Ecuador's youngest mayor and another occupant of her car were found dead with wounds consistent with those stemming from firearms in the coastal city of San Vicente, in the province of Manabi, despite the state of emergency in force, it was reported Sunday.
Venezuela's National Assembly Thursday passed a law creating a new region in the oil-rich Essequibo territory under Guyanese control since the late 1800s on which Caracas claims sovereignty.
Bolivian President Luis Arce Catacora announced that his country's first biodiesel production plant will start operating next week in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Although some experts have doubted the project's worth, the Government said that the new undertaking would generate up to US$ 100 million in savings on fossil fuel imports. Supreme Decree 5135 authorizes the addition of up to 25% of vegetable components to conventional fuels.
As if Haiti's shortages were not severe enough, armed groups sabotaged the main docking facilities in Port-au-Prince and looted several containers, including one from the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), containing essential supplies, it was reported this weekend.
Recent rains have led the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) to announce an increase in the number of vessels through the interoceanic path from 24 to 27 each day, it was reported. Being the only waterway in the world that uses fresh water to link the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the 80-kilometer Panamanian route carries 6% of the world's maritime trade.
Bolivian authorities need to have the Senate approve a US$ 125 million loan from the World Bank at the earliest or else the credit agency might backtrack on granting it, Hydrocarbons Ministry Spokeswoman Rocío Molina warned Monday. Other five credits might follow suit given the Upper House's tardiness, Molina explained.
The Latin American Economic Climate Index (ICE) released this weekend by Brazil's Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV) highlighted Paraguay as the Mecca for business ventures in the region given the country's outstanding performance.
Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry has sought shelter in Puerto Rico after his aircraft was denied a landing clearance by the Dominican Republic, it was reported Wednesday. Henry is unable to return to Port-au-Prince where gang groups threaten that a bloodbath will occur should he refuse to resign.
Gustavo Lino Adrianzén Olaya was sworn in Wednesday as Peru's new Prime Minister (technically chairman of the Council of Ministers) following Alberto Otárola Peñaranda's resignation on Tuesday amid an influence-peddling scandal involving the hiring of a woman he called my love at the Defense Ministry.
María Corina Machado, the opposition candidate elected in Venezuela's October primary elections, has responded strongly to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's recent comments indirectly criticizing her candidacy.