Copyright © 2020, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementAs a candidate for president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador Mexico’s armed forces and the “mafia of power” that he said controlled them. He accused soldiers of human rights abuses in the country’s bloody drug war and publicly clashed with Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, then secretary of defense.But after taking office, López Obrador changed his tune, embracing the same military leaders he had once bashed.After Cienfuegos at Los Angeles International Airport last month and charged with drug trafficking, the president rushed to his...…Copyright © 2020, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementAs a candidate for president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador Mexico’s armed forces and the “mafia of power” that he said controlled them. He accused soldiers of human rights abuses in the country’s bloody drug war and publicly clashed with Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, then secretary of defense.But after taking office, López Obrador changed his tune, embracing the same military leaders he had once bashed.After Cienfuegos at Los Angeles International Airport last month and charged with drug trafficking, the president rushed to his...WW…

Copyright © 2020, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementThe U.S. government moved Tuesday to drop drug trafficking and money-laundering charges against a former Mexican defense secretary, a stunning turnaround in a case that had deeply angered Mexican authorities.The surprise move came a month after retired general Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda was arrested Oct. 15 at Los Angeles International Airport.In a joint statement, Atty. Gen. William Barr and his Mexican counterpart, Alejandro Gertz Manero, said that the U.S. Justice Department would ask a judge to dismiss the case and that Cienfuegos...…Copyright © 2020, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementThe U.S. government moved Tuesday to drop drug trafficking and money-laundering charges against a former Mexican defense secretary, a stunning turnaround in a case that had deeply angered Mexican authorities.The surprise move came a month after retired general Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda was arrested Oct. 15 at Los Angeles International Airport.In a joint statement, Atty. Gen. William Barr and his Mexican counterpart, Alejandro Gertz Manero, said that the U.S. Justice Department would ask a judge to dismiss the case and that Cienfuegos...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement When it came to Latin America, the Trump administration pursued a relatively narrow agenda, focusing on stemming illicit immigration and targeting leftist governments in Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.President Trump visited Latin America only once while in office — a 2018 jaunt to Argentina for a Group of 20 summit — and that trip was mostly about global economic topics, not regional concerns.To Latin American leaders, he was an unpredictable figure, tweeting threats one day and dispatching extemporaneous compliments...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement When it came to Latin America, the Trump administration pursued a relatively narrow agenda, focusing on stemming illicit immigration and targeting leftist governments in Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.President Trump visited Latin America only once while in office — a 2018 jaunt to Argentina for a Group of 20 summit — and that trip was mostly about global economic topics, not regional concerns.To Latin American leaders, he was an unpredictable figure, tweeting threats one day and dispatching extemporaneous compliments...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement He is not on the ballot, but former looms large in Bolivia’s much-anticipated national elections Sunday. The socialist firebrand and longtime U.S. adversary remains in exile in neighboring Argentina after resigning from office under military pressure following a a year ago, when he sought a controversial fourth term in office.But his political party, which features Morales’ former economic minister as its presidential candidate, is leading in polls in the run-up to the new balloting in this landlocked Andean nation of 11...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement He is not on the ballot, but former looms large in Bolivia’s much-anticipated national elections Sunday. The socialist firebrand and longtime U.S. adversary remains in exile in neighboring Argentina after resigning from office under military pressure following a a year ago, when he sought a controversial fourth term in office.But his political party, which features Morales’ former economic minister as its presidential candidate, is leading in polls in the run-up to the new balloting in this landlocked Andean nation of 11...WW…