South America

Ex-President Bolsonaro starts serving 27-year sentence for Brazil coup plot

Brazil's Supreme Court ordered former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro to begin a 27-year prison sentence for a coup plot against his successor, a climax to years of political turmoil and…

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Dozens of inmates found hanged in Ecuador prison

At least 31 inmates have been found dead in a prison in southern Ecuador, including 27 who were hanged, officials said. Violence broke out early Sunday at El Oro prison…

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Argentina’s midterm election hands decisive win to Milei’s libertarian overhaul

Argentine President Javier Milei's party cruised to victory in midterm legislative elections as voters handed him a mandate to keep pushing through his radical overhaul of the economy despite widespread…

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Brazil’s Finance Minister confirms studies on eliminating public transport fares

Brazil's Finance Minister Fernando Haddad confirmed that the government is conducting studies, at the request of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, on a plan to eliminate public transportation fares…

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Brazil’s Lula announces $1 billion investment in global forest fund

Brazil has pledged $1 billion to kick-start a new global fund designed to protect tropical rainforests, marking the first official contribution to the initiative. The announcement was made by President…

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Brazil’s Bolsonaro sentenced to 27 years after landmark coup plot conviction

Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro has been sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison for attempting a coup to stay in power after his 2022 election defeat. The…

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Arrests in crackdown on human trafficking network active across continents

Europol coordinated a joint action day between the Brazilian Federal Police (Polícia Federal) and the Irish National Police and Security Service (An Garda Síochána) against a criminal network involved in…

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Bolivia set to elect first non-left wing president in two decades

Bolivia is set to elect a non-left wing president after nearly two decades of near-continuous rule by the incumbent socialist party, according to official preliminary results. Senator Rodrigo Paz Pereira…

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Brazil’s Bolsonaro arrested

Brazil's Supreme Court put former President Jair Bolsonaro under house arrest on Monday ahead of his trial for an alleged coup plot, underscoring the court's resolve despite escalating tariffs and…

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Europe boils as South America freezes: At least 15 dead in unprecedented cold snap

As Europe swelters under record-breaking heatwaves, Southern Hemisphere nations Argentina, Chile and Uruguay are enduring an extraordinary cold spell that has left at least 15 people dead and prompted emergency…

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Brazil rules social media platforms liable for users’ posts

Brazil's Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that social media companies can be held accountable for some types of content published by users on their platforms. The decision could clear the…

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Trump administration deports Venezuelans despite court order, says judge has no authority

The Trump administration has deported alleged members of a Venezuelan gang from the U.S. despite a court order forbidding it from doing so, saying in an extraordinary statement that a…

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Large cocaine bust in Ecuador: 36 arrested after 73 tonnes of drugs seized

A large-scale drug trafficking investigation, supported by Europol, led to the dismantling of an Ecuadorian criminal cell involved in supplying wholesale cocaine to the EU via major ports. The international…

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Brazilians hail strength of democracy as Bolsonaro is called to account

Brazilian democrats have celebrated the strength of their country’s judiciary and institutions after the former president Jair Bolsonaro was left facing political oblivion and jail time for allegedly plotting a…

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Ex-Brazil President Bolsonaro charged over alleged coup that included plan to poison Lula

Brazil’s prosecutor-general formally charged former President Jair Bolsonaro with attempting a coup to stay in office after his 2022 election defeat, in a plot that included a plan to poison…

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Argentina gang crackdown has dried up cocaine exports

Patricia Bullrich, Argentina's security minister, is on a mission to stamp out drug gangs in the South American nation that have driven rising violence and led to a spike in…

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El Salvador offers to house violent US criminals and deportees of any nationality in unprecedented deal

El Salvador has agreed to house violent US criminals and receive deportees of any nationality, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Monday, in an unprecedented – and legally problematic…

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Brazil’s Lula rushed to Sao Paulo for brain surgery, stable in ICU

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva underwent surgery in Sao Paulo to drain a bleed on his brain linked to a fall at home in October, a medical note…

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Magnitude 5.6 quake hits El Salvador

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck some 9 km (6 miles) south-west of La Union in El Salvador, the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said late on Sunday. Salvadoran civil protection authorities…

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Brazil police accuse Bolsonaro and ex-ministers of 2022 coup plot

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro plotted a coup to overturn the 2022 election along with dozens of ex-ministers and senior aides, federal police said in a formal accusation filed on…

