Latin America

• Wednesday, September 2nd 2015 - 06:16 UTC

  Guatemala's congress strips president Otto Perez of immunity

  

  Guatemala's Congress voted Tuesday to strip embattled President Otto Perez's immunity, clearing the way for him to be prosecuted over allegations he masterminded a multi-million-dollar corruption scheme.

• Tuesday, September 1st 2015 - 23:52 UTC

  Mexico announces postponement of deep-water oil exploration auction

  

  Mexico, which has started to open its nationalized oil industry to additional private investment, will postpone auctions for deep-water oil exploration and production contracts and adjust the terms of upcoming tenders after an inaugural oil auction failed to meet the government's modest expectations.

• Tuesday, September 1st 2015 - 06:17 UTC

  Guatemalan president holds on: congress to vote this week on his removal

  

  Guatemalan President Otto Perez said on Monday he is calm and confident he has done nothing wrong, as lawmakers debated stripping his immunity and forcing him to face prosecution on corruption charges.

• Saturday, August 29th 2015 - 05:13 UTC

  Guatemalan president summoned to appear before Congress

  

  A congressional commission considering whether to remove Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina's immunity from prosecution called on him Friday to appear before the body as a corruption scandal swirls around his government.

• Saturday, August 29th 2015 - 04:51 UTC

  Maduro escalates conflict with Colombia as he looks to December's election

  

  Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro escalated his country's conflict with Colombia Friday by expanding the partial closure of their shared border to four new frontier towns. However most political analysts believe there is a huge premeditated interest in arising strong nationalistic feelings ahead of the December legislative elections.

• Friday, August 28th 2015 - 06:50 UTC

  US Treasury sanctions Farc members operating from Switzerland

  

  The US has announced sanctions against four alleged members of Colombia's Farc rebel group, accusing them of drug trafficking and money laundering. The four men used a shop in Switzerland as a front for their activities, the US treasury department said. It says the Farc still use drugs to fund their “ruthless operation”.

• Thursday, August 27th 2015 - 02:36 UTC

  Guatemala Supreme Court approves impeachment of president Otto Perez

  

  The Guatemalan Supreme Court approved a request by the country’s attorney general to impeach President Otto Perez over his suspected involvement in a racket to siphon customs revenue from the government, and passed the matter to Congress for approval.

• Tuesday, August 25th 2015 - 15:01 UTC

  Over 700 Cuban doctors working in Venezuela have fled across to Colombia

  

  Deteriorating conditions in Venezuela are causing increasing numbers of Cuban medical personnel working there to immigrate to the United States under a special US program launched in 2006 that expedites their applications.

• Tuesday, August 25th 2015 - 14:41 UTC

  China dependent Latin American markets and currencies plunge on Monday

  

  Stock markets around Latin America posted heavy losses Monday as plunging Chinese shares unleashed fresh turmoil on global markets. In Brazil, home to the region's largest stock exchange, the IBOVESPA index in Sao Paulo closed down 3.03%, after plunging 6.49% in opening trade.

• Monday, August 24th 2015 - 10:56 UTC

  Guatemala president will not quit and rejects corruption allegations

  

  Guatemalan President Otto Perez said he will not resign and rejected allegations that he was one of the ringleaders of a corruption scandal shaking the country.