Jorge Valencia

Reporter

The World

Jorge Valencia is the lead Latin America correspondent for The World.

Jorge Valencia is the lead Latin America correspondent for The World.

Prior to joining the program in 2020, Jorge served as Mexico City-based correspondent for Arizona public radio station KJZZ-FM, covering politics, economics and migration in Mexico. Jorge previously covered state government and politics for North Carolina Public Radio. And before that, he began his career covering crime at the Roanoke Times in southwest Virginia.

Jorge, who grew up in downtown Bogotá, Colombia, and the suburbs of Washington, DC, graduated from the University of Maryland with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He is based in Mexico City.

a woman near a banner

Mexico's abortion laws have become more accessible

Mexico has slowly made reproductive health services more accessible over the last 20 years.

Mexico's abortion laws have become more accessible
Mexican singer-songwriter Silvana Estrada. 

Mexican crooner converts heartbreak into joy — and music

Mexican crooner converts heartbreak into joy — and music
A Haitian vendor

Thousands of Haitians trying to reach the US are in limbo in Tapachula in southern Mexico

Thousands of Haitians trying to reach the US are in limbo in Tapachula in southern Mexico
Honduran migrants Bianca Emerita Galvan, 22, left, and Dani Omar Suazo, 21, holding their son 1-year-old sone Daniel Emir, arrive at El Ceibo, Guatemala, Aug. 12, 2021, after being deported by air from the US to Mexico and then shipped into Guatemala by l

Mexico expels Central American migrants to rural Guatemala

Mexico expels Central American migrants to rural Guatemala
Demonstrators shout their solidarity with the Cuban people against the communist government, Thursday, July 15, 2021, in Hialeah, Florida. Hialeah has the greatest concentration of Cuban exiles in the US.

'Homeland and life': The chant to Cuba’s anti-government protests

'Homeland and life': The chant to Cuba’s anti-government protests
People march in support of presidential candidate Pedro Castillo weeks after the presidential runoff election, in Lima, Peru, June 26, 2021. With all the votes tallied from the June 6th presidential runoff, Castillo is ahead of his rival candidate Keiko F

Peru’s likely next president is popular with Indigenous voters. It’s made him a target for hate speech.

Peru’s closely contested presidential election exposes a long-standing but rarely acknowledged problem in the country — a legacy of marginalizing Indigenous people, who account for more than 26% of the population.

Peru’s likely next president is popular with Indigenous voters. It’s made him a target for hate speech.
A nurse shows an elderly man a syringe prepared with a dose of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, before he is inoculated at the Americas Cultural Center in Ecatepec, Mexico, April 3, 2021.

Thousands of medical workers left behind in Mexico’s vaccination program 

As governments the world over prioritize medical workers for vaccines, thousands in Mexico’s private health care sector say they’re being passed over.

Thousands of medical workers left behind in Mexico’s vaccination program 
Free Peru party presidential candidate Pedro Castillo, from left, daughter Alondra, son Arnold and wife Lilia Paredes, pray before eating breakfast, in their home in Chugur, Peru, April 16, 2021. Castillo, a rural teacher, who has proposed rewriting Peru'

Peru polarized by two social conservatives in presidential runoff

The two will go head-to-head in a second round of voting on June 6, with a majority of voters disappointed in their options.

Peru polarized by two social conservatives in presidential runoff
Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez waves upon his arrival to an air base to receive a shipment of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine via the COVAX program, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, March 13, 2021.

Honduras and other countries at the ‘back of the line’ in global vaccine distribution

In Honduras and in low-income countries across the world, the vaccination process is riddled with uncertainty.

Honduras and other countries at the ‘back of the line’ in global vaccine distribution
Residents of the Iztacalco borough follow a long, snaking line to receive doses of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V, during a mass vaccination campaign for Mexicans over age 60, at the Advanced School for Physical Education, in Mexico City, Feb. 24,

Russia expands ‘soft power’ in Latin America with Sputnik vaccine

For Russia, the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine is an opportunity to appeal to faraway governments and citizens.

Russia expands ‘soft power’ in Latin America with Sputnik vaccine
People wait in a long line at an oxygen distribution warehouse near downtown Mexico City.

Mexico’s COVID-19 wards are full. Many patients who can’t get oxygen die at home.

In many cities across Latin America, including Mexico City, patients with the coronavirus are struggling to receive vital medical oxygen to stay alive. Many who couldn’t find space in overflowing emergency rooms are dying at home.

Mexico’s COVID-19 wards are full. Many patients who can’t get oxygen die at home.
Colombian singer Carlos Vives stresses the importance of protecting the environment. 

Colombian singer Carlos Vives: Protecting the environment is the ‘only way to save folklore’

In an interview with The World’s Latin America correspondent, Jorge Valencia, the well-known pop singer talks about how the environment shapes his music. 

Colombian singer Carlos Vives: Protecting the environment is the ‘only way to save folklore’
Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López kisses his wife Lilian Tintori with their son and daughter after a news conference in Madrid on Oct. 27, 2020. López who has abandoned the Spanish ambassador's residence in Caracas and left Venezuela after years

Exiled Venezuelan dissident says Sunday's National Assembly elections are a 'fraud'

Leopoldo López, in exile in Spain, is speaking out against the Venezuelan National Assembly elections being held Sunday by the government of President Nicolás Maduro.

Exiled Venezuelan dissident says Sunday's National Assembly elections are a 'fraud'
Argentine soccer superstar Diego Armando Maradona cheers after the Napoli team clinched its first Italian major league title in Naples, Italy, on May 10, 1987.

Remembering Diego Maradona, a leftie on the field — and in politics

While Diego Maradona never ran or held public office, his success on the field, larger-than-life personality and friendships with leftist leaders connected him to political life in Argentina and across Latin America over more than three decades. 

Remembering Diego Maradona, a leftie on the field — and in politics
Colombia's President Iván Duque, reacts during the presentation of the award of the contract for the construction of the Bogotá subway, Oct. 17, 2019.

By building Bogotá metro, China makes a new breakthrough in Latin America

The construction project by Chinese government-owned companies is a major feat for a city that has long sought to join other South American capitals with rail systems.

By building Bogotá metro, China makes a new breakthrough in Latin America