatment endured by indigenous people and called for social justice.

Op-Ed Contributor: An Anti-Corruption Charade in Honduras
Instead of backing toothless investigations, the U.S. should use its financial leverage against political graft in Central America.

Zika Virus in Colombia Presents Complicated Choice About Abortion
The illness appeared in the country too recently for most pregnant women who contracted it to determine the risk of birth defects.

The Cowboy Pilgrims of Mexico
More 3,000 people made this year’s three-day journey to a mountaintop statue of Jesus, keeping alive a tradition that began more than 60 years ago.

Silao Journal: Pilgrimage in Mexico Keeps a Cowboy Tradition Alive
More 3,000 people made this year’s three-day journey to a mountaintop statue of Jesus, hoping to find redemption, a promise of rain or just a connection to the past.

In Mexican Slum, Pope Francis Laments Economic Gap
By coming to Ecatepec, one of the country’s largest, poorest and most violent cities, the pope placed himself at the center of Mexico’s identity crisis.

Provisional President Elected in Haiti
Jocelerme Privert, the country’s Senate leader, will lead a caretaker government to fill the void left by last week’s departure of President Michel Martelly.

Brazil Pushes Public to Do Its Part in Fighting Zika Spread
Soldiers distributed fliers that told residents how to reduce the breeding grounds for Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that transmits Zika and other ills.

Lives: A Terrible, Happy Accident in Rio
A series of unfortunate events ends with an upside.

Venezuela’s Justices Support More Power for the President
After the Supreme Court approved expanded economic powers for President Nicolás Maduro, the speaker of the National Assembly said a coup had taken place.

Anxiety Rises in Mexico as the Peso Tumbles
The Mexican currency has fallen more than 30 percent against the dollar over the past year, and past collapses have led to deep recessions.

U.S. Plans to Resume Commercial Flights to Cuba This Year
An agreement to be completed next week will allow American carriers to offer 20 flights per day to Havana and dozens more to other Cuban cities.

Falling Asleep to Grenades: Mexicans Tell Pope How They Live
Before Pope Francis’s arrival in Mexico, we asked readers there to tell us what he should know about their lives. We received more than 500 responses on Facebook.

Pope and Russian Orthodox Leader Meet in Historic Step
As the pope approached the Russian patriarch, Francis was overheard to say, “Brother.” A moment later, he added, “Finally.”

Catholic Leaders Say Zika Doesn’t Change Ban on Contraception
After a period of saying little, bishops in Latin America are beginning to speak up and reassert the church’s opposition to birth control and abortion.

Cuba Returns Inert Hellfire Missile to U.S.
The weapon was a training missile that was inadvertently sent from Europe, where it was used in NATO training.

Francis Admonishes Bishops in Mexico to ‘Begin Anew’
Speaking at Mexico City’s majestic Metropolitan Cathedral, the pope spared no criticism as he painted an almost biblical picture of a church seduced by power and money.

Francis’s Visit to Mexico Comes as Country Struggles With Many Ills
The government is hoping for a credibility boost from the pope’s visit, but his itinerary also poses a risk by highlighting some of the state’s most obvious failings.

52 Killed in Mexican Prison Amid Riot and Fire
Inmates were believed to have set a blaze in a yard as part of an escape attempt at the prison in Monterrey, in the state of Nuevo León.

Santa Ana Zegache Journal: Oaxaca’s Native Maize Embraced by Top Chefs in U.S. and Europe
Mexico’s traditional corn was fading away, but it is now being bought in bulk to satisfy the appetites of fine diners.

World Briefing: Canada: Another Human Foot Washes Ashore
The foot was found by a hiker on Vancouver Island’s Botanical Beach and was the 13th to wash up on British Columbia’s shoreline since 2007.

Brazilians Shrug Off Zika Fears to Revel in Carnival Fun
Many Brazilians feel they have more important things to worry about, including soaring unemployment, a plummeting currency and a corruption scandal.

Sikh Actor Is Allowed to Fly Home to U.S. Wearing His Turban
The actor, Waris Ahluwalia, was not allowed to board an airplane in Mexico City on Monday because he refused to remove his turban during a security check.

World Briefing: Haiti: Drought Worsens Food Crisis, U.N. Agency Says
More than 1.5 million Haitians are threatened with malnutrition — double the number of six months ago — because of a three-year-old drought.

Reporter’s Notebook: A Reporter Travels Through Venezuela, a Country Teetering on the Brink
Nicholas Casey explores the country and its people in his first 30 days in the region as a reporter for The New York Times.

World Briefing: Canada: Trudeau Pulls Combat Jets From Syria, but Keeps Other Aircraft
An aerial refueling tanker and two long-range surveillance aircraft will remain part of the military mission.

Turban-Wearing American Actor Is Barred From Aeroméxico Flight
Waris Ahluwalia, who follows the Sikh religion, was not allowed to board a flight in Mexico City bound for New York unless, he said, he took off his turban for a security check.

Migrant Group’s Desperate March Through Mexico
Two days with 10 men who left Central America in early November to embark on an exhausting journey, made riskier by the Mexican authorities’ crackdown on migrants.

Op-Ed Contributor: The Zika Virus and Brazilian Women’s Right to Choose
An epidemic gives Brazil an opening to address inequality — and abortion.

Michel Martelly, Haiti’s President, Departs Without a Successor
Thirty years to the day after Haiti’s last dictator fled and the country took its first wobbly steps toward democracy, another leader stepped down Sunday without a successor to take his place.

