Latin America

• Wednesday, March 28th 2018 - 14:18 UTC

  Measles spreads again in the Americas

  

  After being the first continent in the world declared free of measles in 2016, nine countries in the region have registered cases last year. With almost 900 cases, Venezuela was the most affected. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) warns that the countries of the region should intensify their efforts to immunize the population and stop the spread of the disease.

• Thursday, March 22nd 2018 - 11:33 UTC

  Red Cross: Rising humanitarian needs among Venezuelans entering Colombia

  

  The Colombian Red Cross Society have been working for more than a year to support people arriving in Colombia and travelling through the country. Aid workers are warning of rising vulnerabilities among people crossing the Colombian-Venezuelan border and “are calling on the international community to increase support for humanitarian efforts”, said a statement published by International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) at Geneva.

• Wednesday, March 21st 2018 - 20:27 UTC

  Peruvian president offers resignation to Congress ahead of an impeachment vote

  

  Embattled President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has offered his resignation to Peru's congress ahead of a scheduled vote on whether to impeach the former Wall Street investor on corruption charges, according to a presidential aide. If congress accepts the resignation, power would transfer to Vice President Martin Vizcarra, who is serving as Peru's ambassador to Canada.

• Tuesday, March 20th 2018 - 10:17 UTC

  Peruvian president said removing him from office would amount to a coup détat

  

  Peru's embattled President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said on Monday he was confident of surviving an impeachment vote later this week. “I know that Thursday will be fine,” the conservative leader said in a speech in the Amazonian city of Iquitos.

• Tuesday, March 20th 2018 - 10:08 UTC

  “Progressive” governments wide spread corruption in the region threatens the political system

  

  The wave of corruption that has spread throughout Latin America has shaken regional institutions, disillusioned populations and should define the electoral cycle that many Latin American nations are going through.

• Tuesday, March 20th 2018 - 08:16 UTC

  Lula begins tour of south Brazil and meets Mujica, but it was a bad day for both leaders

  

  Protesters interrupted the start on Monday of an election campaign tour by former Brazilian president Lula da Silva, who leads opinion polls but faces a lengthy jail sentence for corruption. Police had to intervene to separate some 150 protesting farmers and Lula's supporters in Bage, where the populist leader was starting a bus tour of southern Brazil ahead of October 7 elections.

• Monday, March 19th 2018 - 09:13 UTC

  International Court to listen arguments from Bolivia and Chile on the disputed access to the Pacific

  

  Delegates from Bolivia and Chile will head to the International Court of Justice in The Hague on Monday morning, where they will present their arguments over a disputed 380 kilometer coastline on the Pacific Ocean.

• Tuesday, March 13th 2018 - 07:12 UTC

  White House confirms Trump will visit Peru and Colombia in April

  

  United States president Donald Trump will make his Latin America debut next month, visiting Peru and Colombia after harsh rhetoric towards Hispanic migrants and neighbors to the south. Trump will travel to Peru to attend the Summit of the Americas in Lima on April 13-14, a gathering of leaders from across the Western Hemisphere, and from there he will visit Colombia.

• Monday, March 12th 2018 - 09:43 UTC

  Raul Castro succession process takes off; heir apparent blasts US for “resuming a Cold War rhetoric”

  

  Cuba Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel, tipped to succeed President Raul Castro, accused the US yesterday of “resuming a Cold War rhetoric” and of “attacking” the Cuban revolution. Diaz-Canel spoke to state television after casting his vote in elections for a parliament that will choose Castro’s successor on April 19.

• Monday, March 12th 2018 - 09:08 UTC

  Uribe protegé Duque, and ex Bogotá mayor dominate Colombia's legislative elections

  

  Right-wing candidate Ivan Duque and leftist Gustavo Petro will lead their respective coalitions in Colombia’s May presidential election after winning primaries on Sunday. Duque, a protégé of former President Alvaro Uribe and the standard bearer for the Democratic Center party, beat fellow candidates Marta Lucia Ramirez and Alejandro Ordonez for his coalition’s nomination. He got more than 3.9 million votes and 96% of the votes counted.