#ortegas

#ortegas

Cuba's government said Thursday night that it would release 51 people from the island's prisons in an unexpected move. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the release in the upcoming days stems from a spirit of goodwill and close relations with the Vatican. The government did not identify who it would release, except to say that 'all have served a significant part of their sentence and have maintained good conduct in prison.'

On January 3, Panama woke up with the strange sensation of looking in a mirror. During the early hours of the morning while the world tried to process the details about the capture of Nicolas Maduro, as a result of a U.S. military operation the country that is home to the Panama Canal once again delved into a wound that, 36 years later, remains open: the 1989 U.S. invasion.

Costa Rica heads to the polls on Sunday in an election dominated by increasing insecurity and warnings of an authoritarian turn in a country long seen as a model of liberal democracy in the region. Crime is a big concern for many voters as criminal groups battle to control lucrative cocaine trafficking routes to Europe and the US, casting a shadow on the Central American country famous for its wildlife tourism.

With 94% of polling stations counted, the political heir of outgoing president, Rodrigo Chaves, had captured 48.3% of the vote, compared with Ramos's 33.4%, according to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE). As soon as the first results were announced, members of Fernandez's Sovereign People's party erupted in celebrations around the country, waving blue, red and white-striped Costa Rican flags. Viva Rodrigo Chaves, some cheered, in a nod to Fernandez's mentor.

Mexico's defense of Cuba hasn't been limited to President Sheinbaum's daily press conferences. Prominent Morena figures from parliamentary spokespeople to party president Luisa Alcalde have publicly aligned themselves with Havana. Within Morena, a broad and sometimes divided political family, the party's more orthodox or nostalgic left wing has embraced the Cuban crisis as an ideological cause and is pushing for even closer ties with Havana.