Latin America

• Saturday, February 16th 2019 - 16:36 UTC

  US Air Force plane takes off with help for Venezuela

  

  A C-17 cargo plane of the United States Air Force took off Saturday from the Homestead Air Force Base, in Florida, with the Venezuelan-Colombian border as the destination. The aircraft is one of three that will transport 250 tons of food, hygiene kits and nutritional supplements, a congressional aide to the US Congress told the Associated Press (AP).

• Saturday, February 16th 2019 - 10:59 UTC

  US/Mexico Trump challenges Congress and declares a national emergency

  

  President Donald Trump on Friday declared a national emergency in a bid to fund his promised wall at the U.S.-Mexico border without congressional approval, an action Democrats vowed to challenge as a violation of the U.S. Constitution.

• Saturday, February 16th 2019 - 10:37 UTC

  Prince Charles will make an official visit to Cuba in March, as part of a Caribbean tour

  

  Prince Charles will make the first-ever official British royal visit to Cuba in March, his office announced on Friday, to mark improving ties between the two nations. The heir to the throne and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, will make a four-day visit to Cuba during a wider tour of the Caribbean, his Clarence House official residence said.

• Friday, February 15th 2019 - 10:58 UTC

  Chile joins Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay in bid to host the 2030 World Cup

  

  Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay are to submit a joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup, Chile's President Sebastian Piñera announced on Thursday. Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay had already submitted a joint bid to host the centenary edition of football's most prestigious tournament, but Piñera said on Twitter that those countries' presidents had agreed to Chile's participation in the “joint candidacy”.

• Wednesday, February 13th 2019 - 08:34 UTC

  Guaido announces humanitarian aid will enter Venezuela on February 23

  

  Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guido told a huge rally of supporters on Tuesday that humanitarian aid would enter the country on Feb. 23, setting the stage for a showdown with President Nicolas Maduro who has refused to let supplies in.

• Tuesday, February 12th 2019 - 22:11 UTC

  United Kingdom confirms humanitarian aid for Venezuelans

  

  The government of the United Kingdom announced on Tuesday that it will grant 6.5 million pounds, approximately 8.4 million dollars, to finance the different humanitarian agencies that are in the region assisting Venezuelan citizens inside and outside their country.

• Monday, February 11th 2019 - 08:33 UTC

  Guaidó warns Venezuelan military that blocking humanitarian aid is a “crime against humanity”

  

  Opposition leader Juan Guaido, recognized by some 50 countries as Venezuela's interim president, warned the military on Sunday that blocking humanitarian aid from entering the country is a “crime against humanity.”

• Saturday, February 9th 2019 - 09:15 UTC

  Maduro's protection in the hands of the Cuban security and intelligence services

  

  Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro is increasingly leaning on the protection and support of his Cuban backers, amid mounting global pressures to leave office, according to several senior U.S. officials. Adm. Craig Faller, head of U.S. Southern Command, told U.S. senators on Thursday that Havana “owns the security around Maduro and is deeply entrenched in the intelligence service.”

• Friday, February 8th 2019 - 11:41 UTC

  International Contact Group on Venezuela calls for fresh, transparent presidential elections

  

  The European Union and a group of Latin American governments that have kept a moderate line on Venezuela called on Thursday for democratic and fresh elections, during a meeting held in Montevideo. The EU-backed International Contact Group on Venezuela said overly forceful intervention could aggravate the crisis.

• Friday, February 8th 2019 - 08:43 UTC

  Humanitarian aid arrives to Cucuta, a bridge away from Venezuela

  

  Trucks carrying humanitarian aid for crisis-stricken Venezuela arrived in the Colombian border city of Cucuta on Thursday as diplomatically-isolated President Nicolas Maduro appeared set to block its entry amid an escalating political crisis.