Central America & Caribbean Archives

AQ Podcast | Cuba on the Brink

CNN’s Havana bureau chief on the U.S. oil blockade, the crisis gripping Cuba, and what might come next for the island.

Costa Rica’s Democracy Faces a New Test, But It Will Endure

The election of Laura Fernández extends Costa Rica’s populist experiment. Its democracy will weather it, for now, two experts write.

Honduras' President Nasry Asfura and his wife Lissette del Cid Fernández on Jan. 27, inauguration day, in Tegucigalpa

Honduras Begins Its Rightward Shift

President Nasry Asfura has legislative support for his austerity agenda, but the country’s deep divides and endemic corruption will be hard to overcome.

President-elect Laura Fernández celebrates her win on Feb 1 in San José, Costa Rica.

REACTION: Laura Fernández Wins Big in Costa Rica

The right-wing, tough-on-crime president-elect will have a legislative majority and promises “deep and irreversible” change.

A view from Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in Dec. 2025 as air transport in the capital was paralyzed due to the deteriorating security situation.

Haiti’s Political Crisis Deepens Amid a Slide Into Criminal Governance

Confrontation on the Transitional Presidential Council is not only about leadership, but about whether a future transition can reduce the influence of armed groups.

Guatemalan Army soldiers patrol a street of the Nueva Jerusalen neighborhood during the state of emergency declared by the government in Guatemala City on January 20, 2026. Guatemalan soldiers began patrolling gang-controlled neighborhoods in the capital on January 20, after attacks that left ten police officers dead and prompted the government to declare a state of siege, according to official sources and an AFP journalist. (Photo by JOHAN ORDONEZ / AFP via Getty Images)

Guatemala’s State of Emergency Will Test Its Democracy

President Arévalo is not channeling Bukele, but a compromised justice system makes this a dangerous moment that threatens lasting consequences.

Panama: A 2026 Snapshot

AQ tracks key indicators and political and economic trends to watch in 2026.

Guatemala: A 2026 Snapshot

AQ tracks key indicators and political and economic trends to watch in 2026.

Dominican Republic: A 2026 Snapshot

AQ tracks key indicators and political and economic trends to watch in 2026.

Exploring Bad Bunny’s Oeuvre

AQ’s music columnist examines the artist’s body of work ahead of his Super Bowl performance.

Costa Rica: Meet the Candidates 2026

Public security tops voters’ concerns ahead of the February 1 election.

Voters cast ballots in Tegucigalpa on November 30.

REACTION: Next Steps in Honduras’s Close Election

With final results pending, the leftist ruling party appears defeated, and two conservative candidates seem headed for a photo finish.

Supporters of the opposition National Party march in Tegucigalpa in July.

Honduras’s Election Set to Test Its Democracy

Amid growing polarization, all sides fear the November 30 vote will be contentious, an expert writes.

Costa Rica's Police from the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) conduct an operation in a house to arrest four suspects in the assasination of the former Nicaraguan military Roberto Samcam, in San Jose, on September 12, 2025. Costa Rican police have arrested four suspects in the assassination on its soil of a fierce critic of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega in June, an official said Friday. Retired Nicaraguan army major Roberto Samcam, 66, was gunned down at his apartment building in San Jose on June 19. (Photo by Ezequiel BECERRA / AFP) (Photo by EZEQUIEL BECERRA/AFP via Getty Images)

Costa Rica’s ‘Safe Haven’ Faces a Reckoning

The country is experiencing an unprecedented security crisis ahead of the February 2026 election.

The Other Underground Railroad

A new rap musical tells the story of the enslaved people shepherded to salvation in Mexico.