Americas: News and Reviews from The New York Times

Here is the latest News on the Americas from The New York Times.

White House Letter: Along With President Obama, the 21st Century Visited Cuba
In many ways, including a sharp visual contrast with President Raúl Castro, who is 84, Mr. Obama’s stay showed younger Cubans a prospect for an inviting future.

Reporter’s Notebook: With Obama Visit to Cuba, Old Battle Lines Fade
The president’s engagement policy and Raúl Castro’s minor opening to free-market ideas have created a new dynamic for Cuba that reveals what the country could become with more freedom to evolve.

Reporter’s Notebook: Obama Family Spring Break: Making History and Doing the Tango
From a historic visit in Cuba to downtime at a remote park in Argentina, the first family makes a holiday of one of President Obama’s last big trips in office.

To Beat the Rush, Americans Rush to Cuba, Overloading Services
The huge increase in American travel to Cuba is leading to shortages in food, gas and hotels rooms, plus a sharp rise in prices that will only steepen.

Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil, Resists Calls for Her Resignation
Despite the scandals engulfing her government, Ms. Rousseff said in an interview on Thursday that she would appeal any vote to impeach her.

Jian Ghomeshi, Former Canadian Radio Host, Acquitted of Sexual Assault
The judge said the three women who testified against Mr. Ghomeshi undermined their credibility by not disclosing aspects of their relationships with him.

Obama Expresses Regret for U.S. Policies During Argentina’s ‘Dirty War’
The United States “has to examine its own policies as well, and its own past,” the president said at a memorial to victims of the war in 1970s and ’80s.

Crisis in Brazil Widens With Report of Firm’s Payments to Politicians
It was not clear if the payments were illegal, with analysts pointing out that the amounts differed from declared contributions, and with politicians asserting that they had done nothing wrong.

Obama, in Argentina, Says Defeating ISIS Is His Top Priority
President Obama, visiting Argentina for meetings with the country’s new president, Mauricio Macri, said that the U.S. will continue to “aggressively” go after the Islamic State.

Op-Ed Contributors: What Obama Should Know About Macri’s Argentina
The U.S. must not overlook the new president’s cavalier attitude to democratic institutions.

Obama Visit Affirms Argentina’s Shift Toward Center
The president is also said to be seeking to firm up the United States’ position in the region, where China has been establishing a foothold.

Global Crises Shadow, and Overshadow, Obama’s Foreign Trips
The White House has struggled to calibrate its message when violent events like the attacks in Brussels have arisen while the president is overseas.

Obama Urges Raised Voices in Cuba’s Hushed Discussions of Race
In a speech in Havana, the president noted America’s and Cuba’s similar struggles with racism, spotlighting an issue the Cuban government says is settled.

Cuban Dissidents Praise ‘Closeness and Trust’ After Meeting With Obama
The president discussed human rights for nearly two hours with leading dissidents, including some who have criticized his policy of engaging with the Cuban government.

Op-Ed Columnist: Chappatte on Obama’s Visit to Cuba
A new era of engagement.

Rob Ford, Controversial Ex-Mayor of Toronto, Dies at 46
His admission that he used crack cocaine marred his combative term.

Obama, in Havana Speech, Says Cuba Has Nothing to Fear From U.S.
President Obama, in his final day of a historic visit, urged President Raúl Castro to loosen his grip on the economy and political expression or risk squandering the fruits of a historic thaw.

Reaction to Obama Trip Reflects Change in Cuban-Americans
Some in the Miami region retain the traditional resentment of the Castro government, but many more welcome the president’s visit as an opportunity.

World Briefing: Canada: Government Budget Will Seek Significant Increase in Deficit Spending
Canada’s new Liberal government will try to revive a flagging economy with one of the country’s biggest deficits since the 2008 financial crisis.

Obama and Raúl Castro to Meet in Pivotal Moment in U.S.-Cuba Thaw
The presidents are expected to discuss a path toward normalizing relations, and the differences that still divide their nations economically and politically.

Contributing Op-Ed Writer: The Long Shadow of Argentina’s Dictatorship
President Obama’s visit on the 40th anniversary of a brutal military coup has reopened old wounds.

Stay or Go? Cuban Entrepreneurs Divided on Where to Stake Futures
While many leave for the United States, business owners opting to remain are creating an expanding class, optimistic despite serious challenges.

Obama Arrives in Cuba, Heralding New Era After Decades of Hostility
The president’s visit, the first by an American leader in nearly nine decades, holds the potential to exorcise one of the last ghosts of the Cold War.

Cuba’s Message to Its People: Be on Your Best Behavior for Obama
Cuba, a police state working out how much to open up to the world and to its own people, has gone above and beyond to prevent embarrassing surprises.

Colombian Children Pay High Price Amid Peace Talks, U.N. Says
A quarter-million were displaced and 1,000 were recruited by nonstate combatants during the last three years of negotiations.

American Firm, Starwood, Signs Deal to Manage Hotels in Cuba
The agreement, inked the day before President Obama arrives, will make this the first American chain to run hotels on the island in more than 50 years.

