Americas: News and Reviews from The New York Times

Here is the latest World News from The New York Times.

Ex-President’s Daughter Appears Headed to Runoff in Peru Election Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of a former authoritarian president, was leading, while two other candidates were vying for second and the right to oppose her.

Argentine Prosecutor May Add Ex-President to Financial Inquiry The decision to include former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in a widening investigation into money laundering was made after a financier gave lengthy testimony on Friday, according the state news agency.

As Graft Cases in Chile Multiply, a ‘Gag Law’ Angers Journalists A new law would punish anyone who makes public information about current judicial investigations with up to 541 days in prison.

Panama Papers Leak Casts Light on a Law Firm Founded on Secrecy Ramón Fonseca, a co-founder of Mossack Fonseca, proclaimed his firm’s innocence. But some say the leak’s contents are at odds with how he has tried to portray himself and his role in Panama.

U.S. Plans to Require Banks to Identify Owners of Shell Companies The proposed rule is meant to close a loophole in the American banking system that allows secret financial maneuvers like the ones revealed in the Panama Papers.

Brazil’s Congress Must Consider Impeaching Vice President A justice on Brazil’s high court ruled that an impeachment request made against Michel Temer must be considered by Congress while it holds hearings about removing the president.

In the Path of Nicaragua’s Planned Canal Some of the people and places that could be affected if a vast canal is built.

Lost in Nicaragua, a Chinese Tycoon’s Canal Project Sixteen months after ground was broken, a plan by a Chinese billionaire that would link the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and greatly alter a country is shrouded in mystery and controversy.

Insider’s Account of How Graft Fed Brazil’s Political Crisis How a leftist party that rose to power vowing to stamp out the corruption of a privileged political elite ended up embracing its predecessors’ practices.

Lives: The Gentle Assassin in Brazil When a gesture made in Portuguese sounds like an offer you can’t refuse.

Gato Barbieri, Latin Jazz Trailblazer, Dies at 83 Leandro Barbieri, who earned the nickname Gato, recorded 35 albums between 1967 and 1982, and received a Latin Grammy lifetime award in 2015.

Guatemalan Women’s Claims Put Focus on Canadian Firms’ Conduct Abroad Overseas subsidiaries have long acted as a shield for extractive companies, but cases describing negligence and rape could lead to new scrutiny.

Artist Says Brazilian Protesters Copied His Giant Rubber Duck The duck displayed in Brazil bears too much of a resemblance to a six story-tall one created by the Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, his team said.

World Briefing: Brazil: Judge Removed From Inquiry Into Ex-President The Supreme Federal Tribunal’s decision, which is not its final ruling, transfers the inquiry into the finances of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to the high court from Judge Sérgio Moro.

Colombia’s Second-Largest Rebel Group Joins Peace Talks With Government The announcement by the National Liberation Army, known as the E.L.N., raised hopes that the end of a 50-year conflict could be near.

Harriet Mills, Scholar Held in ‘Brainwashing Prison’ in China, Dies at 95 Ms. Mills, imprisoned as an American spy in Communist China in the 1950s, later made clear to her sister that she had been indoctrinated.

World Briefing: El Salvador: Prison Lockdown The government declared a state of emergency at seven prisons at the start of “extraordinary measures” it has promised to take to combat gang violence.

Dilma Rousseff Loses Support From Key Part of Brazilian Coalition The Brazilian Democratic Movement Party’s leaders voted to split from the president’s party, a move that could increase the likelihood of her being impeached.

U.N. Panel’s Call for Transparency Highlights Limits of Oversight A report from Secretary General Ban Ki-moon gave recommendations to the General Assembly president, who does not report to the secretary general.

‘Lula,’ Ex-President of Brazil, Lashes Out at Judge Overseeing Corruption Inquiry Former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said the judge, Sergio Moro, was trying to ruin him by releasing intercepts of his telephone conversations.

World Briefing: Argentina: President Won’t Fund Leftist TV Network Argentina’s president, Mauricio Macri, will cut its funding of a regional television network started by the Venezuelan government in 2005.

World Briefing: Argentina: U.N. Decision Expands Maritime Territory The move expanded Argentina’s territory in the South Atlantic Ocean by 35 percent to include the disputed Falkland Islands and beyond.

Fidel Castro Criticizes Barack Obama’s Efforts to Change Cuba “We do not need the empire to give us anything,” the former president of Cuba wrote in Granma, the official Communist Party newspaper.

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.