FOREIGN POLICY & DIPLOMACY Colombia expels Argentine diplomats amid row with Milei Today 01:22 Colombia orders expulsion of Argentine diplomats after President Javier Milei describes his counterpart Gustavo Petro as a "terrorist" and "murderer."
venezuelan elections 2024 Former Chávez rival registers to challenge Maduro in Venezuela 26-03-2024 14:35 Venezuelan opposition figure Manuel Rosales registers to challenge President Nicolás Maduro in July's elections, but main opposition coalition says it was prevented from nominating its candidate.
HEALTH Puerto Rico declares health emergency over dengue 25-03-2024 21:21 Puerto Rico declared a public health emergency over dengue, a mosquito-borne illness that has surged throughout the Americas this year.
REGIONAL ROW Venezuela faces criticism over arrests ahead of vote 22-03-2024 00:21 Argentina leads international criticism of Venezuela over its arrest of two top aides to opposition leader María Corina Machado, a surging rival to President Nicolás Maduro.
HUMAN RIGHTS Judge asks Uruguay to repatriate Navy plane used in the Condor Plan 21-03-2024 14:05 Court demands repatriation of plane in Uruguay that was used to transfer detainees during the Operation Condor plan of coordination between South American dictatorships in the 1970s and 1980s.
ENVIRONMENT Record heat index of 62.3C scorches Rio de Janeiro 18-03-2024 10:58 A heat wave stifling Brazil set new records on Sunday, with Rio de Janeiro's heat index hitting 62.3 degrees Celsius, the highest in a decade.
Venezuela Elections 2024 'Stronger than ever,' Venezuelan opposition candidate refuses to yield 14-03-2024 15:05 María Corina Machado continues to campaign, despite significant challenges, to rally support for her presidential bid, emphasising resilience and determination against the regime's obstacles.
HUMAN RIGHTS IN COLOMBIA Buried clothes, bones and DNA help identify Colombia's missing 14-03-2024 12:42 Across Colombia, efforts have intensified to find, exhume, and identify those who have gone missing during the country's six decades of armed conflict.
BILATERAL ROW Venezuela closes airspace to Argentina as reprisal for plane seizure 12-03-2024 18:56 Venezuela announces it has closed its airspace to any aircraft coming from or going to Argentina as a reprisal for last month's handover of a seized cargo plane to US authorities.
MERCOSUR TENSIONS Mercosur tensions: Uruguay rage overshadows hope for EU deal 08-03-2024 11:43 Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou slams Argentina, Brazil governments for blocking his free-trade deal with China; Lula and Spanish PM Sánchez optimistic about long-trailed EU despite impasse.
PROTESTS IN COLOMBIA ‘Out, Petro!’ Thousands march against Colombian president 08-03-2024 00:04 President Gustavo Petro's social reform initiatives and ongoing violence in Colombia spark demonstrations as discontent grows.
Bloomberg US Treasury Secretary Yellen praises Chile’s policies in visit to lithium-rich ally 01-03-2024 16:42 US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday lavished praise on Chile during a visit focused on critical minerals.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS Brazil economy grew 2.9% in 2023, says official data 01-03-2024 16:08 Brazil's economy expanded 2.9% in 2023 after a fourth quarter of zero growth, according to data released Friday by the IBGE national statistics agency.
WAR ON DRUGS Petro: US anti-drug policies caused Latin American 'genocide' 01-03-2024 15:47 "We have lived through a genocide of a million Latin Americans in the last half-century," declares Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who points the finger at the United States.
Climate Change Indigenous Colombians fret as sacred mountain glaciers melt 28-02-2024 11:50 The inhabitants of the Sierra Nevada range in north Colombia share fears about changing climate as record heat waves melt glacial peaks and ruin crops.
SATELLITE INTERNET Argentina authorises Elon Musk's Starlink, rival Amazon Kuiper 27-02-2024 12:13 President Javier Milei's government grants authorisation to Elon Musk's Starlink and two other competitors as rumours billionaire businessman will visit Buenos Aires ramp up.
