One family fled Afghanistan. U.S. deportations separated them. What it means to seek refuge in the U.S. has been transformed, casting aside an ethos of helping the persecuted nearly as old as the country itself.

“We had reached the end of our journey … and our hopes were completely shattered.” This wonderful story by the one & only @meganjanetsky.bsky.social for @apnews.com 💯 apnews.com/projects/afg...

Illegal gold mining is fueling a 'mercury boom' in Mexico, poisoning people and the environment The soaring price of gold is fueling a "mercury boom" in central Mexico. A surge in the demand for the toxic metal, which is key in illegal gold mining, is benefiting Mexican miners but also exposing ...

Outstanding reporting here by @meganjanetsky.bsky.social and Teresa de Miguel on the mercury mines in central Mexico for @apnews.com ... 📸 by Fernando Llano apnews.com/article/mexi...

Will Mexico's judicial elections hurt democracy or make the courts accountable? Mexicans will vote in the country’s first judicial elections Sunday. The fiercely debated question is whether electing judges will deepen democratic decay or purge courts of rampant corruption and imp...

Candidates are officially nonpartisan. But as @meganjanetsky.bsky.social‬ reports for AP, “A number of former Morena government officials and allies…have posted lists on social media of which ones to elect.” apnews.com/article/mexi...

A Mexican musician uses a contentious genre to sing of women imprisoned for killing their abusers A Mexican music icon is using a typically male genre to sing of women imprisoned for killing their abusers while defending themselves and to highlight the more complicated aspects of gender-based viol...

Mexican musician Vivir Quintana spent 10 years visiting women's prisons in Mexico, Argentina & Chile for her new album, where she sings about women incarcerated for defending themselves & killing their abusers. By the greats Fernanda Pesce & @meganjanetsky.bsky.social apnews.com/article/mexi...

A jungle route once carried hundreds of thousands of migrants. Now the local economy has crashed The Trump administration's crackdown on migration has ended the massive flow of people heading north through a treacherous jungle on the Colombia-Panama border called the Darien Gap.

“Before, we lived off of the migration,” 63-year-old Olea said. “But now that’s all gone.”

This... by @meganjanetsky.bsky.social & Matías Delacroix apnews.com/article/migr...

AP PHOTOS: Once a migratory highway, the Darien Gap has been left empty under Trump crackdown A little more than a year ago, the small Panamanian river port of Lajas Blancas was filled with a crush of people trying to make their way to the United States.

Hi James. We were blocked by the government from going to Bajo Chiquito, and here is the entirely separate story we did on Lajas Blancas 🤷‍♀️ apnews.com/article/dari...

Powerful work by @apnews.com @meganjanetsky.bsky.social examined hundreds of videos by TikTok smugglers and interviewed two.

Peter Hamlin created stunning illustrations to capture the flavor of TikToks. Recreating imagery bypasses issues of consent and ethical questions around linking to baddies.

TikTok becomes a tool of choice in cat-and-mouse game between migrant smugglers and authorities Videos posted by smugglers offer a rare look inside a long elusive industry and the narratives used by trafficking networks to fuel migration north.

"At a time when legal pathways to the U.S. have been slashed and criminal groups are raking in money from migrant smuggling, social media apps like TikTok have become an essential tool for smugglers and migrants alike." By the great @meganjanetsky.bsky.social apnews.com/article/tikt...

With doors closed to the US, asylum-seekers turn to their Plan B: A new life in Mexico After President Donald Trump effectively slammed the door on asylum-seekers crossing the U.S. southern border when he took office in January, many are recalibrating their plans.

In a legally dubious move, the Trump administration has shut down all US asylum access. As a result, "migrants trying to apply for asylum in #Mexico in January more than tripled compared to the monthly average from the previous year," @meganjanetsky.bsky.social reports.

Asylum-seekers pushed to new extremes in Mexico after Trump's border crackdown begins Migrants in Mexico who were hoping to come to the U.S. are adjusting to a new and uncertain reality after President Donald Trump began cracking down on border security.

Amid Trump's crackdown, we're following asylum seekers in Mexico who hoped to reach the US legally

-Many continue north through more dangerous means
-Others seek asylum in Mexico
-Some gave up, & may return to Venezuela via trek through the Darien Gap

For @apnews.com:
apnews.com/article/immi...

5 dead, more than 2,000 structures burned as new fire hits Hollywood Hills More than 2,000 structures have burned and at least five people are dead in wildfires burning across L.A. County. Red flag warnings remained in effect for Los Angeles County and much of Ventura County...

Shoutout to the Los Angeles Times reporters who are doing essential journalism under very difficult circumstances.

