Latin America

Maduro seeks to speed up digital payments as Venezuela runs out of cash

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is pressing banks to implement digital payment systems as hyperinflation prompts chronic shortages of cash in the bolivar currency, three people familiar with the talks told…

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Bolivia ex-President Anez behind bars, alleges persecution over coup claims

LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivia's former interim President Jeanine Anez landed behind bars on Saturday in the capital of the country she led just six months ago after the new…

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Police blitz targets parties driving Brazil’s deadly COVID-19 surge

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Police broke up an illegal party with nearly 600 people in a windowless Sao Paulo nightclub in the early hours of Saturday, highlighting defiance of social…

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Brazil’s Lula, Bolsonaro fire starting gun on 2022 presidential race

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and President Jair Bolsonaro both fired an early starting gun on a 2022 election set to be dominated by the raging pandemic,…

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Brazil posts new record of 1,972 COVID-19 deaths in a day

Brazil registered 1,972 new COVID-19 deaths in a single day on Tuesday, a record, according to the Health Ministry. The country had 70,764 new cases of coronavirus, reaching a total…

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Study suggests AstraZeneca vaccine is effective against Brazil COVID-19 variant

Preliminary studies suggest the AstraZeneca vaccine will protect against the P1 variant of the coronavirus, Mauricio Zuma, the head of production at Brazil's Fiocruz biomedical institute said on Monday, confirming a Reuters report…

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Brazil prosecutor general to appeal annulling of Lula convictions, spokesperson says

Brazil's prosecutor general's office will appeal a Supreme Court justice's decision cancelling the convictions of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a spokesperson for Prosecutor General Augusto Aras said on Monday.…

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Brazil judge annuls Lula’s convictions, opens door to 2022 run

BRASILIA, March 8 (Reuters) - A Brazilian Supreme Court judge on Monday annulled the criminal convictions against former leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a move that could allow…

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Venezuela’s Maduro receives first dose of Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores have received their first dose of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, Venezuelan state television reported on Saturday. Images…

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EXCLUSIVE – Oxford study indicates AstraZeneca effective against Brazil variant, source says

RIO DE JANEIRO, March 5 (Reuters) - Preliminary data from a study conducted at the University of Oxford indicates that the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca PLC is effective against…

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Biden in no rush to lift Venezuela sanctions, seeks ‘serious steps’ by Maduro

WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden’s administration is in “no rush” to lift U.S. sanctions on Venezuela but would consider easing them if President Nicolas Maduro takes confidence-building…

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El Salvador’s Bukele poised for majority in mid-term votes

SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - Salvadorans went to the polls on Sunday to vote in legislative and municipal elections that could give a broad victory to President Nayib Bukele’s party, consolidating…

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Brazil’s capital goes into lockdown to quell COVID-19 surge

The governor of Brazil’s capital city, Brasilia, decreed a 24-hour lockdown for all but essential services on Friday to curb a worsening COVID-19 outbreak that has filled its intensive care…

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Venezuela kicks out head of EU delegation after new sanctions

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said that the head of the European Union’s delegation in Caracas had 72 hours to leave the country and declared her persona non grata after…

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Brazil investigates reports of health workers administering fake inoculations from empty syringes

Police in Rio de Janeiro launched an investigation on Wednesday into reports that doses of the coronavirus vaccine may have been diverted after images emerged of healthcare workers sticking needles…

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Ecuador to recount votes from presidential election

Ecuador’s election authority said it will conduct a recount in most of the country to ensure the transparency of Sunday’s presidential elections, after one of the candidates made accusations of…

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Rio Sambadrome lights up in tribute for victims of COVID-19

The Rio Carnival Sambadrome, empty and illuminated, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Sambadrome, which will remain empty and silent between this Friday and Ash Wednesday due to the cancellation…

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Cocaine: falling coffee prices force Peru’s farmers to cultivate coca

A slump in world coffee prices has pushed farmers in Peru’s central jungle to rip up their plants and replace them with coca leaf – the raw material used in…

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Arauz wins first round of Ecuador vote, runner-up too close to call

QUITO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Ecuadorean economist Andres Arauz on Sunday won a first round victory in the country's presidential election, moving the Andean nation a step closer to socialism…

