Venezuela and Colombia formally resumed diplomatic relations on August 28, 2022, after a three-year diplomatic rupture, with the arrival in Caracas of the Colombian ambassador Armando Benedetti, appointed by the newly elected President Gustavo Petro of Colombia. This followed an announcement by President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela that he had chosen former Foreign Minister and

On August 18, 2022, Mexico’s Comisión para la Verdad y Acceso a la Justicia investigating the infamous September 2014 disappearance and presumed murder of the 43 normalistas (students from the Escuela Normal Rural “Isidro Burgos” de Ayotzinapa in Guerrero) declared that the incident had been a “state crime.” Soon thereafter, former Procurador General de la

In the weeks after August 4, 2022, the National Police did not allow Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Álvarez, a critic of President Daniel Ortega, to leave the Episcopal Palace. The bishop, along with at least ten other people, has been accused by the Ortega regime of “trying to organize violent groups.” With their detention, they joined

After just one year in office, Peru’s leftist President Pedro Castillo reshuffled his cabinet for the fifth time at the end of July 2022. Castillo declined Prime Minister Aníbal Torres’ resignation, who will therefore remain in his post. But amid ongoing tensions between the executive and the one-house legislature, Castillo swore in six new cabinet

During July 2022, Panama experienced weeks of popular protest and convulsion. Thousands of people went into the streets to demand government action to contain the prices of gasoline, basic food items, and medicine. The protests led to the closing of public schools, suspension of transportation, and calls for strikes. The United Nations office in Panama

From June 13 through June 30, 2022, Ecuador was rocked by indigenous protests and strikes over the rising cost of living, official plans to extract hydrocarbons in certain areas of majority indigenous people, and the reduction of social investments. The demonstrations, directed against the government of President Guillermo Lasso, were led by the Confederación de

On June 19, 2022, Colombia elected Gustavo Petro of the leftist Pacto Histórico coalition as President of Colombia, defeating the right-wing populist Rodolfo Hernández of the Liga de Gobernantes Anticorrupción. The result of the second-round election was broadly interpreted as one more important signal heralding the resurgence of the Latin American left, following the election

British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira were last seen on June 5, 2022, travelling by boat in Brazil’s Vale do Javari, a rainforest region near the border with Peru, where Phillips was researching a book. After their disappearance, defenders of the Amazon demanded an investigation from the slow-moving Brazilian state and

The IX Summit of the Americas was held in Los Angeles, CA, from June 6 to 10, hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden. While the Biden administration had originally hoped that the much-anticipated summit would help jumpstart a new era of U.S. engagement with Latin America and the Caribbean, it took place under a cloud

On May 29, 2022, Colombians voted in the first round of their nation’s presidential electoral process. As predicted, former M-19 guerrilla, mayor of Bogotá, current senator, and leftist Pacto Histórico coalition candidate Gustavo Petro proved his mettle as the obvious front runner, garnering more than 40% of the vote. Yet, seemingly out of nowhere, the