
Terrorism knows how to convert some countries into useful idiots said Colombian president during an interview with Spanish media in the framework of the EU-Latam-Caribbean leaders’ summit in Madrid.

Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said that Britain’s stance of declaring sovereignty over the Falklands/Malvinas sovereignty “non-negotiable” is a “mistake” dictated by “unilateral practices” that have created insecurity in the world.

Spain’s Popular Party opposition has complained after a Spanish ministry issued guidelines to maritime rescue services that appear to acknowledge British Gibraltar territorial waters.

Peruvian president Alan Garcia criticized spiralling military expenditure in South America, a fact he linked to the recently created Union of South American Nations, Unasur.

European Union finance ministers have agreed to introduce tougher regulation of the hedge fund industry. Ministers overrode objections by the new UK government and the City of London, where 80% of European funds are based.

Chilean President Sebastian Piñera and Peruvian President Alan Garcia Perez met Sunday in the lead up to the European Union, Latin American, and Caribbean Summit in Madrid. The meeting represented a big step forward in improving the current rocky relations between Chile and Peru.

The Royal Navy survey ship HMS Scott returned to Devonport this week after six months on deployment in the southern hemisphere. The deep-water survey ship deployed on 26 October 2009 replaced stricken HMS Endurance in Ice patrol duties.

“We must help the United States because they are on retreat, and they must manage that retreat”, said Uruguayan president Jose Mujica in an interview with a new Argentine newspaper “Tiempo Argentino” launched last Sunday. This is the first interview of the Uruguayan president to an Argentine daily.

Brazil is well prepared for any negative spillover effects from the EU debt and Euro crisis, although things “could be worse”, according to Brazilian Central Bank president Henrique Meirelles currently in New York.

An international conference held last week in Santiago de Chile by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL) took a hard look at how poverty is defined in Latin America and gave Chileans attending the event an opportunity to sound off about how poverty is measured here.