During a Caribbean-Chinese trade summit held in Port-of-Spain this month, Beijing offered the region billions in aid. The move gives China leverage to win diplomatic recognition from a handful of Caribbean countries still recognizing Taiwan as the seat of Chinese power.

With Mexico's press freedoms under threat by transnational crime syndicates, Mexicans increasingly turn to social media—particularly Twitter—to share crime updates. But state governments are presenting new legal challenges to sharing information via social media.