Latin America

• Monday, December 12th 2022 - 09:53 UTC

  Volcano activity leads to temporary airport closure in Guatemala

  

  Guatemala City's La Aurora International Airport was closed temporarily Sunday due to “the presence of ashes” from the nearby Fuego volcano, it was reported. The air terminal resumed operations three hours later after the wind shifted “to the south,” according to Civil Aeronautics Director Francis Argueta.

• Friday, December 9th 2022 - 14:50 UTC

  LATAM domestic pilots threatening with strike beginning 31 December

  

  LATAM airlines domestic pilots are threatening with industrial action unless their pre-pandemic contract conditions are re-established. The fifty air professionals this week announced an “non-yielding” position since as happened with other Latam unions and officials, they are intent in recovering pre-pandemic benefits.

• Thursday, December 8th 2022 - 19:05 UTC

  Former Guatemalan President and VP convicted in corruption probe

  

  Former Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina (2012-2015) has been sentenced to 16 years in prison alongside then-Vice-President Roxana Baldetti, in the so-called “La Línea” case involving an illicit association and customs fraud, which eventually led to their fall from office.

• Thursday, December 8th 2022 - 17:15 UTC

  New Mexico set to overtake Mexico's crude oil production this month

  

  The state of New Mexico is expected to overtake Mexico’s crude oil production in the current month, according to commodity analysts projected report at Standard Chartered.

• Thursday, December 8th 2022 - 17:14 UTC

  EU deforestation bill threatens Latin America and African countries

  

  European lawmakers and EU member states inked a deal on Tuesday, December 6, to ban the purchase of products such as cocoa, coffee, and soybeans that contribute to deforestation, increasing the pressure exerted on Brazilian exports. The list also encompasses palm oil, wood, beef, rubber, and derivate products like skins, chocolate, furniture, and paper.

• Thursday, December 8th 2022 - 09:19 UTC

  Ecuador back to mandatory masks in indoor settings

  

  The wearing of facemasks in indoor settings has been reinstated in Ecuador due to the increase in cases of COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases such as influenza, the National Emergency Operations Committee (COE) announced Wednesday.

• Thursday, December 8th 2022 - 08:58 UTC

  Boluarte becomes Peru's first-ever female president

  

  Dina Boluarte Wednesday became the first woman ever to hold the position of President of Peru after she was sworn in following the impeachment and arrest of Pedro Castillo Terrones for trying to stage a coup d'état.

• Thursday, December 8th 2022 - 08:40 UTC

  Castillo housed at same detention center as fellow former President Fujimori

  

  Peru's Prosecutor's Office Wednesday announced the arrest of former president Pedro Castillo Terrones for the “commission of an act in flagrancy” after his failed attempt to dissolve Parliament and his ensuing impeachment by Congress.

• Wednesday, December 7th 2022 - 20:26 UTC

  Peru's Congress impeaches Castillo; Boluarte to be sworn in

  

  Peru's Vice President Dina Boluarte is to be sworn in later Wednesday as the new President after the motion to vacate (impeach) Pedro Castillo Terrones was approved by 101 votes in favor, six against, and 10 abstentions, citing a “moral incapacity” following his coup attempt. Boluarte will be the first woman ever to hold that office

• Wednesday, December 7th 2022 - 19:15 UTC

  Peru: Pedro Castillo detained by police after coup attempt

  

  Peruvian President Pedro Castillo was arrested by the authorities after he dissolved the Congress of Peru on Wednesday. The accused as the leader of a “criminal organization” was approached in the street, in downtown Lima, by police officers when he was leaving the Government headquarters, it was reported by local media.