
Vice president Amado Boudou and Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman represented Argentina at Wednesday's ceremonies in honor of the late Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez on his death first anniversary, which was followed by huge crowds in Caracas.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Wednesday his government was breaking diplomatic relations with Panama after the country called a special meeting of the Organization of American States, OAS, to address the current state of protests in Caracas.

The assessment of Argentine President Cristina Fernandez performance has dropped over 20 points according to the latest findings from a public opinion poll published this week, with 67.5% of interviews saying they are not satisfied with the current leadership at Casa Rosada.

The United States has named several Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries as major money laundering states whose financial institutions engage in currency transactions involving significant amounts of proceeds from international narcotics trafficking.

Venezuela has geared up for commemorations of populist leader Hugo Chávez's death despite continued protests against his successor that have shaken the OPEC member and threatened the legacy of El Comandante.

Veteran New York Times reporter and columnist, Roger Cohen, who on several occasions has visited Argentina recently called at Ushuaia. He wrote the following piece, which is not very enthusiastic about the current situation or the heavy burden of populist history in one of the richest countries of the world.

Foreign minister Elías Jaua said that Caracas will not accept international mediation in the current situation faced by Venezuela but nevertheless thanked Uruguay's president Jose Mujica for his efforts and knowledge about what's going on in his country.

The visit this week of Brazil's former president Lula da Silva to Havana could help to unravel the current political crisis in Venezuela according to Argentine political analyst Rosendo Fraga, since both countries have much to lose if the conflicting situation continues.

Colombian Minister of Foreign Affairs María Ángela Holguín complained on Wednesday about consistent verbal by the Venezuelan government on ex Colombian President Álvaro Uribe and the accusations of being the mastermind of the ongoing political crisis in Venezuela.

Brazil's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate Wednesday to 10.75% from 10.5%, and left the door open for more rate increases while slowing the pace of the hikes. The move continues the bank's yearlong fight against inflation even as rising interest rates and the poor performance of the country's exporters jeopardize already feeble growth in an election year.