Latin America

A U.S. judge pressed the Trump administration Thursday about its basis for barring Venezuela's government from paying former President Nicolás Maduro's legal fees in the drug trafficking case that has put him behind bars in New York.

Former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro heads to court again this week. The judge overseeing this case is longtime federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein. At 92 years old, Hellerstein is older than the average age of a federal judge by more than 20 years.

Once a futuristic shopping mall, El Helicoide became one of Venezuela's most feared prisons. Now, as the country changes, so does its fate — erase it, rebuild it, or remember what happened inside.

A New York Times investigation has revealed allegations that the late renowned labor leader abused girls and raped Dolores Huerta, his longtime organizing partner.

COMMENTARY President Trump's Shield of the Americas agenda to militarize hemispheric crime-fighting risks diminishing crucial efforts to build better police in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Ecuador's interior minister says the country is preparing a major crackdown on criminal groups set to begin this weekend with logistical support from the United States.

Cuba says a fifth detainee has died after a shootout with people on a Florida-flagged speedboat off its north coast. Cuban authorities say people on the speedboat opened fire on soldiers as it approached the island on Feb. 26.

President Donald Trump has fired his embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The announcement came after Noem faced a two-day grilling on Capitol Hill from Republicans and Democrats and as Noem faced mounting criticism over her leadership of the Department of Homeland Security. Trump says he'll make Noem a "Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas."

A deadly shootout in Cuban territorial waters is also reminiscent of the early 1960s, when Cuban exiles, trained and armed by the CIA, tried to infiltrate Cuba to conduct acts of sabotage and assassinate the leaders of the Cuban Revolution.

In comments to reporters as he left the White House, Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio was negotiating at a high level with the Cuban government.

Cuban soldiers confronted a speedboat carrying 10 people as the vessel approached the island and opened fire on the troops, who fired back. That's according to the Cuban government.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino says he has "complete confidence" in Mexico as a World Cup co-host despite days of cartel violence in the country that has left at least 70 people dead.