John Otis

As the Zika virus spreads, many fear Venezuela is downplaying the number of cases. Given the secrecy and politics that shroud most government-run institutions there, it's hard to know for sure.

The government of Colombia and leftist guerrillas say they will begin formal peace talks aimed at ending a five-decade conflict which has killed hundreds of thousands of people.

The country has oil, natural gas and rivers for hydroelectric power. Yet it's suffering crippling electricity cuts, adding to its economic woes.

For pregnant women in Venezuela, the possibility of getting the Zika virus is scary. The country's economy has collapsed, doctors are leaving in droves, and there's no medicine on the...

The scale of the Zika virus outbreak in Venezuela is unclear. The government is reporting more than 5,000 cases with three related deaths. But independent Venezuelan physicians fear i...

Venezuela is a key supplier of baseball talent to the U.S. major leagues. Players come up through baseball academies run by the teams. But now, many academies are being shut down.

In Venezuela, bread, meat, milk and other staples are scarce these days. So Venezuela's government is urging urban slum dwellers to grow and raise their own food. But it's a challenge.

Venezuela's opposition won a landslide victory in legislative elections on Sunday that's seen as a political turning point, because the Socialist Party has controlled all branches of government for the past 16 years.

Under former president Hugo Chavez and current leader Nicolas Maduro, the government has imprisoned dozens of opponents. ...

Millions of Venezuelans voiced their displeasure with President Nicolas Maduro's Socialist Party by giving opposition parties an overwhelming victory in congressional elections Sunday. But over the past few years, a flood of disgruntled Venezuelans have been voting with their feet, and college professors are among them.

Amid soaring ...

The opposition in Venezuela overwhelmingly won parliamentary elections on Sunday. The victory brings an end to almost 17 years of socialist rule.

The mayor of Buenos Aires is expected to win Sunday's presidential runoff. In that soccer-mad country, front-runner Mauricio Macri gets points for having been team president for the Boca Juniors.

The music of Diomedes Diaz blasts from a cantina in La Junta, a village of dirt streets and cactus on the edge of a desert where the late singer grew up. His songs celebrate country living, all-night partying and falling in love.

This style of music is called vallenato. Diaz ...

For Caracas housewife Anny Valero, today is grocery day — whether she likes it or not. Here's why: It's Monday, and if Valero doesn't go now, she'll have to wait four more days to buy food.

In Venezuela, government supermarkets sell price-controlled food, making them far cheaper than private stores. ...

Saul Mindiola is running for mayor of Pueblo Bello — a farm town of 16,000 residents tucked in Colombia's snow-capped Sierra Nevada. The view makes it clear how the place got its its name, which means "beautiful village" in Spanish.

Mindiola, who grew up in these mountains, is a member ...

The Marxist revolutionary group known as FARC has been fighting the Colombian government for over 50 years. Thanks to peace talks in Havana, Cuba, the fighting may finally come to an end in six months.

The deportation of thousands of Colombians from Venezuela and the sealing of the border is provoking chaos. Throngs of deportees are crowding into shelters, families have been separat...

The pope wrapped up the first leg of his South American mission which is focused on aiding the poor. Over the last 3 days, he was a crowd pleaser in Ecuador. He next visits Bolivia and then Paraguay.

Pope Francis kicks off a three-nation South America tour with a mass in Ecuador on Monday. Aiding the poor is at the center of his mission, which will include stops in Bolivia and Par...

The Argentine pontiff has embarked on a nine-day swing through Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay, some of the region's poorest countries. Francis is focusing on issues that affect the downtrodden.