Lomi Kriel currently cover immigration and demographics for the Houston Chronicle, the largest daily newspaper in Texas.
Previously, she was based in Panama for Reuters, assisting with coverage of Central America and Mexico. Major stories included corruption allegations over the Panama Canal expansion project; a look back at the Zapatistas in Mexico for the 20th anniversary of their revolt; the North Korean ship detained in Panama for hiding Cuban weapons; controversy about a proposal to build a Nicaraguan canal; and U.S. software millionaire John McAfee on the lam in Guatemala.
During three years in the region, including an extensive amount of time in Guatemala investigating a civil war massacre, my freelance work has also appeared in Time Magazine, PBS NewsHour, and GlobalPost. Other work has also appeared in The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times, The Miami Herald, and The Chicago Tribune.
A longtime Texas reporter, She have reported from most areas in the Lone Star State, including Houston, Austin and San Antonio. She investigative reporting and feature writing has been recognized by U.S. national and state awards, including the annual Associated Press Managing Editors awards and the City University of New York's criminal justice reporting awards.
A native South African/adopted Texan/often world wanderer I'm interested in international affairs, particularly regarding Africa, Central America and Mexico, plus immigration, global health, politics, race, and criminal justice issues.
Specialties: Languages: Afrikaans (native,) professional Spanish (certification from University of Cordoba,) conversational French and Sotho, college course work in Italian.
Multimedia, investigative: Pro Tools, WordPress, Excel, various social media. Basic Access and Final Cut Pro. Investigative Reporters and Editors CAR boot camps 2007, 2008, 2012. Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Writers conference 2008.