Latin America

Slinging fish tacos at a stall in Grand Central Market on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles was never Ana Sanchez's idea of heaven. But the job pays enough so that she can wire money to her mother and daughter in Mexico, and last year she sent $1,500. This year Sanchez, 44, reckons they'll be lucky to receive half that. With her wages stagnant and the cost of living climbing, her family in Jalisco state will have to do without. "If it gets bad I won't be able to send any money anymore," Sanchez, a Commerce resident, said Tuesday.

CARACAS, Venezuela - The sale of Globovision, Venezuela's last major television station critical of the government, raised concern Tuesday that no mass media platform may remain on which to challenge the Chavista administration of President Nicolas Maduro. The sale of the station for an undisclosed price by an ownership group led by Guillermo Zuloaga, now self-exiled in Miami, was completed Monday night, according to a statement the broadcaster posted on its website. Zuloaga had said mounting government fines and political harassment had left him with no choice but to sell.

CARACAS, Venezuela - The sale of Globovision, Venezuela's last major television station critical of the government, raised concern Tuesday that no mass media platform may remain on which to challenge the Chavista administration of President Nicolas Maduro. The sale of the station for an undisclosed price by an ownership group led by Guillermo Zuloaga, now self-exiled in Miami, was completed Monday night, according to a statement the broadcaster posted on its website. Zuloaga had said mounting government fines and political harassment had left him with no choice but to sell.

President Obama has much to discuss with Mexico's new president, Enrique Peña Nieto, when they meet in Mexico City this week. No issue, however, is more urgent than the search for peace, justice and dignity for and between our peoples. For seven years, Mexico has been living a nightmare. More than 70,000 people, by some estimates, have been killed and thousands more have been disappeared in the wave of criminal and institutional violence of Mexico's war on drug cartels. The collateral damage is a humanitarian tragedy that requires our leaders to have deep and frank discussions about how to transform the failed policies exacerbating the violence.

In contrast to their upbeat public assessments, U.S. officials expressed frustration with a "risk averse" Mexican army and rivalries among security agencies that have hampered the Mexican government's war against drug cartels, according to secret U.S. diplomatic cables disclosed Thursday. The cables quoted Mexican officials expressing fear that the government was losing control of parts of its national territory and that time was "running out" to rein in drug violence. The cables gave a much starker view of the pitfalls and obstacles facing Mexican President Felipe Calderon, a departure from the public statements of unwavering support that have come out of Washington for most of the 4-year-old war, which has claimed more than 30,000 lives.

Mexican military forces on Saturday arrested the former mayor of Tijuana, Jorge Hank Rhon, after an early-morning raid at his compound resulted in the seizure of 88 weapons and more than 9,000 rounds of ammunition, military officials said. Hank, 55, a flamboyant casino mogul and one of Mexico's wealthiest men, was taken to the federal attorney general's office in Tijuana and then by armed convoy to an air force base, as supporters lined the streets to protest his transfer to Mexico City.

Launching in Latin America is proving not as easy as Netflix Inc. had hoped. At an investor conference Wednesday in New York hosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co., Netflix Chief Financial Officer David Wells said his company is trying various ways to improve its prospects in the 43 Latin American countries where it launched last year. Growth in the region has been slower than the subscription video company expected or that it experienced in its other foreign markets: Canada, Great Britain and Ireland . Netflix has blamed its problems on several issues specific to the region, including lower broadband Internet penetration, fewer digital devices and greater complexities in processing payments through the Internet.

For all its miscues at home, General Motors Corp. has built a powerhouse operation in Latin America, where its fuel-efficient vehicles could play a crucial role in returning the battered company to health. Since it filed for bankruptcy a month ago, the automaker has been striking deals to shed much of its operations, including its Hummer, Saturn and Saab brands and its Opel division in Europe. GM is closing more North American factories, laying off workers and slashing its U.S. dealership ranks.

Latin America's role Re "Lula takes risk with Ahmadinejad," Nov. 23 Yes, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's taking a risk meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- but Lula's not anybody's proxy, and with Latin America so often ignored, Brazil can decide with whom to meet without asking anyone's permission. Ahmadinejad's plan for a new global order to be formed with Africa and Latin America (Brazil and Venezuela in particular) could be bluster or could be serious.

Re "A Stain Spreads Across Latin America," Commentary, April 25: Sergio Munoz sounds quixotic when it comes to solving the problem of criminality in Latin America. The real problem is not institutional weakness but poverty and unchecked population growth (too many beggars for the crumbs falling off the capitalists' tables). The Latin American countries can no longer sustain their population growths, but they continue to breed mindlessly out of superstition and ignorance. Open, democratic societies and the rule of law are abstractions.