Extortion in Peru Pay up, or else: Latin America cowed by lucrative extortion 26-02-2024 13:50 Extortion, a business more lucrative than drug trafficking thanks to its high profits, has become the bane of citizens' existence from Mexico through Central America to Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
RUSH FOR TICKETS Messi effect propels Copa América tickets in Miami over US$8,000 22-02-2024 21:17 Tickets to watch Lionel Messi and reigning World Cup champions Argentina play against Peru in Miami are already going for as much as US$8,400 plus fees.
EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL Argentina criticises EU as Mercosur trade talks bog down again 20-02-2024 09:29 President Javier Milei’s top diplomat, Diana Mondino, offers grim assessment of Mercosur-European Union free-trade deal, revealing that treaty may be broken up into parts.
DIPLOMACY Brazil-Israel row escalates as Lula declared 'persona non grata' 19-02-2024 21:14 Brazil recalls its ambassador from Israel, which declares Lula "persona non grata" after controversial remarks.
MARKETS Latin America’s quasi-sovereign companies attract bond investors 19-02-2024 14:09 State-owned companies across Latin America face falling output, cash woes and expensive investment plans. Yet bondholders can’t get enough.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS Brazil’s economic activity caps 2023 with better-than expected growth 19-02-2024 14:05 Brazil’s economy grew more than expected in December, indicating activity is still showing some resilience to high interest rates as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva readies higher government spending.
ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENT Five Argentine tourists killed in Mexico road crash 19-02-2024 11:37 Five Argentine tourists and a Mexican citizen died in the tourist state of Quintana Roo in southeastern Mexico Sunday in a road-traffic accident.
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT Biden’s top Latin America adviser Juan Gonzalez to step down 14-02-2024 21:29 Juan Gonzalez, special assistant to US President Joe Biden and the National Security Council’s senior director for the Western Hemisphere, will depart his post in mid-March.
Archaeology Roads, farming threaten Ecuador 'lost city' complex 14-02-2024 06:37 The remains of a massive 2,500-year-old network of Ecuadorean cities are being threatened by road and farm encroachment just as its long-held secrets are being revealed.
DETAINED PLANE ROW After 20 months at Ezeiza, US seizes Venezuela’s ‘Iranian’ plane 13-02-2024 17:42 Maduro government condemns “brazen theft” of Emtrasur aircraft that was detained at Argentina’s Ezeiza airport for close to two years; United States finally seizes plane, which Washington says was part of an irregular transfer with Iran.
INFLATION WOES Latin America’s inflation progress tempered by soaring food price pressures 08-02-2024 14:28 Consumer price readings underscore challenges facing Latin American policymakers as they calibrate future interest rate cuts. Most of the region’s major inflation-targeting central banks have already begun reducing borrowing costs
BRAZILIAN COURTS Bolsonaro to surrender passport as Brazil probes 'coup' 08-02-2024 12:33 Probe into Bolsonaro supporters' invasion of the presidential palace, Congress and Supreme Court in January 2023 continues.
OBITUARY Piñera: the ‘locomotora’ that return the right to power in Chile 08-02-2024 01:02 Former president and businessman, who led Chile for two terms (2010-2014, 2018-2022), was nation’s first right-wing leader of post-Pinochet democratic era.
CHILE Details of Sebastián Piñera’s death emerge ahead of state funeral 08-02-2024 00:48 Three days of mourning and state funeral for conservative billionaire, who died Tuesday in a tragic helicopter crash; Funeral set for Friday.
HELICOPTER TRAGEDY Shock in Chile as ex-president Pinera dies in helicopter crash 06-02-2024 20:27 The crash took place in Lago Ranco, a lake district some 920 kilometres south of Santiago, where Piñera often spent vacations with his children and grandchildren.
EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL Germany's Scholz stresses importance of EU-Mercosur agreement 05-02-2024 20:16 Germany is one of the most fervent supporters of an agreement between the European Union and Mercosur nations. France, however, is starkly opposed.
El Salvador Elections Next hurdle for El Salvador's Bukele: the economy 05-02-2024 11:35 With high public debt, nearly a third of the population living in poverty and fast-rising consumer prices, Salvadorans are increasingly starting to think of what comes next.
