Latin America

• Thursday, December 10th 2009 - 07:32 UTC

  US Assistant Secretary of State will be visiting Mercosur members next week

  

  Recently nominated United States Assistant Secretary of State Arturo Valenzuela will be making his first trip to the region next week with visits to Mercosur full members, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, reported the US State Department.

• Wednesday, December 9th 2009 - 14:49 UTC

  Mercosur summit fails to advance in internal trade issues

  

  The political coincidences of the two-day Mercosur presidential summit held in Montevideo overshadowed the lack of relevant decisions for the consolidation of the block as a customs union, according to Brazilian sources.

• Wednesday, December 9th 2009 - 14:37 UTC

  Mercosur presidents strongly reject Honduras November elections

  

  Mercosur presidents expressed their most “energetic condemnation” of the Honduran coup and “total and full rejection” of the November 29th elections which represent a strong blow to “the democratic values of Latinamerica and the Caribbean”.

• Wednesday, December 9th 2009 - 14:29 UTC

  Venezuelan top private bankers help to calm markets and depositors

  

  A two-week banking crisis in Venezuela seems to be settling down following President Hugo Chavez announcement that private banks will be respected but new rules to make the system more transparent and production-geared will begin to be enforced.

• Wednesday, December 9th 2009 - 08:38 UTC

  Economists suggest coordinated rates cuts to protect Latam currencies

  

  Latinamerica should consider the possibility of a coordinated interest rate cut, in consultation with the IMF to combat the appreciation of local currencies was suggested Tuesday by a group of former government financial officials and economists from the region.

• Wednesday, December 9th 2009 - 08:23 UTC

  Search for remains of British priest killed when 1973 Chilean coup

  

  Investigators will be searching for the body of torture victim Father Micheal Woodward at a cemetery in the Chilean city of Valparaiso (Region V) through next month, the victim’s family informed Chilean press on Monday.

• Tuesday, December 8th 2009 - 23:30 UTC

  Six charged with the death in 1982 of former Chilean president

  

  A Chilean judge has charged six people over the death in 1982 of the country's ex-President, Eduardo Frei Montalva. The judge said there was now evidence that Mr Frei, a vocal critic of military leader Augusto Pinochet, had been poisoned in hospital.

• Tuesday, December 8th 2009 - 04:18 UTC

  Honduras winning party with strong majority in Congress

  

  Honduras November 29th election winner (Conservative) National party will have a clear majority in Congress according to the latest reports from the country’s electoral authorities.

• Tuesday, December 8th 2009 - 04:14 UTC

  Venezuela tackles crime, 20% of which committed by the police force

  

  Almost a fifth of all registered crimes in Venezuela are committed by law enforcement officers, particularly those most violent such as kidnapping and homicides, revealed Home Secretary Tareck El Aisammi.

• Monday, December 7th 2009 - 23:41 UTC

  Chile, gateway for illegal phony name brands products mainly from China

  

  Phony name brand products produced in China are increasingly a headache for Chile’s customs and police authorities.