Latin America

• Friday, June 30th 2023 - 10:50 UTC

  Cuban footballers defect to US

  

  Four Cuban footballers have defected after their national team's debut in the CONCACAF Gold Cup in the United States, it was reported this week. “Roberney Caballero, Denilson Morales, Neisser Sandó, and Jassael Herrera left the delegation,” a local TV sportscaster was quoted as saying.

• Friday, June 30th 2023 - 10:47 UTC

  Petro says false positives were “the worst contemporary crime”

  

  Colombian President Gustavo Petro stressed Thursday that the so-called “false positives” were “the worst contemporary crime.” He was referring to the more than 6,400 extrajudicial executions committed by federal troops supposedly fighting rebel guerrillas. Petro made those statements after eight military personnel admitted their participation in some of those executions.

• Friday, June 30th 2023 - 10:32 UTC

  Bolivia signs lithium production deals with Russian, Chinese companies

  

  Bolivia's state-owned company Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB) Thursday signed two separate agreements whereby Chinese and Russian companies will invest over US$1.4 billion to build two industrial complexes for the production of lithium carbonate, it was reported in La Paz.

• Friday, June 30th 2023 - 10:20 UTC

  Bill allowing Peru's president to leave the country and stay in charge signed into law

  

  Peru's one-house Congress passed a bill whereby President Dina Boluarte will be able to leave the country and continue to exercise the presidency remotely, it was reported in Lima Thursday. Boluarte was the only South American leader to miss out on Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's Summit last month.

• Thursday, June 29th 2023 - 10:40 UTC

  Chile takes on mediating role in Pacific Alliance crisis

  

  After Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) failed to pass on the pro tempore presidency of the Pacific Alliance to Peru citing illegitimacy on the part of President Dina Boluarte's government, Chile announced Wednesday that it was assuming the position for a month, in a move to unblock such a transfer.

• Wednesday, June 28th 2023 - 10:13 UTC

  Colombia and Venezuela ranked as “least peaceful” countries in Latin America; Uruguay sets standard

  

  According to a study published on Wednesday by the Institute for Economics and Peace, Colombia and Venezuela have been considered the “least peaceful” countries in Latin America due to socio-political conflicts and internal violence.

• Tuesday, June 27th 2023 - 10:43 UTC

  Chile-bound lorries stranded in the middle of the Andes due to bad weather

  

  Some 2,000 lorries bound for Chile have been reported to be stranded in the middle of the Andes due to the closure of the Los Libertadores Path despite the road on the Argentine side being clear all the way to the Cristo Redentor tunnel.

• Tuesday, June 27th 2023 - 10:32 UTC

  Torres and Arévalo to clash in Guatemalan runoff

  

  Former First Lady Sandra Torres will take on Congressman Bernardo Arévalo in the Aug. 20 presential runoff in Guatemala following Sunday's elections, according to preliminary data from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE).

• Monday, June 26th 2023 - 10:22 UTC

  Bomb threat ruled out in KLM flight arriving in Quito

  

  Ecuadorian police Sunday ruled out a bomb threat on a KLM flight arriving in Quito from Amsterdam, it was reported.

• Monday, June 26th 2023 - 10:04 UTC

  US troops deployed in Peru for joint exercises

  

  Some 87 US Marines are being deployed for the 16-day joint Bilateral Jungle Operations Exchange with the local Navy at the Iquitos Base, it was reported in Lima.