Seattle Post-Intelligencer: AP - Latin America/Caribbean

Latin America

Mexico: Alleged drug hit men using 'Jackass' logo
TIJUANA, Mexico -- Soldiers in Tijuana have detained three suspected drug assassins with uniforms featuring a skull above crossed crutches, apparently patterned after the logo of the "Jackass" television show and movies. (Updated 6:23 p.m. PT)

Venezuela's Chavez says Castro still working
CARACAS, Venezuela -- Fidel Castro is working, writing and staying on top of world affairs, his friend Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Friday amid speculation about the former Cuban leader's health. (Updated 6:09 p.m. PT)

Argentina: American climber dead on Aconcagua
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- A U.S. man died Friday while scaling Argentina's Aconcagua mountain, becoming the fifth climber to perish this month on the highest peak in the Americas, officials said. (Updated 5:32 p.m. PT)

Nicaraguan court absolves ex-president
MANAGUA, Nicaragua -- The Supreme Court overturned former President Arnoldo Aleman's conviction and 20-year prison sentence for money laundering on Friday, ending a long-running legal saga that has been colored by Nicaragua's political landscape. (Updated 5:19 p.m. PT)

Cuba says it respects human rights
HAVANA -- Cuba defended its human rights record Friday in a report to the United Nations, arguing that its communist government answers to the people and its controls on unions, social groups and the media work to strengthen individual freedoms. (Updated 4:52 p.m. PT)

Brazil's Silva expects Chavez-Obama talks
CARACAS, Venezuela -- Brazil's president said Friday he expects President-elect Barack Obama will meet with the leaders of Venezuela and Bolivia, expressing hope the new U.S. administration will mend fences with the South American leftists who often clashed with the Bush administration. (Updated 4:24 p.m. PT)

Venezuela to vote on term limits Feb. 15
CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela has set Feb. 15 as the date for a referendum that could allow President Hugo Chavez to run for re-election indefinitely, the nation's top electoral official said Friday. (Updated 3:51 p.m. PT)

Obama: The face of Brazil's carnival
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Barack Obama is the new face of America, and his likeness will be represented in force during this year's bawdy Carnival bacchanalia. (Updated 2:19 p.m. PT)

Stone: Hugo Chavez has 'intoxicating' energy
CARACAS, Venezuela -- U.S. filmmaker Oliver Stone said he sees Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as an energetic, principled champion of change in Latin American and hopes to capture the spirit of his drive to roll back U.S. influence in an upcoming documentary. (Updated 11:53 a.m. PT)

Haiti's storm emergency fades, but hunger remains
GONAIVES, Haiti -- More than 150,000 people are surviving on donated food in the flood-battered city of Gonaives and the United Nations says more aid is urgently needed to stave off famine in parts of Haiti four months after ravaging storms. (Updated 11:44 a.m. PT)