Latin America

Bolsonaro joins Liberal Party ahead of 2022 election

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will join the centrist Liberal Party (Partido Liberal) ahead of next year's presidential elections, according to a party statement released on Wednesday. Bolsonaro had left his right-wing…

Read More Here

Magnitude 5.9 earthquake strikes Valparaiso, Chile – EMSC

Nov 3 (Reuters) - An earthquake of magnitude 5.9 struck Valparaiso, Chile, early on Wednesday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said. The quake was at a depth of 112…

Read More Here

US judge dismisses most money laundering charges against Maduro ally Saab

A U.S. judge in Florida on Monday dismissed money laundering counts against Alex Saab, an ally of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, but he remains accused of one count of conspiracy to launder money, a…

Read More Here

EU election observers begin work ahead of Venezuela regional, local vote

European Union election observers began their mission in Venezuela, as campaigning kicked off for regional elections next month which are set to include opposition candidates. It is the first time…

Read More Here

Brazil senators back criminal charges against Bolsonaro over Covid handling

Brazilian senators have voted to recommend charging President Jair Bolsonaro over his handling of the devastating Covid pandemic. A Senate panel backed a report calling for charges against Mr Bolsonaro…

Read More Here

Standardization of travel rules key for Latin America airlines’ recovery

Getting standardized rules for international travelers amid the coronavirus pandemic is the biggest hurdle for Latin American airlines, with their recovery threatened by a lack of consensus among health authorities,…

Read More Here

Colombia’s most wanted drug trafficker captured

Al Jazeera - Security forces in Colombia have captured Dairo Antonio Usuga, the country’s most wanted drug trafficker. Better known as Otoniel, the leader of the Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia…

Read More Here

Brazil’s Bolsonaro should face homicide charge for COVID-19 errors, says Senate report

The senator leading a congressional probe into Brazil's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has recommended that President Jair Bolsonaro be charged with homicide for alleged government errors that led to…

Read More Here

Polarized Chile marks anniversary of 2019 protests as election nears

Demonstrations took place across Chile on Monday to mark the second anniversary of the start of months of protests against inequality that triggered a social shift and led to formation of a…

Read More Here

Venezuela receives second batch of 2.5 million vaccines via COVAX

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela on Sunday received a second batch of 2.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines via the COVAX mechanism, while the government said it hoped to reach immunity for 70% of Venezuelans by the end of the month. Pan American Health Organization…

Read More Here

Brazil passes 600,000 COVID-19 deaths

Brazil has registered more than 600,000 deaths due to COVID-19, the Health Ministry said on Friday, making it the second country in the world to pass that milestone after the…

Read More Here

Chile prosecutors to investigate President Pinera following Pandora papers leak

Chile’s public prosecutor said on Friday it would open an investigation into the sale of a mining project involving the family of President Sebastian Pinera after new details emerged about…

Read More Here

One month on, El Salvador’s bitcoin use grows but headaches persist

A growing number of El Salvadorans have experimented with bitcoin since the country became the first to adopt it as legal tender last month, with a couple of million dollars…

Read More Here

Protecting indigenous people key to saving Amazon, say environmentalists

Protecting the native inhabitants of the Amazon and their right to ancestral lands is crucial to saving the rainforest because they are its best guardians, environmental activists said on Monday.…

Read More Here

Earthquake of magnitude 5.9 hits Peru-Brazil border region– EMSC

(Reuters) - An earthquake of magnitude 5.9 struck the Peru-Brazil border region on Saturday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said. The quake was at a depth of 597 km (370…

Read More Here

Venezuela to subtract six zeros from currency, second overhaul in three years

CARACAS, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Venezuela on Friday will launch its second monetary overhaul in three years by cutting six zeros from the bolivar currency in response to hyperinflation, simplifying…

Read More Here

Fires in the Brazilian Amazon retreat in September

Fires in Brazil's Amazon rainforest declined by nearly half in September compared a year ago, government data showed, with rains and law enforcement initiatives helping to temper the destruction. A…

