Latin America
Peru: stop press! ?
Criminals in Peru have wrong-footed themselves during a robbery at a shoe store. Three people broke into a shop in Huancayo and made off with more than 200 trainers - but they were…
Venezuela: dangerous to go to school
13-year-old Marcelo and his younger brother leave their Venezuelan home at 4.30 am every day, to walk unaccompanied, in the dark, for 2 ½ hours, to attend school in Colombia. Their lessons start…
Chile: ‘quick trigger’ law
Protesters and relatives of police officers who were killed in the line of duty took part in a march called by their relatives amid an increase in violent crime, in front of the…
Brazil: deadly storms
People having a pre-Lent holiday at San Sebastiao beach had two feet of torrential rain. Sao Paulo state’s floods also claimed lives on carnival weekend. TV and social media showed entire areas under…
Nicaragua: Catholic priests jailed
Four Catholic priests were charged with treason and given ten-year prison terms in a growing clampdown on critics of President Daniel Ortega. Two Catholic seminarians were also given the same sentence on the…
Brazil: attack on democracy
Jair Bolsonaro lost the presidential election to Lula da Silva in October, but his supporters do not accept that he lost. On 8 January thousands stormed key government sites, ransacking Congress buildings, breaking…
Brazil: fatal landslide
At least two people have died after heavy rain caused a mudslide which engulfed the BR-376 motorway in Parana state. The whereabouts of around thirty people are unknown. Several vehicles are thought to…
Colombia: gang blocks church, pastor preaches outside
Asking permission to preach was necessary for Leonardo. Not asking could result in death from Colombian guerrillas or paramilitaries. Pastors are obstacles to guerrillas’ political ambitions, as young Christians are no longer attracted…
Haiti / Mexico: killing journalists
Fritz Dorilas is the eighth journalist killed this year in Haiti. There is surging gang violence, political instability and targeted attacks on the media. The capital’s increasingly powerful criminal gangs battle for control…
Colombia: welcoming refugees
‘Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.’ (Isaiah 1:17) In Colombia, churches are playing a key role in…