Daily Headlines: March 23, 2012 (Updated)

* Mexico: “We must do everything possible to fight this evil which destroys our young,” said Pope Benedict XVI in reference to drug gangs that have hurt Mexico. (Update: After arriving in Leon, Mexico on Friday afternoon, the Pope said that he was praying for all the victims of the country's violence "particularly those who suffer because of old and new rivalries.")

* Ecuador: Over 1000 protesters opposed to large-scale mining projects arrived in Quito yesterday where government supporters also held their own rally.

* Argentina: Argentine officials urged the New York and London stock markets to warn investors that five oil exploration firms are “working illegally” off the shores of the Falklands.

* Guatemala: The Guatemalan defense minister called on the renewal of U.S. military aid that had been cut off in 1990 due military abuses in the Central American country’s civil war.

Video Source – YouTube via Associated Press (“Pope Benedict departed Italy on Friday. He is scheduled to visit Mexico and Cuba.”)

Online Sources (including Update) - AFP, The Latin Americanist, euronews, InSight Crime, Sydney Morning Herald