Central America

China is emerging as a central sticking point in trade talks between the United States and Mexico. As Washington presses Mexico over its economic ties with Beijing, negotiations over tariffs and the future of their trade relationship are increasingly shaped by US concerns about Chinese goods and investment entering North America through Mexico.

A new poll from KFF and the Associated Press finds economic frustration is straining President Trump's support among rural voters, a constituency that has been central to his political coalition. Reports on the findings are circulating across US news outlets, raising questions about whether pocketbook discontent could erode his standing in rural America.

A Republican lawmaker is calling for the United States to slow China's economic rise while ramping up America's own economy. The comment, made in remarks carried by Fox Business, frames economic policy in explicitly competitive terms with Beijing. It reflects a continued hardline consensus in the GOP on trade, industrial policy and competition with China.

Revolut has received approval from Argentina's central bank to proceed with its acquisition of Banco Cetelem, the Argentine banking unit. The clearance removes a key regulatory hurdle for the fintech company's expansion into Argentina's retail banking market. The move marks a significant step in Revolut's push into Latin America, allowing it to operate through an established local bank rather than building its licence from scratch.

The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre has published the Transition Minerals Tracker 2026 for South America, compiling data on companies extracting minerals used in the energy transition, such as lithium and copper. The tracker monitors human rights allegations against mining firms across the region, a key supplier of raw materials for batteries and renewable technology.

Taiwan's foreign minister has departed for diplomatic visits to Belize and Guatemala, two of the island's remaining diplomatic allies in Central America, accompanied by a business delegation. The trip combines diplomatic engagement with trade promotion, and coverage from Taiwanese outlets highlights the government's effort to deepen ties with its few remaining partners.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the US Health and Human Services Secretary, set out plans for broad collection of Americans' health data during an event tied to the Make America Healthy Again movement. He described a wide-ranging data-gathering agenda as central to the administration's health agenda, drawing attention and criticism over privacy implications.

Scientists have discovered cut marks made by stone tools on the bones of extinct elephant relatives at Tagua-Tagua lake in central Chile. The find indicates that early inhabitants of the region hunted or processed these large animals thousands of years ago, offering new evidence about when and how humans first settled South America and their interaction with now-extinct megafauna.

A Newsweek opinion piece examines what it calls the home truth of America's child mental health crisis, arguing that the roots of rising anxiety, depression and distress among children lie close to home rather than in abstract social forces. The article invites readers to consider family environments, parenting pressures and everyday domestic conditions as central factors in the worsening state of young people's mental health in the United States.