John Otis

A Colombian town at the start of the Darien Gap, one of the most treacherous migrant routes in the world, has seen a drop in migrants after the U.S. recently implemented the new immigration rules.

A drugs lord's exotic pets got out of control in Colombia — it's the tale of the so-called "cocaine hippos."

We'll take a look a the ongoing political crisis in Venezuela - its effects in the region but also, in the U.S., with more Venezuelans trying to migrate.

Cross-border trade between Colombia and Venezuela has slowly opened up after the countries reengaged following years of bad relations.

NPR ventures into a Colombian emerald mine — which used to be more dangerous, with potential explosions inside and gunfights outside. The CEO, a former U.S. diplomat, says he wanted to change that.

Conservationists say a sustainable fishing program has helped the recovery of the local pirarucu — which can be up to 10-feet long and weigh 450 pounds.

The pirarucu, the giant fish of the Amazon, was an endangered species. Due to conservation efforts, it's making a comeback.

Brazil's President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is heading to the COP27 summit this week, to reassure the world that Amazon rainforest is in safe hands.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has prompted the Biden administration to extend an olive branch to Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro.

The Biden administration has extended an olive branch to Venezuela. It might sway Caracas to resume talks with the opposition for elections, and eventually let Venezuelan oil back on the world market.

President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made a stunning political comeback by defeating incumbent Jair Bolsonaro. But he could face a short honeymoon — and a long four years in office.

The results bring to a close the most consequential election in Brazil in decades. Now, President-elect da Silva faces the huge task of reinvigorating Brazil's economy.

President Jair Bolsonaro, who is running for reelection Sunday, has pledged to fully pave BR-319 and turn it into a kind of jungle expressway, raising alarm from environmental groups.

"He's been canceled," a Chilean activist says of 20th century poet and Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda. Five decades after his death, feminists are denouncing him as a male chauvinist and sexual predator.

Music has brought solace and companionship for some of those who were blinded in the 2019 mass protests in Chile.

All members of Hacía la Victoria ("Onward to Victory") sustained eye injuries during clashes with police in anti-government protests in 2019. Their lyrics focus on police brutality and their own pain.

The legacy of the Nobel-prize winning Chilean poet is in trouble. In the latest controversy Chiles' feminist movement is calling out Pablo Neruda as a male chauvinist and a sexual predator.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the left-wing former president, won more votes than right-wing incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro, but not enough to win outright in the 11-candidate race.

It's election day in one of the worlds largest democracies, Brazil, and people there and abroad are holding their breath and hoping the result will be respected.

Under President Jair Bolsonaro, who is running for reelection in Sunday's vote, forest clearing and wildfires have surged in the Amazon.