Central America & the Caribbean

"As Central American coffee growers are staggered by a spreading fungal disease, the price and availability of good coffee hangs in the balance."

"The government of Nicaragua is fast-tracking a bill that would authorize a company from China to build a new canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The dream of a Nicaraguan canal dates back more than a century."

"LIMÓN, Costa Rica -- Costa Rican environmentalist Jairo Mora Sandoval was murdered on May 30, while attempting to protect leatherback turtle nests on Moín Beach, on Costa Rica’s northern Caribbean coast. He was 26."

"SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A U.S. agency has issued a long-awaited report saying it found no proof that decades of military practice bombing on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques sickened residents who blame it for high rates of cancer, asthma and other illnesses."

"For a clue to the possible impact of climate change on modern society, a study suggests a look back at the end of classic Maya civilization, which disintegrated into famine, war and collapse as a long-term wet weather pattern shifted to drought."

"As the Caribbean grapples with the pollution of its waters, the ratification of a protocol designed to help arrest the problem appears to be gathering steam."

"KINGSTON, Jamaica -- An extensive fuel spill has fouled a stretch of shoreline and oiled pink flamingos and other wildlife in a nature preserve in Curacao, conservationists and residents of the tiny Dutch Caribbean island said Monday."

"Spain's Repsol oil company announced Tuesday it was 'almost certain' to withdraw from exploration in Cuba, after spending an estimated $150 million on a dry well and seeing far more profitable prospects in other countries such as Brazil and Angola."

"KEY WEST -- In Cuba’s North Basin, the Spanish company Repsol has begun risky exploration for oil and natural gas on a semi-submersible rig, now just 77 nautical miles from Key West and even closer to the ecologically sensitive Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. In a month or so, Repsol expects its drilling through 5,600 feet of seawater and about 14,000 feet of layered rock will reach the reservoir. That’s frightening for many who live and work along the island chain."