John Otis

Colombian officials say 12,000 Venezuelans have taken buses back to their home country since Colombia imposed restrictions to stop the coronavirus outbreak. Many other Venezuelans are fleeing on foot.

Hospitals and doctors are overwhelmed. So are funeral homes and cemeteries. "You feel powerless," said one doctor tending to 200 patients.

Currulao combines drums and marimbas and is popular along the country's Pacific coast where most of the population is Afro-Colombian. One verse goes: "We no longer have peace in our paradise."

The epicenter of the country's outbreak is the port city of Guayaquil, where cadavers are lying in the streets and in homes.

Colombia is home to about 1.7 million who fled neighboring Venezuela in recent years. Now that it has shut down to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the migrants say they are extra vulnerable.

El Salvador's troops deployed in congress. Bolivia's army advised the president to step down. Brazil's leader surrounds himself with top brass. The armed forces have made a comeback across the region.

For decades, many Latin American countries had military dictators. In recent years, democratically elected civilians took control. Now, those civilian governments are bringing back the army.

The public radio stations "can be fundamental in constructing peace," says Juan Pablo Madrid, an analyst at Bogotá's Foundation for Press Freedom. But some employees are facing threats from gangs.

FARC guerrillas agreed to disarm in a 2016 peace deal, and Colombia's government promised to protect them. But in the years since, nearly 200 former FARC rebels have been attacked and killed.

Nature has taken over this onetime penal colony turned national park, surrounded by waters popular with divers for their sharks, rays and whales. A resort manager calls it a "mini-Galápagos."

There's not a ton of room to grow grapes in Bolivia; many of its vineyards are located in mile-high mountain valleys and foothills. The country's wine output may be small, but it's winning big awards.

He's already the country's longest-serving leader — almost 14 years in office. His party controls all government branches and much of the national media. Now he's poised to win a new term on Oct. 20.