Protests against Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega have intensified and diversified, expanding into cities in the Northern and Pacific region of the country.

Finding peace is a high priority for Mexico, though there are many ways of approaching the situation.

Ortega described masked paramilitaries seen cooperating closely with his security forces against the protesters as “volunteer police.”

–Researched and written by Rebecca Smith— On July 3, 2018, a Chilean court convicted nine retired members of the military for the murder of beloved folk singer, Víctor Jara, under Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship in the 1970s. In the weeks following the trial, news sources covered Jara’s life, death, and reactions to the verdict.

–-Researched and written by Katie Benisch— Colombia has faced a series of social leaders being not only attacked, but assassinated as well. These leaders held positions in their communities as teachers and politicians and have been distinguished by their care for social issues. Fellow Colombians are trying to make sense of these acts of violence

There were no deaths directly caused by the long-running Colombian conflict in 2017.

Education in Mexico has taken bold steps to prepare students for the reality of the society that they live in.

On June 19, 2018, Minister Óscar Aguad of Argentina announced the government’s intention to have the Armed Forces involved in Homeland Security.

The Daniel Ortega government blockade has caused a new crisis and stagnation in the Diálogo Nacional, mediated by bishops of the Episcopal Conference.

After brokering a peace deal with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) in 2016, the Colombian government is currently working with the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) to establish a peace agreement in its fifth round of dialogue.