Colombian state-owned oil company Ecopetrol and Canada's Talisman Energy Inc said on Monday they had discovered an estimated 1.3 billion barrels of oil in southeastern Colombia and that about a tenth of it was likely to be recoverable. The announcement was the second in a week for Ecopetrol and an important addition to the diminishing reserves the country has been urgently trying to boost. The Andean nation also expects to eventually exploit shale oil and gas.
Colombia's main leftist guerrilla group, the FARC, said today it would implement a 30-day ceasefire from December 15 while the government said it would keep pursuing the rebels after they attacked a police station killing eight.
Shocking violence at a Brazilian championship match is not an indication of what can be expected when the South American country hosts next year's World Cup, FIFA and Brazilian government officials have declared.
With the support of the British Embassies in Peru, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica and Chile, representatives of these countries will participate in a meeting, focused on how to prevent unlawful practices in public infrastructure construction projects.
The rash of looting and rioting which has spread to most of Argentina's provinces as the police went on strike or protest demanding better pay and working conditions has taken the political system by surprise, which has been slow in reacting to the gravity of the situation.
While facing the challenge of police unrest that has spread to half of the Argentine provinces the government of President Cristina Fernandez is designing a plan to counter the threat of further rioting and looting on 20 December, the anniversary of the worst day of the 2001 crisis which forced the resignation of then elected president Fernando de la Rúa and was followed by the largest sovereign debt default in Argentine history.
The Argentine police crisis in demand for higher salaries and better working conditions and which prompted protests and further lootings in several provinces last week and during the weekend rapidly spread on Monday to other districts.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro declared victory in municipal elections as his ruling Socialists won a majority of votes nationwide on Sunday, even though they lost to the opposition in five key cities. He also pledged to deepen his economic offensive to force businesses to cut prices, which was a turning point in his campaign.
Evelyn Matthei of the right-wing Independent Democratic Union (UDI) and Michelle Bachelet of the left-leaning Socialist Party (PS) partook in their opening head-to-head presidential debate, as for the first campaign in Latin American history two women compete against each other in a presidential election second round.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says that winning Sunday's municipal elections is essential for continuing the country's socialist revolution and honoring the legacy of the late Hugo Chavez. For opposition leader Henrique Capriles Radonski, the vote is seen as a referendum on Maduro's economic policies, which he says are destroying the country.