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G20 talks in Rio reach breakthrough on climate finance

Diplomatic tensions over global warming spilled over into the G20 summit negotiations in Brazil this week, with sources saying the 20 major economies reached a fragile consensus on climate finance…

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Former Bolivian president Evo Morales says his car was shot at in assassination attempt

Evo Morales, the former Bolivian president, said a car he was travelling in had been shot at in what he condemned as an attempt on his life. A video he…

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Brazilian nun wins UN Nansen Refugee Award

Sister Rosita Milesi won the Nansen Refugee Award on Wednesday, an award given every year by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to those who have devoted themselves to protecting displaced…

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Brazil reports world’s first Oropouche virus deaths

Brazil has recorded the world’s first Oropouche virus deaths, the country’s health ministry said Thursday, after two women died of the illness spread by infected flies and mosquitos. The women…

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Bolivia coup attempt fails after military assault on presidential palace

Bolivian armed forces pulled back from the presidential palace in La Paz on Wednesday evening and a general was arrested after President Luis Arce slammed a "coup" attempt against the…

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Floods in Brazil kill 143

The death toll from heavy rains in Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul state rose to 143, the local civil defense government body said on Sunday, up from 136 in the…

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Falklands dispute may last decades – Argentina president

Argentina’s President Javier Milei has acknowledges that the Falkland Islands are currently under UK control. In an interview with the BBC, the right-wing leader expressed his intention to pursue diplomatic…

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Brazil police investigate Bolsonaro’s stay in February at Hungary embassy

Brazilian police are investigating why former president Jair Bolsonaro spent two nights at the Hungarian embassy in Brasilia last month right after his passport was seized in an investigation into…

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Brazilian rightist Bolsonaro says he does not fear being put on trial

RIO DE JANEIRO, (Reuters) - Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro said he does not fear being put on trial, one day after a police investigation revealed the far-right politician tried…

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Argentina launches $65 billion bond swap to push back 2024 debt

Argentina's government will launch a huge voluntary debt swap on Monday of peso and some dollar-linked instruments set to mature in 2024, a bid to push back repayments amid a…

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Poverty in Argentina hits 20-year high as inflation tops 200%

BUENOS AIRES, (Reuters) - Poverty levels in Argentina hit 57.4% in January, the highest in at least 20 years, according to a report by the Catholic University of Argentina (UCA)…

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Brazil beefs up its military presence in the Amazon

Border tensions over Guyana's Esequibo and the humanitarian crisis among the Yanomami Indigenous people have led Brazil's army to increase its forces in the Amazon by 10% ahead of plan,…

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Salvador’s Bukele declares victory in presidential poll

By Nelson Renteria and Sarah Kinosian SAN SALVADOR, (Reuters) - President Nayib Bukele on Sunday declared himself winner of El Salvador's national elections in a landslide, claiming he captured more…

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Short on cash, El Salvador doubles down on Bitcoin dream

By Sarah Kinosian and Nelson Renteria BERLIN, El Salvador (Reuters) - James and Nicki Malcolm moved to El Salvador from New Zealand to be part of a bitcoin dream sold…

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Brazil’s Lula launches ‘re-industrialisation’ plan for next decade

Brazil's government on Monday unveiled an industrial development plan for the next 10 years aimed at boosting growth in the sluggish economy with state credit and subsidies for companies, as…

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Barbecue off the menu in Argentina as inflation nears 200%

By Horacio Soria BUENOS AIRES, (Reuters) - Argentine retiree Susana Barrio says she no longer invites her friends over for the traditional asado barbecue, long a key part of social…

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Colombia, Ecuador bust drug ring exporting five tons of cocaine a month

By Luis Jaime Acosta BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia and Ecuador broke up a criminal organization responsible for sending up to five tons of cocaine per month to the U.S. and…

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EU’s Borrell sees Argentina more open to EU-Mercosur trade deal

Argentina, whose new president Javier Milei has said the South American common market Mercosur serves no purpose, now appears to be more willing for the bloc to sign a free trade deal…

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Brazil shows concern as Venezuela slams UK warship sent to Guyana

Brazil expressed concern after Venezuela complained about the deployment of a British warship off the Guyana coast, raising tensions in a border dispute over the oil-rich Esequibo region of the…

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El Salvador offers citizenship to foreign bitcoin investors