They’ve dropped their paywall, but their ongoing coverage is a good reminder of why local newsrooms need support — and what we lose when those outlets are hollowed out.

Mexico's President Sheinbaum offers sarcastic response to Trump's 'Gulf of America' comment Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has responded sarcastically to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s proposal to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

Full @apnews.com story here:

Mexico’s President Sheinbaum offers sarcastic response to Trump’s ‘Gulf of America’ comment

apnews.com/article/mexi...

Mexico's President Sheinbaum offers sarcastic response to Trump's 'Gulf of America' comment Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has responded sarcastically to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s proposal to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

Full @apnews.com story here:

Mexico’s President Sheinbaum offers sarcastic response to Trump’s ‘Gulf of America’ comment

apnews.com/article/mexi...

The exchange has started to answer a larger question lingering over the bilateral relationship between the two regional powers: How would newly elected Sheinbaum handle Trump.

For @apnews.com apnews.com/article/mexi...

Claroooooooo, dame una hora y allí está

Mexican Pres. Claudia Sheinbaum fires back at Trump's comments about the Gulf of Mexico this morning, dryly proposing that North America be renamed "América Mexicana", or "Mexican America" as it was once called that in 1607 on world maps.

"That would be pretty, no?" she adds sarcastically.

Mexico offers protection to famed corridos singer after drug cartel death threats Authorities in Mexico are offering famed corridos singer Natanael Cano and other artists state protection after a drug cartel in northern Mexico publicly threatened them, prosecutors say.

Authorities in Mexico are offering state protection to famed “corridos” singer Natanael Cano & other artists after drug cartel in northern Mexico publicly threatened them.

Cano is just the latest artist singing about narcos to receive threats. For @apnews.com: apnews.com/article/nata...

Departing U.S. ambassador to Mexico sees "major changes" under Trump in diplomatic relationship The outgoing U.S. ambassador to Mexico says he anticipates “major changes” in the diplomatic relationship between the U.S. and Mexico during the incoming Trump administration.

The outgoing U.S. ambassador to Mexico said Monday he anticipated “major changes” in the diplomatic relationship between the U.S. and Mexico during the incoming Trump administration.

First story of 2025 for @apnews.com: apnews.com/article/mexi...

6 bullets in the chest, 1 in the head snuffed the life out of environmentalist Juan López

For @apnews.com we investigate a murder in Honduras–among the most dangerous places to defend the environment–a tangle of corruption, & a call for justice rippling across the world.

apnews.com/article/hond...

As Trump threatens mass deportations, Central America braces for an influx of vulnerable migrants U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is set to take office in January with a promise of carrying out mass deportations.

“The brink of a new humanitarian crisis."

Honduras, Guatemala & El Salvador are likely to be the first & most drastically affected by Trump's promise of mass deportations.

This is the cycle of violence and economic precarity awaiting deportees back home. For @apnews.com apnews.com/article/hond...

As Trump threatens mass deportations, Central America braces for an influx of vulnerable migrants U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is set to take office in January with a promise of carrying out mass deportations.

“The brink of a new humanitarian crisis."

Honduras, Guatemala & El Salvador are likely to be the first & most drastically affected by Trump's promise of mass deportations.

This is the cycle of violence and economic precarity awaiting deportees back home. For @apnews.com apnews.com/article/hond...

The Mexican obsession with vochos is strong! La San Rafa has tons too 🤓

A Mexico City neighborhood keeps the iconic Volkswagen Beetle alive The Volkswagen Beetle may have been born in Germany, but the “Bug” is king in a neighborhood on the fringes of Mexico City.

ah yes! the great @meganjanetsky.bsky.social wrote about this for the AP! apnews.com/article/volk...

Stripped of citizenship, these Nicaraguans live in limbo scattered across the world Hundreds of Nicaraguan religious leaders, students, activists, dissidents and journalists are ‘stateless.’

“Statelessness is torture. You just legally cease to exist."

Nicaragua stripped 450+ former prisoners & critics of citizenship over the past 2 years. They're now scattered across the world, stuck in a precarious limbo. For @asssociatedpress.bsky.social

apnews.com/article/nica...

He bought a bunch of new outfits and hired consultants and everything.

JAJAJAJAJA

🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️

Nicaragua's Ortega proposes reform to make him and his wife 'copresidents' Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega is proposing a constitutional reform that would officially make him and his wife, current Vice President Rosario Murillo, “copresidents” of the Central American nat...

Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega on Wednesday proposed a constitutional reform that would officially make him and his wife, current Vice President Rosario Murillo, “copresidents” of the Central American nation.

For @asssociatedpress.bsky.social apnews.com/article/nica...