John Otis

Opposition candidates participated in state and local elections in Venezuela for the first time in years, having concluded that boycotts only strengthened the government of President Nicolás Maduro.

Venezuela holds local elections Sunday and for the opposition, in a change in policy, is taking part.

More than 100,000 people have crossed the Darién Gap jungle from Colombia to Panama so far this year. The environmental impact and threats from cartels are many.

The dense jungle of the Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia was once a no man's land. It is now a busy thoroughfare for migrants heading north to the U.S.

The jungle between Colombia and Panama has become a primary thoroughfare for migrants heading north. Thousands of Haitian migrants are making the dangerous journey, trying to get to the U.S.

For many Haitian migrants, the dangerous journey from their troubled home country to the United States spans a decade and thousands of dangerous miles through Latin America.

A small town in northern Colombia has seen a surge in Haitian migrants — they've pitched tents in every available spot. The migrants are trying to make their way to the United States.

FARC rebels used to chain their kidnap victims in the jungle until they received ransom. Now tourists pay ex-guerrillas hundreds of dollars to take them hiking and whitewater rafting there.

The widow of late Haitian President Jovenel Moise says his enemies orchestrated his assassination, but did not give names. Meanwhile, the country's interim government has asked the U.S. for help.

More than a dozen former Colombian soldiers are detained in connection with the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. Some officials and analysts say the Colombians are being used as scapegoats.

Some of the suspects in the assassination of Haiti's president have been identified as Colombian nationals. Colombia has an industry of former military personnel marketing themselves as mercenaries.

In recent weeks, fighting has broken out between Venezuelan forces and guerrilla fighters from neighboring Colombia. The fighters have long used Venezuela as a base, but Venezuela is now pushing back.

The global fight against COVID-19 is in very different stages country to country. Reporters on three continents explain the status of the pandemic in Germany, Kenya and Colombia.

U.S. sanctions for Venezuela's crackdown on democracy are making the country's economic crisis worse. Authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro is seeking sanctions relief from the Biden administration.

In Colombia, deadly anti-government protests are now in their third week. Protesters are taking to the streets over police violence, economic inequity and health reform amid the pandemic.

The proposed tax reform that sparked protests has been withdrawn. But Colombians are now demanding actions to tackle poverty, inequality and school reform. At least 24 people have died.

Even though COVID-19 deaths are spiking and the country is climbing out of a deep economic downturn, the president has proposed new taxes. Colombians are defying restrictions by protesting.

Protesters are taking to the streets of Colombia demonstrating against the government's mishandling of the pandemic, and its proposal to raise taxes at a time of deep economic pain.

"We want to demonstrate that although we're not a rich country, we can do something that is humanitarian ... but at the same time is an intelligent and sound migration policy," Iván Duque tells NPR.

More than 5 million Venezuelans have fled their country, many of them to neighboring Colombia, whose president is winning praise for his open-door policy toward Venezuelans.