Read More Here

Ecuador seeks to identify remains of 116 inmates killed in prison riot

Ecuador is seeking to identify the remains of the 116 inmates killed during a riot at one of its largest prisons earlier this week, the latest bout of violence authorities…

Read More Here

Extreme poverty in Venezuela rises to 76.6% – study

Around three-fourths of Venezuelans now live in extreme poverty as the once-prosperous OPEC nation's hyperinflationary economic collapse continued for a seventh straight year, according to a study published this week.…

Read More Here

Brazil registers 8,668 new COVID cases, 243 deaths

Brazil has registered 8,668 new COVID-19 cases and 243 new deaths, the Health Ministry said. Its pandemic death toll has now reached 594,443. Photo: EPA-EFE/MARCELO CHELLO

Read More Here

Under U.S. sanctions, Iran and Venezuela strike oil export deal – sources

Venezuela has agreed to a key contract to swap its heavy oil for Iranian condensate that it can use to improve the quality of its tar-like crude, with the first…

Read More Here

El Salvador buys 150 more bitcoins, president says

El Salvador has bought 150 more bitcoins, President Nayib Bukele announced, taking the Central American country's holdings of the volatile cryptocurrency to 700 coins. "We just bought dip," Bukele tweeted…

Read More Here

Lula retains solid lead over Bolsonaro for 2022 Brazil race, poll shows

Brazil's leftist former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva remains ahead of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro by a significant margin in voter preferences for the 2022 elections, a survey by…

Read More Here

European Union-style bloc pitched for Latin America, Caribbean

Latin American and Caribbean nations should aspire to a bloc like the European Union, Mexico's president and other leaders said at a summit on Saturday, in a bid to wrest…

Read More Here

Argentina’s Fernandez reshuffles Cabinet after crisis week

BUENOS AIRES, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Argentine President Alberto Fernandez reshuffled his Cabinet late on Friday, looking to draw a line under a bruising week that saw infighting within the…

Read More Here

Venezuelan leader Maduro lands in Mexico ahead of Latin American leaders’ summit

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrived in Mexico City on Friday, Mexico's foreign ministry said, ahead of a summit of a recently elected "pink tide" of leftist…

Read More Here

Bolsonaro’s support hits fresh low ahead of Brazil 2022 vote, poll shows

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's popularity has hit the lowest point of his time in office, a Datafolha poll showed, with 53% of respondents disapproving of him ahead of a presidential…

Read More Here

Half of Chileans still scratching heads over November presidential pick, poll shows

Leftist former student leader Gabriel Boric is leading Chile's race for president with just over two months until Election Day, but half of all Chileans are still trying to make…

Read More Here

Pele to leave intensive care this week, says daughter

Pele will be moved out of intensive care in the next day or two as the Brazil soccer great continues his recovery from surgery, his daughter Kely Nascimento said. The 80-year-old,…

Read More Here

Earthquake of magnitude 6 strikes Salta, Argentina – EMSC

(Reuters) - An earthquake of magnitude 6.0 struck Salta, Argentina on Monday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said. The quake was at a depth of 200 km (124.27 miles),…

Read More Here

Argentines head to polls in litmus test for Peronists

BUENOS AIRES, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Argentines headed to the polls on Sunday for midterm primaries in a litmus test for the center-left Peronist government of Alberto Fernandez, which has…

Read More Here

A glimpse under the hood of El Salvador’s bitcoin experiment

El Salvador on Tuesday rolled out cryptocurrency bitcoin as legal tender, an unprecedented move that faced some technical hiccups on its first day and left many wondering how it will…

Read More Here

El Salvador’s world-first adoption of bitcoin endures bumpy first day

El Salvador's historic adoption of bitcoin as legal tender on Tuesday was beset by teething problems, as an angry protest by mistrustful citizens, technological glitches and a dip in the…

Read More Here

El Salvador leads world in adopting bitcoin as official currency

El Salvador on Tuesday became the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender, a real-world experiment proponents say will lower commission costs for billions of dollars sent from abroad but which…

Read More Here

Brazil braces for pro-Bolsonaro rallies, fears of coup

Brazil prepared for Independence Day demonstrations on Tuesday by supporters of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who has called for a show of support for his attacks on the country's Supreme Court…

