Latin America

• Tuesday, February 5th 2019 - 09:07 UTC

  European allies bend to join 'gringo empire' approach

  

  The decision to promote Juan Guaidó as a rival president to Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela was clearly made in Washington, not in Caracas. The speed with which U.S. allies in the Americas and western Europe recognised Guaidó’s claim on Jan. 23 to be the legitimate president of Venezuela would not have been possible without a lot of prior coordination — and a lot of pressure by the Trump administration.

• Tuesday, February 5th 2019 - 08:58 UTC

  Latin American countries call on Venezuelan military to support interim president Juan Guaidó

  

  A group of Latin American countries and Canada has urged the Venezuelan military to support opposition leader Juan Guaidó as interim president. In a statement, 11 of the 14 members of the Lima Group called for a change of power without the use of force and the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid.

• Monday, February 4th 2019 - 09:26 UTC

  Independent on an anti-corruption ticket sweeps to victory in El Salvador

  

  A former mayor campaigning on an anti-corruption ticket swept to victory in El Salvador’s presidential election on Sunday, bringing an end to a two-party system that has held sway over the violence-plagued Central American country for three decades.

• Monday, February 4th 2019 - 07:44 UTC

  United States sending more troops to the border with Mexico

  

  The US is to send an additional 2,000 troops to its border with Mexico, the Pentagon has announced. It will bring the total number of troops stationed on the southern border to about 4,300. The Pentagon said the soldiers would help border-patrol agents, carry out surveillance work and install miles of razor wire.

• Monday, February 4th 2019 - 07:34 UTC

  US sending humanitarian aid to Venezuela on request from interim president Guadió

  

  The US says it is sending aid to crisis-hit Venezuela following a request from Juan Guaidó, the opposition leader who has declared himself interim president. Mr Guaidó's move last month won swift backing from the US and others but triggered a power struggle.

• Sunday, February 3rd 2019 - 10:36 UTC

  Latin American markets reacted positively to Fed' message of “wait and see”

  

  Most Latin American stocks rose on Friday after U.S. economic data pointed to the possibility that the Federal Reserve could keep interest rates unchanged. Shares extended their rally after U.S. employment and manufacturing data underscored a strong economy with little wage inflation.

• Wednesday, January 30th 2019 - 10:03 UTC

  Venezuelan Supreme Court bans Guaidó from leaving the country and freezes his bank accounts

  

  Venezuela's Supreme Court has banned opposition leader Juan Guaidó from leaving the country and frozen his bank accounts. The move comes amid an escalating power struggle, after Mr Guaidó declared himself interim president last week.

• Wednesday, January 30th 2019 - 09:33 UTC

  Ecuador issues 10-year sovereign bonds at 10.75% yield

  

  Ecuador’s finance ministry said it had placed about US$1 billion in 10-year sovereign bonds in the international market. Proceeds from the 10.75% bonds will be used to strengthen the country’s reserves and help fund this year’s budget which has financing needs of about US$ 8 billion, the ministry said in a statement.

• Wednesday, January 30th 2019 - 09:00 UTC

  Corruption remains mainly unchanged in the Americas, according to Transparency International

  

  With an average score of 44 for three consecutive years, the Americas region continues to fail in making any serious inroads against corruption, according to the latest report from Transparency International. Compared to other regions, the Americas is similar to Asia Pacific (average score: 44), but behind Western Europe and the European Union (average score: 66).

• Wednesday, January 30th 2019 - 08:54 UTC

  Latin American markets outperform world stocks struggling over US/China trade talks

  

  Latin American stocks rose on Tuesday, outperforming world stocks that struggled to hold gains ahead of keenly awaited U.S.-Sino trade talks, earnings of top technology companies and an impending U.S. Federal Reserve decision on interest rates.