Mexico's Security Ministry revealed that the country's two largest criminal organisations — the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Los Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel — have formed an operational alliance to coordinate fentanyl shipments and divide territory, in what experts call the most significant power realignment in a decade.
Brazil's Superior Labour Court found Volkswagen do Brasil guilty of subjecting hundreds of workers to slave-like conditions at its Cristalino cattle ranch in Pará state during the 1970s and 1980s, ordering the company to pay 165 million reais (about $30 million) in damages.
Forty years on from Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' goal against England in Mexico City on 22 June 1986, the BBC revisits one of football's most debated moments through eyewitnesses on the pitch and historians of the sport.
The reach of armed groups in Colombia has expanded in recent months and the incoming administration's approach to those groups will shape the next security agenda. The president-elect, backed by Donald Trump, ran on a hard-line cartel war while his leftist rival had advocated talks; BBC reporting highlights the violence in Cauca and Norte de Santander.
Ramiro Valdes, one of Cuba's last living revolutionary leaders, died aged 94. A close ally of the Castro brothers, he helped found Cuba's intelligence apparatus and held senior posts for six decades. Havana declared official mourning following the announcement.
Lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella, who has never held public office, won Colombia's presidential runoff with 49.65 percent of the vote, narrowly defeating left-wing Senator Ivan Cepeda who took 48.70 percent. Espriella ran on a hardline pledge to wage war on drug cartels and guerrilla groups. Cepeda said he is awaiting official results.
Heading into Sunday's presidential vote in Colombia, the latest polls show right-wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella in the lead. El País reports that leftist Iván Cepeda is pinning his hopes on a late-stage surge, with both campaigns built around turnout drives.
Colombia's benchmark COLCAP index closed 4.02 percent higher, one of the region's strongest single-session moves. Bank and energy stocks led the gains. Higher oil prices and investor optimism around the election calendar drove the rally.
The Bolivian government has reached a settlement with the powerful COB labour federation, ending a 50-day blockade campaign that paralysed fuel and food supplies across the country. The deal includes a minimum-wage increase, food subsidies and a commitment to renegotiate fuel-distribution contracts; roadblocks around La Paz are expected to lift over the weekend.
Bolivia's president declared a nationwide state of emergency after more than 50 days of road blockades that have crippled fuel and food supply, the BBC reported. The government said it had reached a preliminary deal with the COB labour federation. Bolivia is among the most fragile economies in Latin America and the crisis has tested its credit markets.