Latin America

• Thursday, September 17th 2026 - 08:35 UTC

  US removes Venezuela and Bolivia from list of countries failing on drugs

  

  The United States government removed Venezuela and Bolivia from the category of countries that Washington says have failed to demonstrably combat international drug trafficking, while keeping Colombia, Afghanistan and Myanmar on that list. The determination, sent to Congress on Tuesday and released by the State Department on Wednesday, is part of the annual assessment of the 23 countries deemed major drug transit or producing states, five of which had been designated last year as having “failed demonstrably.”

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• Thursday, September 10th 2026 - 21:45 UTC

  Peru joins the Americas Shield during Rubio's visit to Lima

  

  Peru will join the Americas Shield, the US-backed security coalition against transnational organized crime, President Keiko Fujimori announced on Thursday after meeting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Government Palace.

• Wednesday, September 9th 2026 - 09:33 UTC

  Colombia's human rights ombudsman challenges De la Espriella over display of bodies

  

  Colombia's human rights ombudsman has challenged President Abelardo de la Espriella over the release of footage showing him walking among the bodies of suspected FARC dissident fighters killed in a military operation, in the first public disagreement between the rights body and the government that took office on August 7.

• Wednesday, September 9th 2026 - 06:32 UTC

  Latin America falls back in PISA 2025 as Argentina posts its worst score since 2006

  

  All 13 Latin American countries assessed in the PISA 2025 report, released Tuesday, scored below the OECD averages in the three subjects measured, in an edition marked by broad declines and by Argentina's worst performance since it began taking part in the test.

• Monday, September 7th 2026 - 08:52 UTC

  De la Espriella completes his first month with a full reversal of Petro's diplomacy

  

  Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella completed his first month in office on Monday with a series of foreign policy decisions that reverse his predecessor Gustavo Petro's approach and tighten alignment with the United States and Israel.

• Thursday, September 3rd 2026 - 08:11 UTC

  Lenín Moreno and a former Chinese ambassador convicted over bribes at Ecuador's largest dam

  

  A court of Ecuador's National Court of Justice on Friday sentenced former president Lenín Moreno to five years in prison for bribery, in the case over kickbacks linked to the construction and financing of the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant. The same sentence was handed to China's former ambassador in Quito, Cai Runguo, and to former representatives of the Chinese state builder Sinohydro, Yang Huiju and Song Dongsheng.

• Thursday, September 3rd 2026 - 00:31 UTC

  Eight Months After Maduro's Capture, Venezuela's Oil Boom Has Outrun Latin America's Sovereignty Debate

  

  When Colombian former President Gustavo Petro convened an emergency CELAC session in the first week of January, the assumption in most South American foreign ministries was that the region would answer the United States with one voice. Eight months later, the answer is still fragmented — and Venezuela's oil is flowing north at a rate not seen in two decades.

• Monday, August 31st 2026 - 22:13 UTC

  Brazil: Flávio Bolsonaro promises 500,000 prison places inspired by the Salvadoran model

  

  Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the Liberal Party's presidential candidate and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's main rival in October's elections, met on Sunday in São Paulo with El Salvador's justice and public security minister, Gustavo Villatoro, and announced he will incorporate into his programme measures inspired by President Nayib Bukele's security policy.

• Monday, August 31st 2026 - 08:46 UTC

  The Panama Canal will cut daily transits from Wednesday because of drought

  

  The Panama Canal will reduce the number of vessels allowed to cross from 38 to 34 a day from September 3, and to 32 from the 15th, as well as imposing new draught restrictions, because of falling water levels linked to El Niño. According to the waterway's authorities, rainfall since May has been 34% below the historical average and inflows to the basin have dropped 44%. Around 5% of world maritime traffic passes through the canal.

• Wednesday, August 26th 2026 - 08:00 UTC

  Bolivia deploys troops against blockades over a decree its own government wants repealed

  

  Bolivia's government deployed military and police units on Tuesday in the municipality of Yapacaní, in Santa Cruz department, ahead of announced road blockades called by farming organisations against the decree that raised the price of diesel for large consumers. Hours later, the deputy interior minister acknowledged that the same measure must be annulled.