"President Biden (January 8) made his first visit to the border since taking office, arriving at a city (El Paso, Texas) swamped by migrants amid a historic surge in illegal immigration and anger from both parties about how he is handling it." - The New York Times, January 9, 2023 It was only about two years ago that Mexico's leader would not even recognize President Biden's election victory. But on January 9, Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador "called his American counterpart 'a visionary president,' saying 'there would be no other leader' who could unify the Western Hemisphere." - The New York Times, January 11, 2023 New York Mayor Eric Adams traveled to El Paso January 15 and "declared that 'there is no room in New York' for busloads of migrants being sent to America's most populous city." - Reuters, January 15, 2023 "Mexican security forces captured (January 5) drug cartel leader Ovidio Guzman, a son of jailed kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, triggering a wave of violence," Reuters reported January 5. "The violence took place largely in the city of Culiacan in the northern Sinaloa state, home to the powerful drug cartel of the same name." "The Brazilian coastal city of Santos, which sporting giant Pele turned into a byword for soccer brilliance during a glittering club career, started bidding goodbye to its hero (January 2) with a 24-hour wake." - Reuters, January 2, 2023. "President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took the reins of the Brazilian government (January 1) in an elaborate inauguration, complete with a motorcade, music festival and hundreds of thousands of supporters." - The New York Times, January 2, 2023 "Thousands of supporters of Brazil's ousted former president, Jair Bolsonaro, stormed Brazil's Congress, Supreme Court and presidential offices (January 8) to protest what they falsely believe was a stolen election, the violent culmination of years of conspiracy theories advanced by Bolsonaro and his right-wing allies." - The New York Times, January 9, 2023 "Argentina and China have formalized the expansion of a currency swap deal, allowing the South American county to increase its depleted foreign currency reserves." - Reuters, January 8, 2023