In late August 2019, a large number of wildfires in the Amazon rainforest in northern Brazil kindled a firestorm of media coverage worldwide. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro initially seemed to ignore the emergency, and then switched to blaming environmental groups for starting the fires to discredit him. His environmental minister blamed seasonal natural causes. Satellite

Anonymous U.S. officials said that Diosdado Cabello, first vice president of the Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV), attended a meeting in July in Caracas with negotiators for the president of the United States, Donald Trump. These meetings were reportedly unknown to President Nicolás Maduro. While Cabello passionately denied that he met with the Gringos,

As polls predicted, in Guatemala’s second-round presidential election on August 11, 2019, medical doctor, businessman, and perennial candidate Alejandro Giammattei defeated Sandra Torres, former first lady and ex-wife of former President Álvaro Colom. Now begins the countdown to the exit of President Jimmy Morales, who will leave power on January 14, 2020. Giammattei, candidate of

Between July 30 and August 2, 2019, three journalists were killed, and a newspaper, El Monitor de Parral in Hidalgo del Parral, Chihuahua, was firebombed. Rogelio Barragán Pérez, in Morelos, Edgar Alberto Nava López, in Guerrero, and Jorge Celestino Ruiz Vázquez, in Veracruz, were all murdered within four days’ time. Even by Mexican standards, which

In July 2019, seven months after taking office, President Jair Bolsonaro’s government seemed confused and disorderly. Many news outlets chronicled its short and turbulent run. The Brazilian economy had contracted, unemployment was on the rise, and the tension between Congress and the executive branch had become ever more evident. Bolsonaro had yet to deliver on

Venezuela’s former intelligence chief, Cristopher Figuera, the highest-profile defector from the government of Nicolás Maduro, fled the country after supporting the April 30, 2019 uprising by opposition leader Juan Guaidó, and spent two months in Colombia before his arrival in the United States on June 24, 2019. Figuera served as head of security for the

In the midst of violence, massive outward migration, and political struggles over rampant corruption, Guatemala held its general and presidential elections on June 16, 2019. Guatemalans went to the polls to choose the successor of President Jimmy Morales, who leaves office harassed by multiple corruption scandals. The contest was also tainted by the exclusion of

U.S. President Donald Trump said on June 7, 2019, that he has indefinitely suspended his threat of tariffs against Mexico after reaching “a signed agreement” on immigration, though he implied that he could change his mind. Mexico made concessions during the talks, offering to send 6,000 troops to its southern border with Guatemala, while also

As expected, the Movimiento Regeneración Nacional or MORENA, the party created by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (known as AMLO), did rather well in Mexico’s regional elections on June 2, 2019. Anticipated as the first test of his popularity since taking office in December 2018, AMLO’s party grabbed both governorships on offer, in Puebla

Nicaragua’s opposition called a 24-hour general strike on May 23, 2019, in the hopes of ratcheting up pressure on the government of President Daniel Ortega and forcing him to release political prisoners. The strike had broad support among many businesses, and emptied streets in most of Nicaragua’s cities. The opposition also attempted to carry out demonstrations