MercoPress https://en.mercopress.com/ South Atlantic News Agency en Copyright 2026, MercoPress. https://en.mercopress.com/web/img/en/mercopress-logo.gif MercoPress http://en.mercopress.com/ <![CDATA[Sánchez narrowly ahead in Peru runoff quick count; both candidates urge caution]]> The result shifted through the night. Exit polls released as voting closed had initially placed Fujimori first, but the quick count reversed the trend Peru's presidential runoff ended without a clear winner after an extremely close vote. A quick count by the pollster Ipsos, carried out with the NGO Transparencia on a representative sample of tally sheets, gave a slight edge to leftist candidate Roberto Sánchez, with 50.3% of the vote, against 49.7% for conservative Keiko Fujimori. The gap, within the margin of error, amounts to a technical tie that prolongs the uncertainty in a country that has had nine presidents in a decade.

]]> Mon, 08 Jun 2026 09:44:00 GMT <![CDATA[Trump's 'Shield of the Americas' reshapes Central America's war on drug cartels]]> Governments aligned with the United States are adopting tough-on-crime rhetoric and requesting technical assistance Donald Trump's return to the White House and the launch of the "Shield of the Americas" —a militarized anti-narcotics coalition that excludes Mexico and that Washington unveiled in Miami in March— have reshaped the security landscape in Central America. The pressure, intensified after the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January, has pushed trafficking routes into international waters and forced uneven responses across the isthmus, according to a report by EL PAÍS.

]]> Sun, 07 Jun 2026 21:17:00 GMT <![CDATA[Fujimori and Sánchez close campaigns in Lima before Peru's tight Sunday runoff]]> Fujimori said the country had become “trapped in its wounds” and stressed the need to “build bridges” toward dialogue. Sánchez aimed his message at his rival: “The chaos is over,” he said Peru's presidential candidates, conservative Keiko Fujimori and leftist Roberto Sánchez, closed their campaigns in Lima on Thursday before thousands of supporters, three days before a runoff that polls suggest will be very close. Fujimori appealed for the “unity and reconciliation” of Peruvians, while Sánchez promised to end the “chaos” and centered his speech on anti-fujimorismo.

]]> Fri, 05 Jun 2026 23:56:00 GMT <![CDATA[US sanctions Cuba's president Díaz-Canel and inner circle in push for regime change]]> The executive order, signed on May 1, also authorizes secondary sanctions against foreign companies and financial institutions that deal with key sectors of the Cuban economy The United States sanctioned Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and his closest circle on Thursday, in a fresh escalation of Washington's pressure on the island with the stated goal of forcing a change of regime after 67 years of communist government. Havana rejected the move at once.

]]> Fri, 05 Jun 2026 23:12:00 GMT <![CDATA[Bolivia's blockade crisis reopens a deep racial divide]]> In a wealthy La Paz neighborhood, graffiti appeared inciting violence against Indigenous people —“be patriotic, kill an Indian” The social conflict in Bolivia has split the country once again. The road blockade led by Indigenous peasants, which has besieged La Paz for more than a month, has brought expressions of racism to the surface in the capital. Worn down by the lack of gasoline and food and by soaring prices, some residents lash out at the protesters —and the hostility runs in both directions.

]]> Fri, 05 Jun 2026 22:49:00 GMT <![CDATA[Colombian judge orders De la Espriella to stop using national team jersey in campaign]]> De la Espriella rejected the decision in a campaign statement and said his legal team had already requested that the measure be overturned A Bogotá court ordered presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella and his party, Defensores de la Patria, to refrain from using the Colombian national football jersey at campaign events and in advertising, while it studies a constitutional protection action filed by a citizen. The provisional measure, issued on June 3 by the 120th Municipal Criminal Court, takes immediate effect and also covers social media and the press.

]]> Thu, 04 Jun 2026 21:15:00 GMT <![CDATA[Petro drops constituent assembly bid 17 days before Colombia's presidential runoff]]> The electoral context ultimately weighed on the move The committee that had promoted a National Constituent Assembly championed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced on Thursday that it was halting the collection of signatures and withdrawing the project to reform the 1991 Constitution. The decision, taken 17 days before the June 21 presidential runoff, seeks to clear the way for the governing bloc's candidate, Senator Iván Cepeda, in a move that reshapes the electoral landscape.

]]> Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:11:00 GMT <![CDATA[Bolivia's blockade crisis risks tipping into civilian clashes, analysts warn]]> The conflict, now close to a month old, has left at least nine dead Bolivia's political crisis threatens to spill over into confrontations between urban and rural populations, after nearly a month of road blockades that have disrupted supplies of food, medicine and fuel —especially in the Andean region— and left at least nine people dead. Analysts Pedro Portugal and Gabriela Canedo warned of the danger in remarks to the news agency EFE, pointing to clashes fueled by an ethnic and cultural fracture and by the alleged inaction of Rodrigo Paz's government, whose resignation the mobilized sectors are demanding.

]]> Wed, 03 Jun 2026 16:54:00 GMT <![CDATA[La Paz endures a month of blockades as food and fuel shortages deepen]]> Drivers continue to line up for fuel. Photo: Francisco RIVEROS / @APGNoticiasBo La Paz has spent a month under blockade. The main roads into Bolivia's administrative capital have been cut for four weeks, and shortages of food and fuel worsen by the day. Frustration is mounting among residents: some demand the resignation of President Rodrigo Paz for failing to keep his campaign promises, while others call for a firm hand and the deployment of the army to lift the siege. Most agree that the president, who took office less than seven months ago, should have acted sooner, when the protests began.

]]> Tue, 02 Jun 2026 10:50:00 GMT <![CDATA[Colombia: far-right De la Espriella advances first to runoff as Petro disowns results]]> A few hours after polls closed, President Gustavo Petro publicly rejected the provisional results and denounced without evidence a variation in the electoral roll of around 800,000 voters Far-right lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella took first place in the first round of the Colombian presidential elections held on Sunday, in a result that contradicted all previous polls and immediately opened an institutional crisis. With 99% of polling stations counted in the preliminary tally, De la Espriella, of the Defensores de la Patria movement, reached 43.7% of the vote —some 10.3 million ballots—, while leftist senator Iván Cepeda, of the ruling Pacto Histórico, obtained 40.9% with 9,649,081 votes. The runoff will be held on 21 June and the inauguration is scheduled for 7 August.

]]> Mon, 01 Jun 2026 07:07:00 GMT