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Ecuadoreans vote for president as voters lean toward socialism

QUITO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Ecuadoreans choose a new president on Sunday, with many voters weary of painful economic austerity measures and eager for a return to socialism, encouraging left-wing…

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Venezuela’s offshore funds could pay for vaccines but Maduro not cooperating, Guaido says

CARACAS, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido said on Wednesday that Venezuelan funds controlled by the U.S. Treasury Department could be used to pay for coronavirus vaccines…

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COVAX to send AstraZeneca shot to Latin America, some states to get Pfizer too

GENEVA, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The COVAX global vaccine sharing scheme expects to deliver 35.3 million doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine to 36 Caribbean and Latin American states from mid-February…

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Palmeiras seal last-gasp Copa Libertadores triumph

RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 30 (Reuters) - A dramatic goal eight minutes into stoppage time won Palmeiras the Copa Libertadores on Saturday as a Breno Lopes header earned the Sao…

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Report: Bolsonaro carried out an ‘institutional strategy to spread the coronavirus’ – El Pais

El Pais - "The grimmest timeline in the history of public health in Brazil emerges from an investigation of directives issued by the government of President Jair Messias Bolsonaro relating…

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Earthquake shakes southern Colombia; no damage reported

BOGOTA (Reuters) - A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck southern Colombia on Saturday, the Colombian Geological Service said, but there were no immediate reports of any injuries or damage. The epicenter…

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Chile regrets panic triggered by mistaken tsunami warning after quake in Antarctica

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Authorities in Chile said on Saturday they regretted spreading panic with a mistaken tsunami warning calling for people to get out of coastal areas following an earthquake…

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U.S. blacklists oil traders, tankers for undermining Venezuela sanctions

The United States sanctioned a network of oil trading firms, individuals and vessels that have helped Venezuelan state-run oil company PDVSA sell crude mainly to Asia despite Washington’s sanctions on…

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Photo Story: Brazil exceeds 210,000 deaths from Covid-19

Dulcineia da Silva (L), 59, a nurse from the public health network and, Terezinha da Conceicao (R), 80, who lives in a shelter for a population in a situation of…

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Argentina quake of magnitude 6.8 shakes homes, buildings; no injuries reported

An earthquake of magnitude 6.8 struck west-central Argentina on Monday, followed by at least five aftershocks that shook buildings and sent products tumbling off supermarket shelves, but there were no…

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Bolsonaro allies set to win control of Brazil’s Congress

Despite a deep recession and the world's second-deadliest COVID-19 outbreak, candidates backed by Brazil's right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro are expected to win control of Congress next month, politicians and analysts…

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Brazil health regulator sends back Sputnik V vaccine emergency use request

BRASILIA, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Brazilian health regulator Anvisa said on Saturday it sent back documents submitted by pharmaceutical company Uniao Quimica seeking approval for emergency use of the Russian…

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Photo Story: Argentine beef consumption falls to its all-time low

Cows wait in a corral to be transferred to a refrigerator for their slaughter, at the Hacienda de Liniers Market, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 12 January 2021 (issued 15 January).…

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Photo Story: Sunset at Arpoador beach, Brazil

An aerial photo taken with a drone that shows dozens of people watching the sunset at Arpoador beach, near Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 14 January 2021. EPA-EFE/Antonio Lacerda

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UK bans arrivals from South America over Brazil virus variant

LONDON, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Britain will ban arrivals from Brazil, other South American states and Portugal due to concerns over a new coronavirus variant, transport minister Grant Shapps said…

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Quake of magnitude 6 strikes Salta Province, Argentina

An earthquake of magnitude 6 struck Salta Province, Argentina, early on Sunday, GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) said. The quake was at a depth of 222 km (138…

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Brazil passes 200,000 COVID-19 deaths as cases hit daily record

Brazil's COVID-19 death toll passed 200,000 on Thursday, the health ministry said, as daily new cases accelerated to a record of 87,843 after year-end holidays in the country with the…

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Ex-president of El Salvador ordered to return $4.4 million in stolen funds

A civil court in El Salvador on Tuesday found former President Elias Antonio Saca and his wife Ana Mixco guilty of “illicit enrichment” and ordered them to return $4.4 million…

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Venezuela to seat socialist-held congress as Maduro consolidates power