Sergio Arellano Stark, Chilean General Who Led Death Squad, Dies at 94
He helped install Augusto Pinochet as president in a 1973 coup and was implicated in the murder or disappearance of more than 75 Chileans.

Supporters of Brazil’s President, Dilma Rousseff, Stage Protests
The demonstrations, which followed larger antigovernment protests on Sunday, were part of another dramatic day in a week of rising political tensions.

Cholera Deaths in Haiti Could Far Exceed Official Count
Officially, 9,200 people have died in the epidemic that began after the 2010 earthquake. But the real figure could be much worse, researchers found.

Inside a Guerrilla Camp in Colombia, Poised Between Peace and War
The prospect of peace is a national question, but for the rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, it is also highly personal.

Wave of Indigenous Suicides Leaves Canadian Town Appealing for Help
Six people have killed themselves and over 140 have attempted suicide or expressed a desire to kill themselves in the Cree Indian community of Cross Lake, setting off a public health crisis.

Obama to Unseal Files on Argentina’s ‘Dirty War’
President Obama is moving to declassify records that could show what the United States knew about Argentina’s brutal crackdowns of the 1970s and ’80s.

Tempers Flare in Brazil Over Intercepts of Calls by Ex-President ‘Lula’
An uproar accompanied the former leader’s swearing-in as President Dilma Rousseff’s chief of staff on Thursday and the release of recordings of him suggesting intimidation of investigators.

Editorial: America’s Role in Argentina’s Dirty War
It is time for the United States to come clean about what it knew and condoned during Argentina’s last dictatorship.

World Briefing: Honduras: Activist’s Colleague Is Killed
Gunmen killed Nelson García, a colleague of the environmentalist leader Berta Cáceres, who was slain almost two weeks ago under similar circumstances.

Ex-President ‘Lula’ Joins Brazil’s Cabinet, Gaining Legal Shield
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will become President Dilma Rousseff’s chief of staff, a position that may offer him increased legal protections.

World Briefing: Canada: Man Charged in Attack at Recruiting Center
A Canadian man was charged with seven offenses after he injured two soldiers with a knife at a military recruiting center in northern Toronto.

A Province’s Rocky Symbol Collapses Into Rubble
The tides that helped carve Elephant Rock, a natural stone formation in New Brunswick, Canada, out of the shoreline also played a role in its destruction.

Ex-President ‘Lula’ Could Avoid Prison by Joining Brazilian Cabinet
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, facing possible arrest in a graft inquiry, is reported to be a candidate for a post that would legally protect him.

White House Eases More Restrictions on Travel to Cuba
The moves are the latest in a string of actions before President Obama’s trip to the island next week.

Op-Ed Contributor: Why Brazil’s Corruption Scandal Is a Sign of Progress
For the sake of her country’s democracy, President Rousseff needs to resist the temptation to interfere in the graft investigation.

World Briefing: Venezuela: 4 Bodies Found in Case of 21 Gold Miners Missing in Jungle
Investigators have found the remains of four people presumed to be gold miners missing more than a week in Venezuela’s southern jungle.

Rising Anger in Brazil Spills Into Streets
Demonstrators called for the removal of President Dilma Rousseff amid an economic crisis and corruption scandals.

Culture Gap Impedes U.S. Business Efforts for Trade With Cuba
As President Obama prepares to visit Cuba this month, the lack of trade with the former foe threatens to sap momentum from the process of building relations.

Op-Ed Contributor: Murdered for Activism in Honduras
In a country known to be deadly for rights advocates, my aunt stood up for the environment and her indigenous kin.

Judge Declines to Reopen Case Against Ex-President Kirchner of Argentina
A complaint filed by a prosecutor who later died in mysterious circumstances accused the former president of derailing an inquiry into a 1994 bombing.

White House Welcomes Canada’s First Family
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the first official visit to the White House by a Canadian leader in 19 years.

Justin Trudeau’s White House Dinner Has the Air of a Family Reunion
The state dinner for Canada’s prime minister included celebrity guests born in his country, such as Ryan Reynolds, Sandra Oh, Michael J. Fox and Mike Myers.

Chile Halts Inquiry on American Who Disappeared 30 Years Ago
A judge closed a case against retired police and military officers accused of abducting Boris Weisfeiler, who vanished in Chile during the Pinochet dictatorship, a mystery that may never be solved.

Chile Halts Inquiry on American Who Disappeared 31 Years Ago
A judge closed a case against retired police and military officers accused of abducting Boris Weisfeiler, who vanished in Chile during the Pinochet dictatorship, a mystery that may never be solved.

Brazil Prosecutors Seek Arrest of ‘Lula,’ Former President, in Graft Case
Mr. da Silva is by far the biggest figure to be ensnared in sweeping investigations that have rattled almost every level of government.

Obama and Justin Trudeau of Canada Unveil Efforts to Fight Climate Change
The two leaders announced commitments to reduce planet-warming emissions of methane and pledged cooperation in preserving the Arctic.

