Latin America

• Thursday, April 23rd 2026 - 22:58 UTC

  LATAM and Aerolíneas Argentinas aircraft collide on the ground at Santiago airport with no injuries reported

  

  Two commercial aircraft collided on the ground at Santiago's Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport on Wednesday evening in an incident that left no injuries but forced the rescheduling of both affected flights. The collision occurred at around 8:00 p.m. local time, when a LATAM Airlines Airbus A321 struck a stationary Aerolíneas Argentinas Boeing 737 that was holding on the apron awaiting clearance for take-off.

• Thursday, April 23rd 2026 - 12:28 UTC

  Latin America's largest investment bank targets Uruguay as regional hub after acquiring local HSBC unit

  

  Brazilian group BTG Pactual, Latin America's largest investment bank, is awaiting authorisation from Uruguay's Central Bank (BCU) to begin operating in the local financial market following its $175 million acquisition of HSBC Uruguay, agreed in July 2025. Group executives expect regulatory approval to come through by mid-year, allowing them to begin operations gradually in the second half of 2026.

• Wednesday, April 22nd 2026 - 14:18 UTC

  Peru's electoral authority chief resigns as runoff still undecided ten days after first round

  

  Piero Corvetto resigned as head of Peru's National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) on Tuesday, ten days after the April 12 first-round presidential vote, amid judicial investigations and an institutional credibility crisis deepened by the logistical failures recorded during the election. The National Justice Board (JNJ) accepted the resignation unanimously.

• Wednesday, April 22nd 2026 - 10:57 UTC

  Chile closes ranks on Strait of Magellan sovereignty a week after Argentine admiral's remarks

  

  A week after remarks by Argentine Rear Admiral Hernán Montero on the eastern mouth of the Strait of Magellan went viral, the Chilean government has consolidated a unified stance in defense of its sovereignty, while internal debate has shifted toward the executive's handling of the communications response.

• Wednesday, April 22nd 2026 - 03:59 UTC

  Milei drops to 14th among Latin American Presidents, ranks among region's five worst-rated

  

  Argentine President Javier Milei fell to 14th place out of 18 leaders in the regional approval ranking for April 2026, consolidating his entry into the group of six worst-rated heads of state in Latin America. The survey, carried out by polling firm CB Global Data, registered a 36.2% positive image and a 59.7% negative reading, a 23.5-point gap that represents the widest imbalance since the start of his administration.

• Monday, April 20th 2026 - 19:14 UTC

  Cuba confirms meeting with US representatives in Havana, insists on lifting energy blockade

  

  Cuba's government on Monday confirmed that a meeting with US representatives recently took place on the island, in the latest sign of a diplomatic approach between both countries amid a severe energy crisis caused by Washington's blockade of oil supplies.

• Monday, April 20th 2026 - 18:02 UTC

  Irregular Venezuelans in Chile want to leave but can't: no papers, no consulate, no return mechanism

  

  As President José Antonio Kast's government ramps up its campaign against irregular immigration with deportation flights and promises of mass expulsions, thousands of undocumented Venezuelans in Chile face a paradox: they want to leave but cannot do so legally. Without valid passports, without Venezuelan consular services in the country and without a formal voluntary return mechanism, they are trapped between a government that does not want them and a homeland they cannot reach.

• Monday, April 20th 2026 - 04:10 UTC

  Bolivia runoff consolidates fragmentation: ruling party keeps two regions, opposition governs the rest

  

  Voters in five Bolivian departments went to the polls on Sunday to complete the regional elections that began on March 22, in a runoff that consolidated a fragmented political map: President Rodrigo Paz's Patria coalition retained just two of nine governorships, while seven went to different opposition forces.

• Sunday, April 19th 2026 - 23:23 UTC

  Peru elections: Sanchez rules out expropriations, seeks to calm markets as he secures second place

  

  Left-wing presidential candidate Roberto Sánchez, who with 93.48% of ballots counted holds second place in Peru's election and is headed for a June 7 runoff against Keiko Fujimori, ruled out expropriations as part of his governing program and accused economic elites of spreading “financial panic” around his candidacy.

• Friday, April 17th 2026 - 11:06 UTC

  Chile launches deportation flights under Kast with 40 migrants expelled to Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia

  

  The government of Chilean President José Antonio Kast carried out its first deportation flight of irregular migrants on Thursday, expelling 40 people on a Chilean Air Force (FACh) Boeing 737 that made stops in Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia. The 19 Colombians, the last group to disembark, arrived in Bogotá shortly after 8:00 p.m. local time. The 17 Bolivians and four Ecuadorians were dropped off previously in La Paz and Guayaquil, respectively. Each deportee traveled accompanied by an officer from Chile's Investigative Police (PDI).