Latin American Politics

Ortega’s grip on power has increasingly centered on a family-based governing structure with his wife appointed "Co-President".

A total collapse of Cuba's national power grid coincided with some of President Trump’s rhetoric regarding a potential takeover of the island.

The summit officially launched the Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition to combat transnational criminal organizations.

The joint operations are the culmination of a rapidly escalating security crisis, transforming Ecuador into a major drug-trafficking hotspot.

The hunt for El Mencho and the CJNG spans over 15 years, evolving from a local enforcement group into a global paramilitary organization.

Peru's interim president José Jerí was removed from office by Congress on Feb 17, 2026. José Balcázar was sworn in as the new interim president.

On 1 Feb 2026, right-wing populist Laura Fernández Delgado of the Sovereign People's Party secured a historic first-round victory. 

The US declared a national emergency over Cuba, citing the Cuban government’s alignment with hostile states and threat to US interests.

Acting as a "protecting power" under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, Brazil is safeguarding Mexican interests in Peru.

The referral of the EU-Mercosur agreement to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has created a significant legal and political "freeze".

In Jan 2026, Guatemala imposed a nationwide state of siege declared by President Bernardo Arévalo to combat a violent surge in gang activity.

Nicolás Maduro was captured on Jan 3, 2026, in a US military operation in Venezuela and transported to New York to face "narco-terrorism" and weapons charges.

Nasry Asfura of the National Party won the 2025 Honduran presidential election and was sworn into office on Jan 27, 2026.

His victory represents the country's most significant shift to the right since the end of the military dictatorship in 1990. 

In late Nov 2025, former Peruvian presidents Pedro Castillo and Martín Vizcarra were both sentenced to significant prison terms a day apart.

The "Notebooks of Corruption" trial (Cuadernos de las Coimas), frequently dubbed Argentina's "Trial of the Century," is the largest graft prosecution in the country's history.

Following years of deteriorating ties, the rupture was triggered by Mexico's decision to grant political asylum to former Peruvian PM Chávez.

Known as an outspoken crusader against organized crime, his murder sparked a massive wave of national unrest and Gen Z-led protests.

In the 2025 midterm legislative elections held on 26 October 2025, President Javier Milei's party, La Libertad Avanza (LLA), achieved a landslide victory.

The 2025 Bolivian general election ended nearly two decades of dominance by the left-wing Movement Toward Socialism (MAS).

The impeachment of Dina Boluarte in Oct 2025 was fueled by a convergence of a severe security crisis, corruption scandals, and historic unpopularity.

This conviction, part of the high-profile Ecoteva case, relates to the use of bribes from the Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht.

Mexico City has seen a significant wave of anti-gentrification protests, targeting the influx of "digital nomads" and the proliferation of short-term rentals.

The 2025 BRICS summit in Rio was focused on locking in BRICS’ role as a Global South governance bloc across AI, climate finance and others.

Former Peruvian President Ollanta Humala and his wife were sentenced to 15 years in prison for aggravated money laundering.

In Mar 2025, a site dubbed the "Ranch of Horror" was discovered in Teuchitlán, Jalisco, approximately 64 km outside Guadalajara.

The $LIBRA cryptocurrency scandal, dubbed "Cryptogate," involved President Javier Milei's social media promotion of an alleged "rug pull" scheme.