Traci Carl has been promoted to bureau chief for The Associated Press in Mexico and Central America.

Carl, valedictorian of Lawrence High School’s Class of 1991, is responsible for coverage of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.

She succeeds Eloy O. Aguilar, who has taken on a new role as administrative director for the region.

Carl, 33, joined AP in 1995 in Topeka, transferring to Kansas City later that year. She was named correspondent for Wichita in 1996 and transferred to the International Desk in New York in 1998.

She moved to Mexico City in 2000 and became news editor there three years later. She has reported from Cuba, Venezuela and Iraq.

Carl graduated from Kansas University in 1995 with bachelor’s degrees in journalism and Spanish.