
Relations between Colombia and Ecuador grew chillier Tuesday, as Colombia postponed restoring diplomatic ties at the level of trade-attache because of aggressive remarks by Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa.
The presidents of Brazil and Venezuela, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Hugo Chávez, respectively, met June 27 in Caracas to address economic issues aimed at reinforcing bilateral cooperation.

Argentina, Uruguay and Chile have the highest index of illicit drugs consumption in South America according to the latest release from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
Bolivian president Evo Morales accused opposition governors on Wednesday of conspiring against his government and insisted he would not yield to conservative pressures to impede him from his plans for the re-foundation of the country, one of the poorest of the continent.
José Pablo Arellano, CEO of Chile's state-owned CODELCO copper company, this week questioned the utility of a Pinochet-era law that gives 10% of CODELCO sales to the Chilean military.
Ecuador will not resume diplomatic ties with Colombia after the latter decided to postpone renewal of relations, Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Maria Isabel Salvador announced this week in Quito.

President Hugo Chavez said that Venezuela will continue to strengthen its military power following the announcement that vice president Ramon Carrizalez and Defence minister General Gustavo Rangel Briceño would be traveling to Russia to intensify military cooperation.

Six months into office Argentina's president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner honeymoon with the electorate is over and under. Her standing is also at the bottom rock of a list of Latinamerican and US leaders according to the latest public opinion poll from the renowned Mexican consulting firm Mitofsky.

Venezuela will replace Chile as the country with the region's highest GDP per capita and Argentina as the region's third-largest economy, according to a Latin Business Chronicle analysis of data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Punta Arenas in the extreme south of Chile is suffering a critical shortage of staples mainly sugar, rice and flour as a direct consequence of the Argentine farmers conflict that has been dragging for over 100 days.