Philip Reeves

As Venezuela's humanitarian crisis grows, so does predatory crime. Ghost boats are terrorizing the country's fishermen. These are high speed craft, full of armed men in masks, that sneak up on fishing boats while they're at sea at night.

The political crisis in Venezuela is deepening. Protesters blocked roads after the president announced moves to change the country's constitution. The opposition sees it as a step toward dictatorship.

A few years ago, Venezuela had a booming auto industry but times have changed. Motorists are forced to have very old cars repaired — buying a new car is out of the question for most Venezuelans.

Nationwide protests continued in Venezuela on Thursday against President Nicolas Maduro and his government's handling of the country's economic crisis.

In Venezuela, the government established roadblocks, deployed security forces and shut down the metro in preparation for what government opponents labeled the mother of all marches. The opposition is pushing for President Nicolas Maduro's ouster.

Venezuelan activists are calling for mass protests on Wednesday. Also, Sabrina Siddiqui of The Guardian talks about Georgia's runoff election, and an Egyptian-American aid worker has been released.

Opposition groups in Venezuela are calling for massive demonstrations on Wednesday. The country is mired in economic crisis.

A Samba school in Brazil partied for days after winning Rio's Carnival competition for the first time in 30 years. But a judge made a mistake, and the prize must be shared with another samba school.

Venezuelans are fleeing their nation in droves, which is having a big impact on their South American neighbors. Pacaraima in Brazil was a remote rural community whose residents slept with their doors unlocked. Now the mayor has declared a state of emergency, saying it's become a Wild West frontier town, awash with crime and social problems.

The crisis in Venezuela is getting worse. It's driving people across the border in search of food, medicine and money. We meet a former social worker who turned to prostitution to support her family.

Recent deadly violence at an Amazon prison is fueling concern over the vast powers wielded within the country's penal system by armed drug gangs, and the dangers faced by young men in prison awaiting trial or for minor offenses. A veteran convict tells NPR about life behind bars.

The country's federal police say that health officials were bribed to ignore outdated and adulterated meat. The European Commission has suspended imports from companies implicated in the allegations.

Workers across Brazil staged demonstrations over the government's plan to cap pension benefits and raise the retirement age. The protests disrupted traffic and public transportation nationwide.

Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, is seeing strikes and protests amid rising crime and Brazil's worst recession. "We're asking God Almighty that this comes to an end," says a resident.

Friday marks the start of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. We set out to discover if Brazil's tradition of wild street parties and lavish costume parades is actually a form of collective therapy.

Amid the parties and celebrations of Rio de Janeiro's carnival lie the political satire and protest. To see this, you just need to look at the costumes.

More than 2 million people dance and drink, day and night, for Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. All that pleasure involves quite a bit of pain. Ask the samba superathletes in 7-inch heels.

Brazilians in a southern state are stockpiling food after a surge of lootings and killings. With the police on strike, army troops are patrolling the streets, and most shops are shut.

The imprisonment of former billionaire Eike Batista on corruption charges is fueling much schadenfreude in Brazil. Social media memes proliferate imagining life behind bars for the famously flamboyant and extravagant entrepreneur.

Fallen commodities magnate Eike Batista has returned to Brazil to face charges. Prosecutors say Batista, once one of the world's richest people, was a player in a $100 million laundering/bribery ring.