Latin America

• Friday, May 15th 2020 - 08:49 UTC

  Next Monday Itaipu opens its spillway to help lift the drought stricken Parana river level

  

  The world's largest operational hydroelectric dam, Itaipu Plant announced that starting next Monday, May 18, it will open its spillway to help Paraguay and Argentina, which are suffering from a drought and hence having problems transporting their grain harvest.

• Thursday, May 14th 2020 - 08:50 UTC

  Fewer remittances because of Covid-19 will hit hard Central and Latin America

  

  Remittances—the money that immigrants working abroad send home to families on a regular basis—have become a major source of funding for developing countries. In 2019, total global remittances exceeded US$550 billion, putting them on a par with levels achieved by foreign direct investment.

• Thursday, May 14th 2020 - 08:41 UTC

  US blacklists Cuba for not cooperating on counterterrorism; Havana argues “we are victims of terrorism”

  

  The United States said on Wednesday it had added Cuba to a blacklist of countries that do not fully cooperate on counterterrorism, denouncing the presence of Colombian leftist guerrillas.

• Tuesday, May 12th 2020 - 08:52 UTC

  Paraguay fears its success in containing Covid-19 could be threatened by Brazil

  

  Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez has said the spread of coronavirus in Brazil threatens his country's success in containing the virus. Mr Benítez said more than half of Paraguay's 563 cases were people who had entered from neighbouring Brazil.

• Tuesday, May 12th 2020 - 08:40 UTC

  Colombia's national airline, Avianca, has filed for bankruptcy protection in a US court.

  

  Avianca is the second-largest carrier in Latin America, but its passenger operations have been grounded since March because of coronavirus. It said the pandemic had cut more than 80% of its income, and it was struggling with high fixed costs.

• Tuesday, May 12th 2020 - 06:57 UTC

  Notorious Mexican drug lord dies in prison after contracting coronavirus

  

  Moisés Escamilla May, a notorious Mexican gang leader, has died in prison after contracting coronavirus. Escamilla, 45, was the leader of a group within the feared criminal cartel Los Zetas. He was serving a 37-year sentence for organized crime, including his role in the decapitation of 12 people in Yucatán.

• Saturday, May 9th 2020 - 08:48 UTC

  In April Mexico and Brazil produced 5,569 cars instead of half a million

  

  Auto production in Mexico and Brazil, Latin America's top producers, plunged by an unprecedented 99% in April as a result of the coronavirus crisis, with the two countries building a total of just 5,569 vehicles.

• Saturday, May 9th 2020 - 08:25 UTC

  South American football cool to FIFA's proposal of five substitutions per match

  

  FIFA's decision to temporarily allow up to five substitutions per match to help cope with potential fixture congestion was met coolly in South America on Friday.

• Friday, May 8th 2020 - 08:55 UTC

  Washington Post exposes links between US company and Venezuela opposition plot to capture and oust Maduro

  

  Members of Venezuela’s opposition in October negotiated a US$ 213 million deal with a small Florida security company to invade the country and overthrow President Nicolas Maduro, according to a document published by the Washington Post on Thursday.

• Friday, May 8th 2020 - 08:49 UTC

  World Bank US$ 500 million loan to help Ecuador cover budget needs

  

  The World Bank Board of Directors approved a flexible US$500 million loan to help cover Ecuador's budget needs during the Covid-19 emergency and to promote economic recovery. The loan is the second in a series of three Development Policy Financing (DPF) operations. The first loan of this series was disbursed in June 2019. The operation has been adapted to the current context and to the country’s needs during the pandemic.