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Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, Who Helped End One-Party Rule in Mexico, Dies at 92

Mr. Cárdenas, the only son of a Mexican president, never won the office but became a leading figure in the country’s democratic transformation.

© Luis Barron/Eyepix, via Zuma, via Reuters

Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas in Mexico City in 2023.
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What to Know About Brazil’s Election, and What Comes Next

President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva’s victory ended a string of election wins by right-wing candidates in Latin America. His opponent, Flávio Bolsonaro, refused to accept defeat and has fled Brazil.

© Amanda Perobelli/Reuters

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil delivered his victory speech on Sunday after the election.
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What to Know About Brazil’s Election as Bolsonaro Faces Off With Lula

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the leftist incumbent, and Flávio Bolsonaro, the right-wing challenger, face off in a narrow race that could redefine the future of Latin America.

© Adriano Machado/Reuters

Campaign towels depicting Mr. Bolsonaro and Mr. Lula in Brasília this week.
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U.S. Pressures Mexico to Deliver a Security Win Ahead of Midterm Elections

The Trump administration wants a public victory soon, as well as a potential path to U.S. military forces in Mexico.

© Paul Ratje for The New York Times

American soldiers awaited a visit by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the White House border czar, Tom Homan, last year near the United States-Mexico border at Sunland Park, N.M.
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The Bukeleization of Latin America Has Arrived

Nayib Bukele’s notoriously harsh and wildly popular security crackdown in El Salvador is spawning imitators and remaking the region.

© Fred Ramos for The New York Times

President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador has overseen an extraordinary security crackdown that has led to plummeting crime rates.
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The Bukeleization of Latin America Has Arrived

Nayib Bukele’s notoriously harsh and wildly popular security crackdown in El Salvador is spawning imitators and remaking the region.

© Fred Ramos for The New York Times

President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador has overseen an extraordinary security crackdown that has led to plummeting crime rates.
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U.S. Is Sending Hundreds of Troops to Latin America

The Pentagon is expanding its fight against drug traffickers, even as the plans recall a long and bloody history of U.S. intervention in the region.

© Martin Bernetti/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

U.S. soldiers and Panamanian police officers took part in a jungle training exercise at Fort Sherman in Colón province, Panama, earlier this year.
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In a Dead Hero’s Ashes, El Salvador’s Ruler Finds a New Spark

Sword in hand, Nayib Bukele is revamping Latin America’s rich tradition of political exhumations. A new crypt projects his power across Central America.

© Fred Ramos for The New York Times

A Salvadoran honor guard inside the new mausoleum of Francisco Morazán in San Salvador, the capital.
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Argentina says it uncovered Russian spy network linked to late Prigozhin's group

Argentina says it uncovered Russian spy network linked to late Prigozhin's group

Argentina has uncovered a Russian intelligence operation working to spread pro-Kremlin disinformation and influence public opinion, Argentine presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni announced on June 18, citing the country's intelligence, according to AFP and Infobae.

The La Compania network, which is allegedly linked to the Russian government and the Kremlin's Project Lakhta, was led by Russian nationals Lev Konstantinovich Andriashvili and his wife Irina Yakovenko, who are both residents of Argentina, according to authorities.

The U.S. Treasury Department has previously accused the Project Lakhta, reportedly formerly overseen by late Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, of election interference in the United States and Europe.

Prigozhin led the Russian Wagner mercenary group that was deployed in some of the deadliest battles in Ukraine, like the siege of Bakhmut. The oligarch was killed in a plane crash under suspicious circumstances in August 2023, around two months after leading a brief armed rebellion against the Kremlin.

Andriashvili and Yakovenko are accused of receiving financial support to recruit local collaborators and run influence operations aimed at advancing Moscow's geopolitical interests.

Their objective was to "form a group loyal to Russian interests" to develop disinformation campaigns targeting the Argentine state, Adorni said at a press briefing.

The spokesperson added that the alleged operation included producing social media content, influencing NGOs and civil society groups, organizing focus groups with Argentine citizens, and gathering political intelligence.

"Argentina will not be subjected to the influence of any foreign power," Adorni said, noting that while some findings have been declassified, much of the investigation remains a state secret.

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, there has been a significant uptick in Russian migration to Argentina, some of which officials fear could be linked to covert intelligence operations.

Authorities reportedly said these espionage activities are often facilitated by a 2009 bilateral agreement between Argentina and Russia allowing visa-free travel, a deal that remains in effect despite growing security concerns.

In response to the threat, Adorni announced the creation of a new Federal Investigations Department (DFI) within Argentina's Federal Police, modeled in part on the U.S. FBI. The agency will focus on countering organized crime, terrorism, and foreign espionage, with investigators trained in advanced techniques and bolstered by experts in law, psychology, and computer science.

’100 days of Russian manipulations’ — Ukraine blasts Moscow over disregarding US ceasefire effort
A hundred days since the U.S. and Ukraine agreed on a ceasefire, “Russia continues to choose war,” Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on June 19, urging international pressure to push Moscow toward peace.
Argentina says it uncovered Russian spy network linked to late Prigozhin's groupThe Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek
Argentina says it uncovered Russian spy network linked to late Prigozhin's group
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