After a reprieve of months, confirmed cases of COVID-19 are surging in the southern tip of South America.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador wants to leave questions of human rights and democracy to the United Nations, as part of his continuing criticisms of the Organization of American States.

FILE - In this March 1, 2005 Uruguay's President Tabare Vazquez opens his arms to supporters from the balcony of the Government Palace in Montevideo, Uruguay. The former president died in Montevideo early Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020. (AP Photo/Marcelo Hernandez, File)SANTIAGO – Uruguay's first socialist president, Tabaré Vázquez, who rose from poverty to win two terms as leader, died Sunday of cancer, a disease the physician dedicated much of his life to fighting. But in the second Vázquez administration, the economy softened, crime rose and Vice President Raúl Sendic was forced to resign over corruption allegations. During that first term, as president he championed some of the world’s strictest tobacco regulations.