Construction workers speculate what Cuba’s President Raul Castro will announce in an upcoming live, nationally broadcast speech in Havana, Cuba, Dec. 17, 2014 (AP photo by Ramon Espinosa).

The announcement that the U.S. will normalize relations with Cuba came as a surprise, but Cuba’s opening has been years in the making. This report includes WPR’s coverage of the island nation going back to 2007, tracing the post-Fidel transition and Raul Castro’s slow but steady reforms. From Fidel to Raul After Fidel, Cuba Poised to Capitalize on Economic, Energy OpportunitiesBy Carmen GentileFeb. 22, 2008 Cuba: A Cult of Personality Without the PersonalityBy Jonas ClarkMarch 6, 2008 Cuba Poised Between Past and Future: Part IBy Marcelo BallvéFeb. 20, 2009 Cuba Poised Between Past and Future: Part IIBy Marcelo BallvéFeb. 27, […]

Cambodian riot police officers stand guard in front of Australian Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sept. 26, 2014 (AP photo by Heng Sinith).

In September, the Australian government agreed on a deal to send refugees currently housed on the Pacific Island nation of Nauru to Cambodia for permanent resettlement. The agreement is a new twist in the Australian government’s efforts to deter asylum seekers arriving by boat on its northern shores. The Pacific island nation of Nauru currently hosts some 1,233 asylum seekers transferred there by Australia under a separate, earlier agreement, and they are still awaiting determination of their refugee claims. The Cambodian agreement is important for Australia because it provides a long-term solution for refugees on Nauru that does not jeopardize […]

Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff cries during a speech at the launching ceremony of the National Truth Commission Report in Brasilia, Dec. 10, 2014 (AP photo by Eraldo Peres).

In a Buenos Aires courtroom, three judges listen to Chileans, Uruguayans and Paraguayans testify about how their friends and family were kidnapped and disappeared as part of an international military conspiracy. The case, known as Operation Condor, accuses 25 Argentine military officers, along with one Uruguayan extradited from Brazil, of forced disappearances, kidnappings, torture and murder spanning half a dozen countries during the 1970s and early 1980s. Over 200 witnesses will testify, and the trial is entering its second year. It’s just one of dozens of trials taking place in national courts in Chile and Argentina, which are finally confronting […]