"KINGSTON - President Barack Obama on Thursday unveiled a major clean energy partnership at a Caribbean summit where he sought to reassert U.S. leadership in the region at a time when the economic clout of oil-producing Venezuela appears to be receding."
"The canal would allow passage for the largest ships on the water, but cut through wetlands, forests and the region's largest freshwater lake — and environmentalists worry about the consequences."
"[Last week], the seven men accused of brutally murdering Jairo Mora Sandoval on a beach in Costa Rica two years ago were acquitted of the crime. Mora's murder shocked the Central American country—long known for the progressive protection of its lush rainforests and sweeping beaches—but the judge who acquitted the accused cited reasonable doubt and a investigation marred by mistakes, including mishandled evidence. Judge Yolanda Alvaredo also acquitted the seven men of all additional counts, including sexual assault, kidnapping, and robbery."
"Forecasters say Hurricane Gonzalo has strengthened overnight and is again a dangerous Category 4 storm as it barrels toward the small British island territory of Bermuda."
"Hurricane Gonzalo was expected to become a major hurricane Tuesday and poses a threat to Bermuda as it strengthens over the open Atlantic north of Puerto Rico, forecasters said."
The Marlin gold mine in Guatemala, about 50 miles from the border with Mexico, promised economic opportunities that never materialized for the Mayan population there. Now Mayan community leaders are protesting toxic pollution they say has caused health problems.
"SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Cristobal hurled heavy rains across Atlantic and Caribbean islands on Tuesday as it headed toward Bermuda, and officials said the storm already had caused at least five deaths."
"Low rainfall linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon has led to drought in parts of Central America, causing widespread damage to crops, shortages and rising prices of food, and worsening hunger among the region's poor."
"Q'eqchi Mayan families vow to fight construction, which they say will destroy their livelihoods and flood ancestral land."
"The so-called leaf rust, or roya, is a yellow and orange-colored fungus that has swept coffee fields from Mexico to Peru over the past two years, threatening to stunt production and drive up the price of Latin American roasts."
