All Latin America Monitor

From abolishing a law that allows suspects to be held for 80 days without formal charges to improving medical exams on suspected victims of torture, the UN urges Mexico to combat 'disturbing' levels of impunity around torture.

There's food - it just may not be what shoppers need.

When Ret. Gen. Pacheco was appointed Honduras' new minister of security, many feared a militarization of the police. A few months into the job, Pacheco says this could be the turning point for violence and crime in Honduras.

Two recent arrests of drug kingpins were welcomed by embattled President Enrique Peña Nieto. But Mexico's history is of allowing drug empires to survive the deaths of their leaders.

The director of Birdman hid a piece of Mexico City in New York's Times Square during the filming.

Pope Francis today approved the beatification of Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero, murdered in 1980. In the lead-up to March national elections, politicians from opposing parties are drumming up memories - good and bad - of Romero.

Honduras' foreign minister wrote a stern letter after a think tank published a report saying more than 30 percent of Hondurans indicated they were victims of crime last year. Official crime statistics are lower, but many lack confidence in police and don't report all crimes.

Gang violence has uprooted many communities in El Salvador, which gained headlines during last summer's uptick in migration to the US. But, there's no government agency dedicated to registering those who have been forced from their home.

As Brazil's smartphone market grows, so too does connectivity. Programs like Whatsapp have been used by – and against – politicians, from networking with young voters to revealing scandals. 

The recent warming of US-Cuban relations and the fall in international oil prices raise the question of whether Venezuela can put national interests ahead of ideology.

Drug trafficking and extortion are expected to increase in Colombia as the government and FARC continue peace talks, and relationships between Guatemalan and Mexican drug gangs could strengthen.

More than half a million prisoners in Brazil occupy jails meant to house less than 300,000 people. Brazil has a number of rules that allow it to pare down the prison population - particularly around Christmas.

The new security chief will oversee 14,000 police officers and collect data on crime. Honduras has the world's highest murder rate. Critics say the move is a dangerous step.

Cuba had relied on Venezuela to prop up its economy. But with that support uncertain, the Castro brothers appear to have decided to come in from the cold.

A full 80 percent of farmers in the worst-hit areas of El Salvador have reported losing all of their crops, while 75 percent of corn and bean crops in Honduras and Guatemala have failed.

The FARC displaced roughly 50,000 people since peace talks began in 2012, according to a UN report. But the rebel group's role in driving overall violence in Colombia since 2012 isn't clear cut. 

Former President Mujica, an ex-guerrilla who was once tortured in jail, agreed to take the prisoners earlier this year. He said he was doing it 'for humanity.'

Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro's ratings hit an all time low in recent polls, and more than 85 percent of Venezuelans say the country is on the wrong track.

Brazilians now make up 2 percent of the foreign student population in the US, on par with students from Mexico and Japan.

Some 32 percent of the Mexican population is between the ages of 15 and 29. But 22 percent of that age group is neither employed nor in education or training. It could mean bad news – and a missed opportunity – for the economy.