Venezuela

Some political experts say Florida's efforts to usurp local government authority are uncomfortably reminiscent of the late strongman Hugo Chávez's playbook.

COMMENTARY Too many South Florida politicians — most recently Vince Lago — use the suffering caused by despots in Latin America to spin disinformation here.

Several other countries including France, Germany, the Netherlands and Ireland moved to suspend injections of the vaccine this week.

Where and who can get vaccinated? The cruise industry has been docked for a year, and a major immigration change for Venezuelans.

The Biden administration grants Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelans. How to make education better post-COVID-19 closures. And officials have banned numerous reptiles as pets — will it make a difference in the battle against invasive species?

On Monday, because of the terrible humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, President Biden granted Venezuelans currently living in the U.S. Temporary Protected Status, or TPS. It means more than 300,000 eligible Venezuelans, most of whom are here in South Florida, can live and work legally in the U.S. for 18 months. After that time, TPS can and likely will be renewed.

The Biden administration's decision represents a major policy shift from the Trump team, which withstood bipartisan calls to grant the protections to Venezuelans fleeing life-threatening crises.

The Biden administration offered humanitarian protections to Venezuelans on Monday that would alleviate the threat of deportation for over 320,000 eligible individuals who have sought refuge in the United States.

The makers of "A La Calle," debuting in Miami this week, hope the film inspires Venezuelans and the diaspora to keep their struggling pro-democracy movement alive.

"We want to demonstrate that although we're not a rich country, we can do something that is humanitarian ... but at the same time is an intelligent and sound migration policy," Iván Duque tells NPR.

Colombia's president has unveiled a program to let undocumented Venezuelan migrants live and work legally in the country for up to 10 years. Nearly a million Venezuelans in Colombia lack legal status.

The Colombian justice ministry on Wednesday authorized the extradition of Elkin Javier López Torres, who goes by the Spanish aliases La Silla and Doble Rueda, respectively The Chair or Double Wheels, both references to his wheelchair.