Tag Archives: South America

The Guardian reports: A Peruvian court has sentenced former president Ollanta Humala and his wife, Nadine Heredia, to 15 years in prison for laundering funds received from the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht to finance Humala’s 2006 and 2011 campaigns. The judges of the national superior court found that Humala and Heredia received several million dollars in illegal contributions for these …

The Buenos Aires Herald reports: United States President-elect Donald Trump announced that Peter Lamelas, a Cuban-born physician and businessman, will be the next U.S. ambassador to Argentina. “I am pleased to announce that Dr. Peter Lamelas, MD, MBA, will serve as our United States Ambassador to Argentina,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social account. Trump described Lamelas …

Bloomberg News reports: Venezuela ordered the arrest of presidential candidate Edmundo González, an escalation of the government’s crackdown on dissent in the wake of a disputed election. The move is likely to draw further outcry from the US and other countries that have concluded González was the winner of the July 28 vote. Venezuelan authorities have declared instead, without evidence, …

CNN reports: A passenger plane carrying 62 people crashed on the outskirts of São Paulo on Friday, according to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, with dramatic footage from the scene showing the plane’s destroyed fuselage in flames on the ground. Interrupting a speech at a naval event, Lula said it “appears” that everyone on board the flight may …

Axios reports: The White House on Monday said it has “serious concerns” about the Venezuelan regime’s claims that President Nicolás Maduro won re-election on Sunday. The election’s outcome could reverberate across the region and beyond as Maduro, who has been in office since 2013, has governed over a staggering democratic and economic collapse that has forced nearly 8 million Venezuelans …

The New York Times reports: Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, was declared the winner of the country’s tumultuous presidential election early Monday, despite enormous momentum from an opposition movement that had been convinced this was the year it would oust Mr. Maduro’s socialist-inspired party. The vote was riddled with irregularities, and citizens were angrily protesting the government’s actions at voting …

Vice News reports: The environmentally invasive descendants of four “cocaine hippos” from Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar’s private zoo now have their eyes set on a new target: People. There have been reports of hippos invading a school yard, as well as terrorizing local fishing communities with some residents requiring hospital care after ferocious attacks. Many are now worried that …

Bloomberg News reports: President Javier Milei is moving preemptively to curb protests against his austerity measures in Argentina, which include deep budget cuts and reduced subsidies for energy and transportation. Security Minister Patricia Bullrich announced that Argentina’s federal forces will intervene in any protests or street blockades conducted without a permit. “The law is not obeyed in part. The law …

The Associated Press reports: Javier Milei was sworn in inside the National Congress building, and outgoing President Alberto Fernández placed the presidential sash upon him. Some of the assembled lawmakers chanted “Liberty!” Afterward, he broke tradition by delivering his inaugural address not to assembled lawmakers but to his supporters gathered outside — with his back turned to the legislature. He …

Reuters reports: The South American nation, the region’s no. 2 economy and a major grains exporter, is facing its worst crisis in decades. Two-fifths of people live in poverty and a looming recession is shaking up Argentina’s presidential election run-off next Sunday. Rising voter anger is propelling a radical outsider, Javier Milei, the slight favorite in polls to beat economy …

Reuters reports: Brazil’s former Justice Minister Anderson Torres, who was in charge of public security in Brasilia during the invasion of government buildings a week ago, was arrested in Brasilia on Saturday on suspicion of “omission” and “connivance”. Torres was arrested after returning to Brazil on Saturday. He had been on vacation in Florida, the same U.S. state his ex-boss, …

Deutsche Welle reports: Brazilian prosecutors on Friday called on the country’s Supreme Court to probe former President Jair Bolsonaro, after recent violent riots in the capital, Brasilia. The Prosecutor General of the Republic (PGR) office said Bolsonaro may have “publicly incited the commission of a crime” with his social media activity. The PGR cited a video posted by Bolsonaro on January …

Bloomberg News reports: Brazilian prosecutors asked a court to seize the assets of former President Jair Bolsonaro as their investigation of the violent, anti-government riots that shook the country Sunday expands beyond the demonstrators themselves. Officials said the money should be used to help pay for the damage to public property when protesters stormed government buildings in Brasilia on Jan. …

“Peaceful demonstrations, in the form of the law, are part of democracy. However, depredations and invasions of public buildings as occurred today, as well as those practiced by the left in 2013 and 2017, escape the rule. “Throughout my mandate, I have always been within the four lines of the Constitution, respecting and defending the laws, democracy, transparency and our …

The BBC reports: Crowds of people are gathering in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia, ahead of the inauguration of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as president. The state of Brasilia has pledged to deploy “100%” of its police force – around 8,000 officers – to the city amid fears that some supporters of Mr Bolsonaro could seek to disrupt proceedings. Mr …

Yahoo News reports: Brazil will reevaluate the procedures for President elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s inauguration after an explosive near capital Brasilia’s international airport was disarmed Saturday. A man who confessed he intended to commit a crime in Brasilia’s airport was arrested on Saturday night, according to the civil police force. The man was allegedly a supporter of current …

The Guardian reports: Fanatical supporters of Brazil’s outgoing president, Jair Bolsonaro, have torched cars and buses and tried to storm the federal police headquarters in the country’s capital in what one commentator called a botched attempt to spark a January 6-style turmoil. The violence erupted on Monday evening after the leftwing politician who defeated Bolsonaro in October’s historic election – …

Reuters reports: Peru’s former President Pedro Castillo faced a first court hearing on Thursday over his arrest on charges of rebellion and conspiracy, as his successor issued her first pronouncements from the presidential palace. Castillo’s swift fall from power on Wednesday came after lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to remove the leader following his failed attempt to rule by decree and dissolve …

Reuters reports: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has challenged the election he lost last month to leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, arguing votes from some machines should be “invalidated” in a complaint that election authorities met with initial skepticism. Bolsonaro’s claim seems unlikely to get far, as Lula’s victory has been ratified by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) and …

The New York Times reports: Two days after losing Brazil’s presidential election, President Jair Bolsonaro agreed to a transition of power on Tuesday, easing fears that the far-right leader would contest the results after warning for months that the only way he would lose would be if the vote was stolen. However, Mr. Bolsonaro did not concede the loss in …