Latin America

• Friday, February 3rd 2012 - 23:13 UTC

  ALBA summit takes off celebrating a frustrated 1992 military coup by Chavez

  

  Cuban president Raul Castro arrived on Friday to Caracas for the XI summit of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples of America, ALBA, and to participate in the celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the frustrated military coup by then a young Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Chavez, currently Venezuelan president.

• Friday, February 3rd 2012 - 23:11 UTC

  Bolivian government promises neighbouring countries to return thousands of stolen cars

  

  The Bolivian government promised to call the ambassadors from neighbouring countries to define a legal framework that allows the devolution of thousands of cars stolen in their countries and which found their way to the landlocked country.

• Friday, February 3rd 2012 - 23:08 UTC

  Cuba’s pro-democracy blogger denied permission to travel to Brazil

  

  Cuba’s best-known pro-democracy blogger said she was denied permission to leave her country after Brazil granted her a visa ahead of President Dilma Rousseff’s state visit to the Castro brothers’ island last week.

• Thursday, February 2nd 2012 - 05:40 UTC

  UK convinced Argentina plotting to blockade the Falklands: LAN airlink next target

  

  British diplomats have accused Argentina of plotting an economic blockade of the Falkland Islands amid fears Buenos Aires is attempting to block all flights from Chile to the Islands, reports the guardian.co.uk in a piece by Rory Carroll, Jonathan Franklin and Uki Goñi.

• Thursday, February 2nd 2012 - 05:10 UTC

  Europe’s largest bank profits boosted by its operations in Latin America

  

  Spain’s Banco Santander said that 2011 net profits reveal the growing importance of its Latin America operations which contributed with 51% of the bulk. Last year net profits totalled 5.4 billion Euros, down from 8.2 billion Euros in 2010.

• Wednesday, February 1st 2012 - 15:56 UTC

  Brazilian president meets Fidel Castro; promises financial economic aid to Cuba

  

  Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff met with Fidel Castro, the revolutionary hero of her youth, and held talks with his younger brother, President Raul Castro, on Tuesday in a visit to strengthen financial and economic ties with Cuba. On Wednesday Rousseff left for Haiti.

• Wednesday, February 1st 2012 - 07:53 UTC

  Buenos Aires La Nacion in talks to acquire Hispanic media group in the US

  

  Two news sources, New York Post and New York One report that the Hispanic media group ImpreMedia is in talks with Argentine newspaper group La Nacion which is interested in the US Spanish publications.

• Wednesday, February 1st 2012 - 07:14 UTC

  Brazil reiterates support for Argentina, denies any blockade to the Falklands

  

  Brazil reiterated its support for Argentina’s Malvinas Islands sovereignty claim and insisted that solving the controversy with the UK is ‘most important’ for South America’s stability. It also pointed out that it’s not correct to talk about “a blockade”.

• Wednesday, February 1st 2012 - 00:09 UTC

  Rousseff downplays human rights issue during her visit to Cuba

  

  Visiting Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff refused to criticize Cuba’s human rights record on Tuesday, saying the issue should not be used to score ideological points.

• Wednesday, February 1st 2012 - 00:06 UTC

  Chilean police arrests gang that stole five tons of glacier ice

  

  Police were investigating a criminal gang that allegedly stole blocks of ice from the Jorge Montt Glacier in southern Chile.