Venezuela's ruling socialist party on Tuesday will install a congress controlled by allies of President Nicolas Maduro, a change in control that many Western nations have assailed as the product…

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Photo Story: Two dead in fresh farmers protests in Peru

A police officer aims his gun during clashes as farmers protest in Viru, some 510km north of Lima, Peru. At least two people, including a minor, died in Peru during…

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Argentina legalises abortion

BUENOS AIRES, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Argentina on Wednesday became the first major country in Latin America to legalize abortion when the Senate voted by 38 in favor to 29…

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Argentina’s senate poised to vote on legalizing abortion, rare in region

Argentina was on the cusp of legalizing abortion on Tuesday over the objections of its influential Roman Catholic Church, with the senate preparing to vote on a measure that has the backing of the ruling party and…

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Brazilian soccer star Neymar to throw NYE party for 150 people

A New Year party for 150 people thrown by Brazilian footballer Neymar will be subject to strict health rules to try to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, organisers said. The…

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Brazil’s Petrobras to close London office, move ops to Rotterdam

Brazilian state-controlled oil producer Petroleo Brasileiro SA will close its London office to reduce costs and move the operation to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the company said in a filing…

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Photo Story: Santa Claus greets children from plastic box in Peru

A man dresses as Santa Claus greets children from inside a plastic box, as a COVID-19 precaution, at a public square in Comas, Lima, Peru. Peru surpassed 1 million confirmed…

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Photo Story: The Lady from El Paraiso revealed

The 'Lady from El Paraiso' figure exhibited at the Andres del Castillo Mineral Museum in Lima, Peru. For 3,700 years, the Lady from El Paraiso, a high-status woman from Ancient…

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In pandemic and recession, Santa Claus gifts bread and clothes to poor Venezuelan kids

GUARENAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Santa Claus walked the streets of the outskirts of Venezuela’s capital Caracas this weekend, giving children gifts ranging from bread to clothes at a time when…

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Brazil’s Bolsonaro says rush for coronavirus vaccine not justified

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has refused to take any coronavirus vaccine, said on Saturday that he did not think the world's rush for a vaccine…

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Chilean president handed $3,500 fine for mask-less selfie

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera was slapped with a $3,500 fine on Friday after posing for a selfie on the beach with a bystander without wearing a mask as required during…

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Argentine recession, exacerbated by COVID-19, increases poverty

Gustavo Delgado walks every day from his home in La Boca, a hard-scrabble neighborhood of Buenos Aires, to a nearby community pantry to find the only food that he and…

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Photo Story: Bogota lights up for Christmas

People visit a Christmas lighting display at Monserrate hill in Bogota, Colombia. Via EPA-EFE/Carlos Ortega

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Brazil studying 58 cases of COVID-19 re-infection

Brazil’s Health Ministry is studying 58 suspected cases of COVID-19 re-infection after confirming the first case of a person getting re-infected with the illness caused by the coronavirus, a ministry…

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EU rejects result of disputed Venezuela congress election

BRUSSELS, Dec 7 (Reuters) - The European Union said on Monday it did not consider Venezuela's parliamentary election on Sunday was free or fair and rejected the result, calling on…

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Maduro allies win majority in disputed Venezuela congress election

CARACAS (Reuters) - Allies of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro won a majority of votes in a parliamentary election that saw scant participation due to a boycott by the opposition, who…

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Former Uruguayan president Tabare Vazquez dies – family

MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) - Former Uruguayan President Tabaré Vázquez died on Saturday in Montevideo at the age of 80 after suffering from lung cancer, his son said in a tweet on…

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Venezuela votes for parliament as opposition denounces fraud

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelans on Sunday choose a new congress in an election that the opposition is boycotting and most Western nations call a fraud by President Nicolas Maduro to…

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Argentine Congress approves wealth tax as COVID-19 hits state coffers

Argentina's Congress approved a wealth tax late on Friday that will impose a one-off levy on people with large personal fortunes as the government of the indebted nation tries to…

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Photo Story: At least 16 dead after bus falls from a bridge in Brazil

A handout photo made available by the Minas Gerais Firefighters team that shows a bus that crashed in Joao Monlevade, Brazil . At least 16 people died and several were…

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