Capiatá Journal: The Dream of Treasure Keeps Paraguayans Digging
Tales of gold buried more than a century ago, however dubious, entrance hunters of all persuasions while the government endeavors to protect cultural artifacts.

Zika Vaccine Still Years Away, W.H.O. Says
Despite efforts to speed up development, a vaccine to combat the virus may come too late for the current outbreak in Latin America and the Caribbean, health experts said.

World Briefing: Peru: Candidate Barred From Race
Peru’s electoral council on Wednesday blocked the candidacy of the main challenger to the front-runner, Keiko Fujimori, in the April 10 presidential elections.

Brazil Adjusts Guidelines for Diagnosing Defect Linked to Zika
Officials adopted stricter guidelines to determine when babies have been born with abnormally small heads, a step expected to reduce the number of false positives for microcephaly.

Ex-President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Faces Charges
The specific charges filed on Wednesday were unclear, but they were connected to claims of money laundering and misrepresentation of assets involving a luxury apartment.

After Living Brazil’s Dream, Family Confronts Microcephaly and Economic Crisis
In the wake of the Zika epidemic, hundreds of families in northeastern Brazil are facing the prospect of raising a disabled child in poverty.

Brazilian Businessman Gets Stiff Sentence in Petrobras Scandal
Marcelo Odebrecht got more than 19 years in prison after being convicted of corruption and money laundering in the investigation of the state-owned oil company.

World Briefing: Canada: Government Raises Its Target for Admitting Political Refugees
The government said Tuesday that Canada would bring in a total of 55,800 political refugees this year, many of them fleeing the Syrian civil war.

World Briefing: Brazil: Former C.E.O. Is Sentenced to 19 Years in Corruption Inquiry
Marcelo Odebrecht, the former chief executive of Brazil’s largest construction company, was convicted of corruption and money laundering.

Editorial: Migrant Children Deserve a Voice in Court
Children who fled to the United States from Central America must have fair hearings before deportation.

World Briefing: Venezuela: Relatives Fear a Massacre After 28 Gold Miners Disappear
Relatives of the missing miners have said that they were murdered Friday in a dispute over a gold claim.

Mexico’s Leader Likens Donald Trump’s Tone to Hitler and Mussolini’s
President Enrique Peña Nieto also said that his country would not pay for Mr. Trump’s proposed wall along the border with the United States.

Brewing Anger in Nicaragua
President Daniel Ortega has consolidated his power and helped the economy grow, but opposition from rebels reflects a rising backlash to his policies.

Ortega vs. the Contras: Nicaragua Endures an ’80s Revival
Violent opposition from small groups of rebels reflects broader anger brewing against President Daniel Ortega as he has consolidated his power.

Venezuela Opens Investigation Into Possible Killing of Miners
Family members of 28 missing miners have said that their relatives were murdered in a dispute over a gold claim.

White House Letter: White House and Cuba Maneuver Over Obama’s Visit
An elaborate behind-the-scenes effort aims to ensure that the president’s historic visit yields both powerful symbolism and concrete policy progress.

Feature: 10 Shots Across the Border
The killing of a Mexican 16-year-old raises troubling questions about the United States Border Patrol.

Men in Police Garb Kill 10 in Honduras
Five men arrived in a vehicle at a billiards hall in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa and shot and killed at least eight people, and injured others, two of who later died.

U.S. Pays to Feed and Shelter Cuban Migrants in Costa Rica
The aid to Cuban migrants has raised questions about their special status compared with Washington’s efforts to bar Central American migrants.

Snapshot of Brazil’s Web of Scandal
A raid at the home of the former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was the latest development in the country’s political and economic turmoil.

Police Raid Home of Ex-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil
The former leader is under investigation in the colossal graft scheme involving the national oil company Petrobras.

World Briefing: Venezuela: Opposition Hones Plan to Remove the President This Year
The opposition will pursue a constitutional amendment, a recall referendum and a campaign for the resignation of President Nicolás Maduro, an opposition leader said.

Brazil’s President Rousseff, Facing Impeachment Effort, Is Deluged by More Bad News
With Brazil’s economy tumbling and her campaign strategist jailed, President Dilma Rousseff now confronts a report that a senator from her party will accuse her in a plea deal.

Berta Cáceres, Indigenous Activist, Is Killed in Honduras
Ms. Cáceres, a winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize, had led a decade-long fight against a proposal to build the Agua Zarca Dam.

In Mexico City, Comedians Punish Society’s Scofflaws With Humiliation
Meet the Supercívicos, comedians who embarrass the bad actors of Mexican society with their humor and then put videos of the shaming on social media.

Op-Ed Contributor: Obama’s Long Game for Cubans’ Rights
The gamble: Coercing the Castro government hasn’t worked. Engaging it will produce more freedom and openness in the end.

Court Hears Suit Against U.N. on Haiti Cholera Outbreak
A legal battle by Haitian cholera epidemic victims to hold the United Nations accountable reached its highest level in an American court on Tuesday.

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.