Piedras Negras, Mexico
Mass prison break: At least 129 convicts tunneled their way out of a Mexican prison this week and escaped into the countryside just two miles from the U.S. border. Officials in Coahuila state, where the prison is located, said they were investigating whether the prisoners had help from corrupt prison officials or guards. The tunnel “was not made today. It had been there for months,” said Coahuila Attorney General Homero Ramos Gloria. “It doesn’t make sense.” Coahuila is a battleground in the continuing war between the Los Zetas and Sinaloa drug cartels.
Managua, Nicaragua
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U.S. man released: An American wrongfully imprisoned in Nicaragua for nearly two years was released last week after an appeals court threw out all the charges against him. Nicaraguan authorities claimed that Jason Puracal, who worked in real estate, was laundering money for a drug cartel, although they produced no compelling evidence at his trial and a cartel member said he had never heard of him. Puracal lost nearly 30 pounds in prison, where he was often denied food and water. At one point, he suffered burns while trying to use an electric wire to boil the water in his toilet to render it drinkable. “I was with rapists, murderers, and actual drug dealers,” Puracal said. “It’s a very violent place.”
Buenos Aires
President for life? Chanting “Liar, liar,” and banging on pots, thousands of Argentines marched through the capital last week to demonstrate against President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Re-elected last year, Fernández has seen her popularity dive as inflation has soared and she has barred people from buying foreign currency. The demonstration this week came after a pro-government group launched an initiative to amend the constitution to allow Fernández to run for a third term. Fernández hasn’t explicitly said she favors the amendment—but earlier this month, she told her cabinet ministers to ignore judges’ rulings, saying, “You should only fear God and me.”
São Paulo
Vote for Batman: As election day draws near, Brazilian voters are considering candidates with names like James Bond and Wolverine. Brazilian law allows politicians to run for office under assumed names, and many choose pop-culture references. Among the thousands of candidates in municipal races across the country are five Batmans and 16 Obamas, as well as a Ladi Gaga and an Elvis Didn’t Die. “Using nicknames is an easy way to draw attention,” political consultant Justino Pereira told The New York Times, “but doesn’t necessarily make a lasting effect.” Christ of Jerusalem, for example, lost in 2008.
