Latin America

• Friday, April 17th 2009 - 05:30 UTC

  Chile rocked by labour protests demanding job protection

  

  Chilean police used tear gas and water cannons to break up a labor demonstration in downtown Santiago, part of a nationwide strike of workers demanding job protection amid a wave of layoffs as the global crisis reaches the country.

• Thursday, April 16th 2009 - 12:01 UTC

  Colombia captures “Don Mario, most wanted drug lord

  

  Colombia announced Wednesday the capture of the man listed as the country's most wanted drug lord, Daniel Rendon. The government had offered a reward of up to 2 million US dollars for the capture of Rendon, an alleged paramilitary drug trafficker also known as “Don Mario.”

• Thursday, April 16th 2009 - 11:54 UTC

  Chavez names “chief of government” and takes control of Caracas

  

  Venezuelan legislators loyal to President Hugo Chavez approved this week a new law that further erodes the authority of Caracas' opposition mayor by subordinating him to a government-appointed official.

• Thursday, April 16th 2009 - 09:53 UTC

  Lula da Silva has the highest approval rating; Cristina K the lowest

  

  Brazil’s President Lula da Silva and Colombia’s Alvaro Uribe with over 70% approval have the best leaders’ performances in Latinamerica while in the other extreme figure Argentina’s Cristina Kirchner and Honduras Manuel Zelaya, below 30%, according to the prestigious Mexican pollster Consulta Mitofsky.

• Thursday, April 16th 2009 - 07:15 UTC

  World Bank plans to loan 14 billion USD to Latinamerica

  

  The World Bank expects to loan some 14 billion US dollars to Latinamerica this fiscal year, or almost three times what it lent in 2008, the bank's Vice-President for Latinamerica and the Caribbean, Pamela Cox told a conference call with reporters.

• Thursday, April 16th 2009 - 06:54 UTC

  Chavez hosts alternative pre-summit in Venezuela

  

  The Venezuelan city of Cumana is hosting the summit of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples of our Americas (ALBA), one of the newest regional cooperation initiatives created by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. The meeting takes place hours before the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad Tobago.

• Thursday, April 16th 2009 - 04:18 UTC

  Panama Canal transit falls modestly in spite of global crisis

  

  Transits of the Panama Canal slipped 1.4% in the Canal’s second fiscal quarter, according to the Panama Canal Authority (PCA). A total of 3,914 ships passed through the Canal from January through March.

• Thursday, April 16th 2009 - 03:49 UTC

  Obama and Unasur presidents to meet Saturday in Trinidad Tobago

  

  United States president Barack Obama wishes to meet with his peers from the Union of South American Nations, UNASUR next Saturday on the sidelines of the fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad Tobago.

• Thursday, April 16th 2009 - 01:24 UTC

  Valparaiso port expects less cruise activity next season

  

  Chile’s Valparaiso port authorities confirmed that 15 cruise voyages that were planning to visit the port next season have now been suspended. Making matters even worse, vacation cruise companies Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean and Discovery confirmed they no longer plan to dock in Chile because of high operational costs.

• Wednesday, April 15th 2009 - 10:47 UTC

  Summit of the Americas, “test of intelligence and shame” says Fidel Castro

  

  Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro said on Tuesday Cuba had no desire to rejoin the “infamous” and “vile” decadent Organization of American States, and said the coming Summit of the Americas next week end in Trinidad Tobago will be “a test of intelligence and shame”.