El Salvador Elections El Salvador's Bukele claims 'record' re-election victory 05-02-2024 11:30 Fireworks erupted in El Salvador's capital Sunday as President Nayib Bukele claimed to have won more than 85 percent of the presidential vote.
El Salvador Elections El Salvador goes to polls with gang-busting Bukele miles ahead 02-02-2024 12:32 El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele is all but guaranteed a resounding victory in elections Sunday, with his no-holds-barred war on gangs having earned him approval ratings hovering around 90 percent
TRAVEL & TOURISM Latin American travel firm Despegar eyes takeovers, robust growth 31-01-2024 19:59 Argentine travel booking firm Despegar.com plans to boost revenue and scout for takeover targets across Latin America.
BOOKS & LITERATURE Jorge Luis Borges was ‘the most British of Latin America’s writers’ 31-01-2024 15:40 Argentina’s most famous author holds great attraction for British writers, scientists, artists and filmmakers – no surprise given his family history and command of both the Spanish and English written word.
IN FOCUS How El Salvador's Bukele became Latin America's most popular leader 31-01-2024 10:43 Despite accusations of human rights abuses and constitutional overstepping, Nayib Bukele's crackdown on drug gangs has won him approval ratings around 90%, according to numerous polls.
EU-MERCOSUR DEAL EU-Mercosur trade deal totters as Europe's farmers revolt 30-01-2024 18:15 Growing farmer protests in Europe and strong opposition from France damages push for EU-Mercosur free-trade deal.
EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL EU says Mercosur deal 'not quite there' but talks continue 30-01-2024 09:43 EU-Mercosur trade deal is "not quite there yet" but talks continue, the European Commission said Tuesday against a backdrop of farmer protests in Europe.
EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL Macron asks EU’s Von der Leyen to stop Mercosur trade deal 30-01-2024 07:27 French President Emmanuel Macron asks European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen to end the current round of negotiations over free-trade deal between EU and Mercosur trade bloc.
Politics in Venezuela Venezuela's opposition urges reinstatement of presidential hopeful 29-01-2024 16:45 Venezuela's political opposition demands nation's Supreme Court reinstate electoral eligibility of leader María Corina Machado, as anxiety swirled around this year's still unscheduled vote.
FOREIGN POLICY & DIPLOMACY Colombia recalls ambassador in Buenos Aires amid Milei-Petro row 27-01-2024 09:34 Bogotá recalls its ambassador to Argentina after President Javier Milei brands his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro a "murderous communist" in an interview.
EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL France 'opposes signing' of EU-Mercosur trade deal, says prime minister 26-01-2024 14:59 French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal says President Emmanuel Macron "has always opposed" the free-trade deal negotiated between the European Union and the Mercosur trade bloc.
FOOTBALL Scaloni confirms he will stay on as national team coach 24-01-2024 17:40 National team coach Lionel Scaloni confirms will be stay on until the upcoming Copa América tournament in the United States.
Venezuelan politics Venezuelan opposition leader Machado denounces official 'persecution' 24-01-2024 08:53 María Corina Machado, who has been barred from running in Venezuela's presidential elections this year, on Tuesday accused the authorities of intimidation.
Lithium in Argentina India signs lithium mining deal with Argentina 16-01-2024 07:49 Indian state firm signs lithium mining deal with Catamarca Province; Five-block deal agreed between Khanij Bidesh India and Argentina's state-owned Camyen SE.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS Venezuela's inflation rate slows to 189% – below Argentina's 13-01-2024 10:19 Venezuela recorded inflation of 189.9% last year, meaning that Argentina saw the highest consumer price hikes over the last 12 months in Latin America.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS Brazil inflation ends 2023 above forecasts but within target 11-01-2024 13:07 Official data released Thursday showed consumer prices rose 4.62% in Brazil December from a year earlier.
EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL Scholz, Milei in favour of swift conclusion to EU-Mercosur deal 09-01-2024 20:42 President Javier Milei spoke with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday, with the two calling for a swift conclusion to the European Union-Mercosur trade deal.