Carrie Kahn

Thousands of migrants fleeing violence in Central America are again trekking across Mexico to seek sanctuary in the U.S. Observers say the summer surge could rival the wave of migrants who arrived in 2014. NPR explores what is behind the exodus.

Mexico's president says he wants to change the Mexican constitution to make same-sex marriage legal. He even decorated his Twitter account with the rainbow flag. Who knew he was such a big proponent of gay rights?

The expansion of the Panama Canal, a $5 billion project, opens next month and aims to triple the canal's capacity with bigger ships. A Chinese freighter will be the first one through the new locks.

Panama has improved transparency in its banking and legal sectors, and its economy is a bright spot in Latin America. But the Panama Papers have hurt the country's reputation.

It's been 18 months since the disappearance and presumed death of 43 students in southern Mexico. An independent investigative panel on Sunday issued a scathing indictment of the government.

Despite the recent U.S.-Cuba opening, Fidel's brother Raúl Castro, re-elected as party leader, referred to the U.S. as the "enemy."

Under a cloud of secrecy, the island's top leaders are gathering for a party meeting that may usher in the beginning of the post-Castro world.

Mexico City has its worst smog in more than a decade. The government has ordered cars off the street one day a week, but city planners say that isn't a long-term solution.

Panamanians are upset about their country's international reputation in light of the Panama Papers leak, which exposed the country as helping the world's rich and corrupt hide their money.

Mexico has reshuffled its top diplomats in the U.S. to counter what it says is rising anti-Mexican sentiment since Donald Trump detailed his plans to force Mexico to pay for a border wall.

Drug traffickers and a repressive state government make Veracruz one of the deadliest places for journalists in Mexico. Most now shun hard-hitting reporting, but still risk abduction and murder.

President Obama took in a baseball game during his trip to Havana this week, but soccer is encroaching on Cuba's national pastime, especially with young people.

Ordinary Cubans greeted President Obama's outreach to their nation warmly as he spoke to the Cuban people in a televised address Tuesday.

While the U.S. is allowing more Americans to travel and do business with Cuba, the communist island's private sector is just emerging. President Obama is hoping his visit will give it a boost.

Just before President Obama began his history-making visit to Cuba Sunday, police rounded up dissidents, fueling criticism that he has failed to win needed concessions from the Castro regime.

The visit marks the first time a sitting U.S. president has stood on Cuban soil since 1928. It comes just months after the two nations normalized relations.

GOP hopeful Donald Trump wants to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico. Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton wants to break down barriers. Mexicans tell us what they think about the campaigns.

In the run-up to his visit to Mexico, Pope Francis promised a clear moral message. He wasn't coming to gloss over the current ills of corruption and drug violence facing the country.

And he didn't disappoint.

Here are five memorable scenes in the pontiff's five-city tour, and some excerpts from ...

Pope Francis didn't shy away from criticizing his Mexican hosts. He called on the church hierarchy and the country's politicians to work harder for the good of the many and not just the privileged.

The city of Ecatepec, Mexico, got a makeover just in time for the Pope Francis' visit, which will undoubtedly show the schism between Francis' progressive church and Mexico's conservative hierarchy.