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Nicolas Maduro, the handpicked successor of the late President Hugo Chavez, was sworn in to Venezuela's highest office Friday, despite refusal by a newly empowered opposition to accept defeat in a hotly contested election. Flanked by huge portraits of Chavez, “our eternal commander,” and Simon Bolivar, legendary liberator of Latin America, Maduro held a miniature copy of the Venezuelan Constitution during a ceremony with numerous heads of state in attendance.

Venezuela's National Electoral Council declared Nicolas Maduro, the handpicked successor of the late President Hugo Chavez, the winner in the presidential election Sunday. But it was a victory in a compromised system that tilted the table in his favor. FOR THE RECORD: Venezuela: The biographical information in an April 19 Op-Ed on the Venezuelan election misreported the name of an L.A. organization. It is the Pacific Council on International Policy, not the Pacific Council on International Affairs.

Deep into Marie Arana's wonderful new biography of Simón Bolívar, "the George Washington of South America," there's a deliciously unexpected pause in the action. It's 1816, and Bolívar has set sail from Haiti. He's on his way back to Venezuela, with an army set to take on the hated Spanish colonial authorities. At the island of St. Thomas, he ostensibly stops for "supplies. " In reality, his fleet of ships has anchored so that Bolívar can pick up his mistress, Pepita Machado.

Victor Carranza, known as the "Emerald King" of Colombia, who built a near monopoly in trade in the precious gems and survived at least two assassination attempts along the way, died of lung cancer Thursday at a Bogota hospital. He was 77. Officials at the Fundacion Santa Fe hospital announced his death. A former prospector who became one of Latin America's wealthiest men, Carranza was never criminally convicted despite several prosecutions on charges that included kidnapping and sponsoring private militias as he battled for control of the mountainous emerald region.

SAO PAULO, Brazil - In Mexico, President Enrique Peña Nieto tweeted an affectionate greeting for Pope Francis as he prepared for a last-minute trip to arrive in Rome in time for Mass at the Vatican on Sunday. Acting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro joked that Hugo Chavez, his predecessor who died last week, must have persuaded Jesus that the world was ready for a South American pope. And in Brazil, many people confessed a tinge of disappointment that a Brazilian papal candidate had been bypassed for a cardinal from their rival - and fellow soccer-mad nation - Argentina.

Los Angeles' primary election for mayor is Tuesday. In a recent survey conducted by Arts for L.A., a nonprofit group that promotes cultural funding, the candidates responded to a series of questions related to the arts and the creative industries. Their responses can be viewed in their entirety on the Arts for LA website . The survey dealt primarily with arts funding, but it included a question about the candidates' most meaningful cultural experience growing up. Councilman Eric Garcetti recalled a time when "my parents took me to my first concert at the Hollywood Bowl.

Pope Benedict XVI's decision to resign has rekindled debate within the Catholic Church and worldwide speculation about the possibility that the church will reach beyond the European clergy who have long held power in the Vatican to choose the next pope. With an eye to vibrant Catholic communities in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia, the Sacred College of Cardinals may weigh the pros and cons of selecting the next pope from another continent. Here are cardinals believed to be possible choices: Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson of Ghana is an African prelate seen as a top contender, and at 64 would be better positioned than older candidates to carry on the doctrine of John Paul II and Benedict XVI through what could be a time of growing Catholic influence in the developing world.

MEDITERRANEAN Sites of holy, secular past Sail away on a weeklong Mediterranean cruise that charts a course to ancient towns, historical ruins and important shrines, including a Turkish site reputed to be the former home of the Virgin Mary. In Istanbul, see the imposing Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace. Accommodations are aboard the 500-cabin Costa Serena, which has five restaurants, 13 bars and four swimming pools. Itinerary: Venice, to Bari, Italy, Olympia, Greece; Izmir and Istanbul in Turkey; Dubrovnik, Croatia; and back to Venice.

After dozens of meetings and a few orphaned ideas, the Getty has settled on a theme for a 2017 sequel to the 2011-12 museum exhibition extravaganza known as Pacific Standard Time. It will be "Los Angeles and Latin America," or "L.A./L.A. " for short. "The fact that nearly half of the population of Los Angeles has roots in Latin America is so profound that it warrants a major exhibition and research project with accompanying publications," said Getty Trust head James Cuno. "These are complicated roots, over many generations, and relationships between the U.S. and those antecedent countries have changed considerably over time, so we want to be respectful of those complexities.

MEXICO CITY - They represent the region with more Roman Catholics than any other. And their to-do list for the next pope is a long one. Next month, 19 cardinals from Latin America will be among the 117 from around the world expected to be eligible to participate in the secret meetings to choose a replacement for Pope Benedict XVI. And though the chances for a Latin American pope being elected are a long shot, regional leaders are hoping to...