The Homeland location Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

LatinAmer Is it Puerto Rico, or is it Caracas? Showtime picked a safer location for Homeland than the real-life Tower of David for last week’s episode.

ARGENTINA
‘Queen Cristina’ facing the end of her reign
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner
Politically weakened and physically frail, Argentina’s president Cristina Fernandez Kirchner is facing the end of a decade of a family rule as she recovers from brain clot surgery ahead of key elections

Argentina to pay $500 million to resolve disputes with foreign firms

Will Iran thaw bring justice for AMIA victims?

Argentine Train Slams into Station
An Argentine commuter train slammed into the end of the line Saturday morning at the same station in Buenos Aires where 52 people were killed in a similar crash last year.

BOLIVIA
Vicuna herded on motorbikes for biennial shearing in Bolivia
Every two years, about a hundred men and women Aymara villagers conduct a frenetic chase to round up wild vicunas for shearing, an event which lasts four days

BRAZIL
Brazil’s (and Odebrecht’s) Secret Deals With Dictators

Public finances in Brazil
Going for broke

Brazil army to guard oil rights sale
Union leaders in Brazil attack a decision to deploy troops to guarantee security for a controversial oil exploration rights auction.

CHILE
Chile men convicted over gay murder
A court in Chile convicts four men for torturing and beating to death 24-year-old gay man Daniel Zamudio in a Santiago park in March.

COLOMBIA
Ex-President Uribe on course to win 2 million votes

Starbucks to take on Juan Valdez in Colombia

CUBA
Babalú Exclusive: Cuban footprints across America – Martina the Beautiful Cockroach

Castro police block mother from naming her son after Cuba opposition leader Antúnez

Havana Havana, Your Fountains Are Broken

Cuban dissidents plant a hoax to trap government spies
Cuban dissidents invented a story to flush out infiltrators. A blogger bit, but denied having links to the Cuban government.

ECUADOR
Witnesses say U.S. lawyer used fraud in Chevron case in Ecuador

EDUCATION
Weak Universities Hurt Latin America, Spain

EL SALVADOR
On a different note…

El Salvador: Where women may be jailed for miscarrying

MEXICO
The most bad-ass doctor ever

Crime in Mexico
Out of sight, not out of mind
Having decided to play down the fight against drug kingpins, Enrique Peña Nieto has yet to come up with a serious alternative

Gunman in clown suit kills senior Mexican drug cartel member

NICARAGUA
NYC MAYOR CANDIDATE BILL DE BLASIO SUPPORTED SANDINISTAS, ACTIVE ALLIES OF “PALESTINIAN” JIHADISTS

PANAMA
Ibero-American Summit Marked by Notable Absences
Missing from the conference in Panama are nine presidents and Spain’s King Juan Carlos

PERU
Peru’s air force reinstates UFO department
Peru’s air force has said it is reviving a department to research anomalous aerial phenomena – in other words, UFO sightings

US gives $100 million to Peru for counternarcotics

PUERTO RICO
It’ll be talk like a pirate day: New John Malkovich series to be filmed in Puerto Rico, adding millions to local economy

VENEZUELA
The opposition will not be televised

A disabling enabling law

WORLD CUP
Jaime & Silvia recap the World Cup prelims (in Spanish):

Primero Estados Unidos nos salva y ahora el América nos quiere llevar al Mundial. Estamos perdiendo la dignidad, caray.

— León Krauze (@Leon_Krauze) October 18, 2013