Latin America U.S.-Mexico Efforts Targeting Drug Cartels Have Unraveled, Top DEA Official Tells NPR A diplomatic row has frozen U.S.-Mexican efforts to target drug cartels. American officials say illicit fentanyl from labs in Mexico is driving a surge in overdose deaths. Brian Mann
Arts & Life This Bar Missed Its Patrons. Its Idea To Reach Them Touched Others Around The World One bar in Mexico decided to start a website recreating some of those sounds at your favorite bar for those confined at home. It was an idea that took off around the world. Kat Lonsdorf
Health Some Mexicans Travel To U.S. For COVID Vaccines As Their Country's Rollout Stumbles Some Mexicans with family ties or dual citizenship in the U.S., or who can afford the airfare, head north of the border to get vaccinated faster than the months of waiting for one back home. Carrie Kahn
Health Biden Takes First Jab At Vaccine Diplomacy, Sharing Doses With Mexico, Canada The United States will loan millions of doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine — not yet approved for emergency U.S. use — to its closest neighbors. Tamara Keith
Environment What Happened To The Butterflies? Climate, Deforestation Threaten Monarch Migration The population of monarch butterflies that migrated south to Mexico to hibernate fell 26% in 2020 compared with the previous year, according to a new report. Jaclyn Diaz
Politics Biden Team Unveils New Asylum System To Replace Trump's 'Remain In Mexico' President Biden called his predecessor's "Remain in Mexico" program for asylum-seekers "inhumane." Next week, a new program begins, but details are still being worked out. Alana Wise
Latin America Mexico Will Not Charge Former Defense Chief With Drug Trafficking Retired Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos was arrested in October at Los Angeles International Airport by U.S. law enforcement, outraging Mexican officials who demanded and obtained his extradition. Mark Katkov
Health Mexico Surpasses 100,000 COVID-19 Deaths The milestone comes just two days after the country reported one million confirmed coronavirus infections. Mexico is only the fourth country to surpass 100,000 COVID-19 deaths. Scott Neuman
Politics Russia And China Among Countries Holding Off On Congratulating Biden Leaders in the Kremlin and Beijing, as well as in Mexico and Brazil, have conspicuously not congratulated the president-elect, instead waiting for legal challenges to be resolved. Scott Neuman
National U.S. Borders With Canada And Mexico Will Stay Closed Another Month "The situation in the United States continues to be of concern. So we're going to make sure we're keeping Canadians safe as best as we can," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. Laurel Wamsley