By Gerardo Arbaiza SAN SALVADOR, (Reuters) - El Salvador's Congress has approved a migration law granting expedited citizenship to foreigners who make bitcoin "donations" to government social and economic development…

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Mexican president urges Argentines to peacefully resist Milei

Mexico's leftist leader recommended that Argentines peacefully protest the new government of radical libertarian President Javier Milei, who took office last week promising deep budget cuts in a bid to…

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Argentina’s economy enters recession

BUENOS AIRES, (Reuters) - Argentina's economic activity shrank 0.80% in the third quarter from the year-earlier period, the country's statistics agency said , missing analysts' forecast of a 0.70% contraction…

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Argentina devalues peso, cuts spending

Argentina will weaken its peso over 50% to 800 per dollar, cut energy subsidies, and cancel tenders of public works, new Economy Minister Luis Caputo said, economic shock therapy aimed…

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Argentine President Milei warns economic shock unavoidable in maiden speech

By Nicolás Misculin and Candelaria Grimberg BUENOS AIRES, (Reuters) - Argentina libertarian economist Javier Milei took office on Sunday warning in his maiden speech that he had no alternative to…

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Pause or paralysis? EU-Mercosur hitch stalls EU trade momentum

Just a week after hailing approval of a trade agreement with New Zealand as a sign the European Union's free trade ambitions were back on track, a hitch in a…

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Argentina’s incoming foreign minister says country will not join BRICS bloc

BUENOS AIRES, (Reuters) - Argentina's incoming Foreign Minister Diana Mondino says the country will not join the BRICS grouping of developing nations in a post on social media X. Argentina…

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Argentina’s Milei invites Brazil’s Lula to inauguration, travels to US

SAO PAULO/BRASILIA/BUENOS AIRES, (Reuters) - Argentine President-elect Javier Milei invited Brazil's leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to his Dec. 10 inauguration and praised their countries' ties, again softening his…

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‘There’s no money’: Argentina’s Milei doubles down on economic shock therapy

BUENOS AIRES, (Reuters) - Argentina's libertarian President-elect Javier Milei is sticking by his plans for economic "shock" therapy to fix the country's myriad crises from triple-digit inflation to rising poverty…

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WATCH: Violent clashes mar Brazil v Argentina World Cup qualifier

Argentina captain Lionel Messi accused the Brazilian police of brutality as the start of their World Cup qualifier against Brazil was delayed by half an hour after clashes between police…

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Argentine libertarian Milei pledges new political era after election win

By Nicolás Misculin, Lucinda Elliott and Walter Bianchi BUENOS AIRES, (Reuters) - Argentina elected right-wing libertarian Javier Milei as its new president on Sunday, rolling the dice on an outsider…

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What you need to know about Argentina’s presidential election run-off

By Maximilian Heath BUENOS AIRES, (Reuters) - Argentina will vote in a run-off presidential election on Sunday, with Peronist Economy Minister Sergio Massa taking on libertarian outsider Javier Milei to…

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Argentina’s presidential rivals clash in key voter battlegrounds

As Argentines prepare to elect a new president, the two hopefuls vying for the keys to the Casa Rosada palace are focusing on undecided voters in key battlegrounds, with campaign…

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Israel helps Brazil thwart domestic attack by Hezbollah cell

By Rodrigo Viga Gaier and Gabriel Stargardter RIO DE JANEIRO, (Reuters) - Israel's spy agency Mossad worked with Brazilian security services and other international agencies to foil an attack on…

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Argentina polls show election race tightening; winner hard to call

Argentina election polls are showing an increasingly tight race between Peronist economy minister Sergio Massa and radical libertarian Javier Milei ahead of a runoff ballot on Nov. 19.The two candidates…

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Argentina poll shows ruling party hopeful Massa leading Milei

The presidential standard-bearer for Argentina's ruling Peronists, Sergio Massa, has opened up a lead over his far-right rival Javier Milei with less than a month to go before the decisive…

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Brazen ambush leaves at least 13 local police dead in Mexico

Assailants gunned down at least 13 local police officers in southern Mexico's Guerrero state on Monday, a state government source told Reuters, in the latest brazen attack in a region…

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Argentina’s Peronists soar in election to seal run-off with radical Milei

By Nicolás Misculin, Candelaria Grimberg and Anna-Catherine Brigida BUENOS AIRES, (Reuters) - Argentina's ruling Peronist coalition smashed expectations to lead the country's general election on Sunday, setting the stage for…

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