Americas: News and Reviews from The New York Times

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.