How a Medical Mystery in Brazil Led Doctors to Zika
A sudden, sharp increase in babies with “no foreheads and very strange heads” was baffling doctors in Brazil. That set off a search for answers that led to a little-known pathogen, the Zika virus.

El Salvador Arrests Ex-Military Officers in 1989 Jesuit Killings
Officials said they would continue raids that have so far netted four of the 16 men being sought in connection with the murders of six priests and two others.

U.S. Judge Approves Extradition of Former Salvadoran Colonel
The ex-colonel, accused in the 1989 murder of six Jesuit priests, a housekeeper and her teenage daughter in El Salvador, was ordered deported.

Brazil Finds Zika Virus in Human Urine and Saliva, but Risk Is Unclear
Scientists warned that the virus might have the potential to spread through kissing and urine, a possibility that clouded the opening of Carnival.

The Saturday Profile: A Democratic Diplomat, at Ease With Both Guerrillas and the G.O.P.
Bernard Aronson, who played a role in American policy in Nicaragua and El Salvador, is back in the diplomatic field, trying to end the guerrilla conflict in Colombia.

Obama Praises Colombia’s Peace Efforts With Rebels and Seeks Big Aid Increase
The Colombian government is expected to sign a final peace agreement with FARC guerrillas by March 23, bringing an end to the longest civil war in Latin America.

world briefing: Mexico: Ex-Governor Detained by Spain Returns Home
The former governor, Humberto Moreira, spent a week in a Spanish jail on suspicion of money laundering last month and flew back to Mexico on Wednesday.

Birth Defects in Brazil May Be Over-Reported Amid Zika Fears
After many false alarms, the government is considering tightening the guidelines establishing when health care providers should report infants born with abnormally small heads.

Surge of Zika Virus Has Brazilians Re-examining Strict Abortion Laws
Abortion rights activists are seizing on the crisis to push back against conservative lawmakers who want to toughen already stringent limits.

Venezuelan Opposition Seeks Housing Giveaway
Now that former President Hugo Chávez’s old adversaries have taken over Parliament, they want to give away the deeds to hundreds of thousands of homes that he built.

Foes May Hate Hugo Chávez, but They Like His Political Playbook
Venezuela’s newly empowered opposition wants to give away the deeds to hundreds of thousands of government-built homes — to win the loyalties of the poor.

Brazil Will Deploy Troops to Spread Awareness of Zika Virus
The move to deploy 220,000 troops for a day next month came as an official said the country was “badly losing the battle” against diseases like Zika.

U.S. Eases Restrictions on Financing Exports to Cuba
The new rules, announced by the Obama administration, allow banks to provide direct financing for products other than agricultural commodities.

World Briefing: Canada: Discrimination in Funding Plan for Aboriginal Children
Canada discriminated against aboriginal children by underfunding welfare services on reserves, a human rights tribunal ruled.

World Briefing: Grenada: Assailant Kills U.S. Tourist
A machete-wielding man attacked an American tourist couple as they walked along a remote beach on Grenada, killing the woman.

Reports of Zika-Linked Birth Defect Rise in Brazil
Health authorities said reported cases of microcephaly — a condition in which newborns have abnormally small heads — had climbed to 4,180 since October. Brazil typically has 150 cases annually.

Four Killed in Saskatchewan School Shooting
Others were wounded in the shooting in the northern Saskatchewan town of La Loche, but the police offered few details.

Researchers Weigh Risks of Zika Spreading at Rio Olympics
Of the visitors expected to pour into Brazil in August, some may get infected by the mosquito-borne virus and then return home at a time of peak mosquito activity.

Protesters in Haiti Demand That President Quit
One day earlier, officials had bowed to widespread civil unrest and postponed a single-candidate presidential runoff election that was to be held on Sunday.

Como o vírus Zika tem afetado você?
O New York Times gostaria de ouvir a opinião de mulheres que deram à luz recentemente, que estejam grávidas ou planejando engravidar, e estão preocupadas com o vírus Zika.

Vaccine for Zika Virus May Be Years Away, Disease Experts Warn
Not only are scientists still learning about Zika, but any vaccine must go through rigorous testing before it’s available to the public.

Tears and Bewilderment in Brazilian City Facing Zika Crisis
The Zika epidemic has spread much faster than science’s understanding of it.

Daughter-in-Law of Chile’s President Faces Corruption Charge
Prosecutors investigating a land deal said Natalia Compagnon, President Michelle Bachelet’s daughter-in-law, was part of a scheme to avoid paying taxes.

Colombia Reports More Than 2,100 Pregnant Women Have Zika Virus
More than a third of pregnant women with the mosquito-borne illness are in a single province, the nation’s health institute said.

Memo From Argentina: Twisting Inquiry Into Buenos Aires Bombing Takes New Turn
Argentina’s new government has vowed to get to the bottom of a 1994 attack on a Jewish center that killed 85 people and led to a lasting rift with Iran.

Op-Ed Contributor: Peru’s Possible Prison Presidency
A former general is running for the top job in April’s election even as he faces trial for the army’s 1988 assassination of a journalist.

Argentina Scrambles to Fight Biggest Plague of Locusts in 60 Years
Warm, wet winters spawned a locust infestation in dry northern forests. In 10 days, the insects will be mature enough to form flying swarms that devour crops.

World Briefing: France: Castro Finds Advocates in Paris
The French government urged the United States to lift the economic embargo against Cuba during a state visit by the Cuban president, Raúl Castro.

Francisco Flores, Ex-President of El Salvador, Dies at 56
Mr. Flores was facing charges of diverting $15 million in contributions for earthquake victims to his personal and political party accounts.