Latin America

• Tuesday, May 12th 2020 - 08:40 UTC

  Colombia's national airline, Avianca, has filed for bankruptcy protection in a US court.

  

  Avianca is the second-largest carrier in Latin America, but its passenger operations have been grounded since March because of coronavirus. It said the pandemic had cut more than 80% of its income, and it was struggling with high fixed costs.

• Tuesday, May 12th 2020 - 06:57 UTC

  Notorious Mexican drug lord dies in prison after contracting coronavirus

  

  Moisés Escamilla May, a notorious Mexican gang leader, has died in prison after contracting coronavirus. Escamilla, 45, was the leader of a group within the feared criminal cartel Los Zetas. He was serving a 37-year sentence for organized crime, including his role in the decapitation of 12 people in Yucatán.

• Saturday, May 9th 2020 - 08:48 UTC

  In April Mexico and Brazil produced 5,569 cars instead of half a million

  

  Auto production in Mexico and Brazil, Latin America's top producers, plunged by an unprecedented 99% in April as a result of the coronavirus crisis, with the two countries building a total of just 5,569 vehicles.

• Saturday, May 9th 2020 - 08:25 UTC

  South American football cool to FIFA's proposal of five substitutions per match

  

  FIFA's decision to temporarily allow up to five substitutions per match to help cope with potential fixture congestion was met coolly in South America on Friday.

• Friday, May 8th 2020 - 08:55 UTC

  Washington Post exposes links between US company and Venezuela opposition plot to capture and oust Maduro

  

  Members of Venezuela’s opposition in October negotiated a US$ 213 million deal with a small Florida security company to invade the country and overthrow President Nicolas Maduro, according to a document published by the Washington Post on Thursday.

• Friday, May 8th 2020 - 08:49 UTC

  World Bank US$ 500 million loan to help Ecuador cover budget needs

  

  The World Bank Board of Directors approved a flexible US$500 million loan to help cover Ecuador's budget needs during the Covid-19 emergency and to promote economic recovery. The loan is the second in a series of three Development Policy Financing (DPF) operations. The first loan of this series was disbursed in June 2019. The operation has been adapted to the current context and to the country’s needs during the pandemic.

• Thursday, May 7th 2020 - 13:11 UTC

  Venezuela television shows a captured US “terrorist” as part of a plot to oust Maduro

  

  Venezuelan state television broadcast on Wednesday a video of captured American Luke Denman, in which he said he was instructed to seize control of Caracas' airport and bring in a plane to fly President Nicolas Maduro to the United States.

• Thursday, May 7th 2020 - 05:23 UTC

  Qatar 2022 Cup: end of Hex qualifying format used by the CONCACAF region?

  

  The novel coronavirus outbreak will likely mean the end of the Hex, the six-team World Cup qualifying format used by the CONCACAF region, said CONCACAF chief Victor Montagliani in an interview with OneSoccer.

• Wednesday, May 6th 2020 - 09:47 UTC

  Trump denies any US involvement in an alleged failed armed incursion in Venezuela

  

  President Donald Trump on Tuesday denied any involvement by the US government in what Venezuelan officials have called a failed armed incursion in the South American country that led to the capture of two American “mercenaries”.

• Tuesday, May 5th 2020 - 07:15 UTC

  COVID-19 collapses Ecuador: 30,000 confirmed cases and no certainty on death toll

  

  Ecuador on Monday exceeded 30,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, while the government launched a plan to start gradually relaxing quarantine measures that have been in place since mid-March. Ecuador has confirmed 31,881 cases of COVID-19, with 1,569 reported deaths and a further 1,336 deaths likely as a result of the virus.