Read More Here

FIFA chief says Brazil game abandonment was ‘crazy’

FIFA is investigating the abandonment of the Brazil-Argentina World Cup qualifier with its president Gianni Infantino labelling the events "crazy", while Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly ready to take disciplinary action against their Argentine…

Read More Here

Pele recovering in hospital following removal of tumour

Brazil soccer great Pele said on Monday that he was recovering in hospital from surgery to remove a tumour from his colon. Pele, the only player to win three World Cups, did…

Read More Here

Beef giant Brazil halts China exports after confirming two mad cow disease cases

Brazil, the world's largest beef exporter, has suspended beef exports to its No. 1 customer China after confirming two cases of "atypical" mad cow disease in two separate domestic meat…

Read More Here

Snake venom may become tool in fight against coronavirus, Brazilian study suggests

Brazilian researchers have found that a molecule in the venom of a type of snake inhibited coronavirus reproduction in monkey cells, a possible first step toward a drug to combat…

Read More Here

Bolsonaro says he will be arrested, killed or declared winner

BRASILIA, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Brazilian far-right President Jair Bolsonaro on Saturday said he sees three alternatives for his future: winning the 2022 presidential elections, death or prison. "I have…

Read More Here

HSBC initiates legal proceedings against El Salvador claiming breach of treaty with UK

HSBC Holdings said the banking group has initiated legal proceedings against El Salvador for what the company called a breach of the nation's investment treaty with the UK. "HSBC Latin…

Read More Here

Peru’s foreign minister resigns in setback for new leader Castillo

Peru's foreign minister resigned amid outrage over remarks he made before taking office about a rebel group that killed tens of thousands of people, making him the first Cabinet member…

Read More Here

Photo Story: Freestyle BMX takes over gun violence in Caracas

Venezuelan BMX athlete Daniel Dhers in action during a visit to the Cota 905 neighbourhood in Caracas, Venezuela. The Caracas neighbourhood known as Cota 905, which a month ago was…

Read More Here

EPA’s Eye in the Sky: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Anchored boats in the polluted Guanabara Bay, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: EPA-EFE/ANTONIO LACERDA

Read More Here

‘Once in 100 years’ drought seen affecting Argentine grains exports into next year

A once-a-century drought has lowered the water level of Argentina's main grains transport river, reducing farm exports and boosting logistics costs in a trend that meteorologists said will likely continue…

Read More Here

Peru study finds Sinopharm COVID vaccine 50.4% effective against infections

A two-dose COVID-19 vaccine from China's Sinopharm was 50.4% effective in preventing infections in health workers in Peru when it was seeing a surge in cases fuelled by virus variants,…

Read More Here

Brazil’s Bolsonaro rolls out tanks to cover his weak position

The clouds of dark exhaust spewing from aging tanks and amphibious vehicles rolling past far-right President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday were a poor smoke screen for a leader whose political support is slipping and…

Read More Here

Photo Story: The Silleteritos Parade of Santa Elena in Colombia

Silleteros children attend the 23rd Silleteritos Parade of Santa Elena, Antioquia, Colombia. This parade precedes the Medellin Flower Fair which will take place from 12 to 22 August. EPA- Photo:…

Read More Here

Delta variant ‘highly worrisome’ as spread grows across Americas – PAHO

The Delta variant of the coronavirus is "highly worrisome" as the mutation has spread to nearly two dozen countries across the Americas, officials with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)…

Read More Here

Brazil’s Bolsonaro fans judiciary flames, calls top judge ‘son of a whore’

BRASILIA: Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro ignored calls to drop his feud with the Supreme Court on Friday (Aug 6) and called one of its justices a "son of a…

Read More Here

Brazil reports 42,159 COVID cases, 1,056 death in 24 hours

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil had 42,159 new cases of the novel coronavirus reported in the past 24 hours, and 1,056 deaths from COVID-19, the Health Ministry said on Friday. The South American country has now registered 20,108,746 cases since the pandemic began, while…

Read More Here