A Venezuelan army plane carrying 7.3 tons of humanitarian aid arrived in Havana on Tuesday, becoming the first foreign relief to arrive in Cuba after Hurricane Irma battered the island over the weekend. The Chinese-made Y-8 plane touched down at Jose Marti International Airport with a message of solidarity from the people and government of Venezuela, Havana's main political and economic ally in the region.

Through its Petrocaribe initiative, Venezuela has sold discounted oil to energy-deficient clients, practically giving it away in some cases. Lately, however, that generosity has diminished with Venezuela's economic misfortunes, hastened by tumbling global prices for oil -- the country's only viable source of export revenues. Even Brazil, with a fraction of Venezuela's reserves, now pumps 25 percent more oil.

Venezuelan delicacies like “arepas” and “tizana” are suddenly all the rage in the streets of Lima, considered the gastronomic capital of Latin America, thanks to the flood of Venezuelans moving to Peru in recent months to escape the deadly economic crisis into which their country has fallen. From students to engineers, from mechanics to reporters, Venezuelans are finding that selling their favorite foods in the streets is the first step toward settling in Peru [.]

In July 2014, Xi Jinping, the President of China, toured Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, and Cuba, all of which had leftist governments at the time. [...] Xi declared that Chinese-Argentine relations would reach “unprecedented new horizons.” [...] As of two years ago, it seemed that China and many countries in Latin America were moving unequivocally toward a future of closer cooperation and economic affinity.

Digital sites like La Pública in Bolivia, El Pitazo in Venezuela and global site Rising Voices are establishing relationships with low-income, rural and indigenous communities. The idea is to produce their own news agendas different from those of traditional media. The sites give voice to community problems and support the creation of media that come from the communities.