After reinventing Bolivia's government to reflect the country's multi-ethnic, Indian majority, President Evo Morales is championing gender parity at the highest levels of government. Women now account for half of Bolivia's Cabinet ministers — 10 out of 20 — as Morales embarks on his second term following his Jan ...

Powerful Mexican drug cartels are facing their first-ever "existential threat" thanks to a nationwide clampdown by government troops and police, the neighboring United States said Monday. Mexican President Felipe Calderon deployed tens of thousands of soldiers to take on drug gangs after he took office in late 2006, but the government crackdown has failed to stem a wave of drug-related ...

The United States is shifting its strategy on opium production in Afghanistan from eradication of crops to a broader focus involving interdiction and alternative agriculture, an official said Monday. The shift seeks "to move away from our focus on eradication" to law enforcement and efforts to "develop fully alternative livelihoods with a very strong emphasis on subsistence agriculture," said David ...

Silver miner and gold producer Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. said Thursday it produced 47 percent more silver in 2009 and gold production rose 56 percent as new mines in Bolivia and Mexico began operations. Coeur d' Alene produced 17.7 million ounces of silver ...