MercoPress https://en.mercopress.com/ South Atlantic News Agency en Copyright 2026, MercoPress. https://en.mercopress.com/web/img/en/mercopress-logo.gif MercoPress http://en.mercopress.com/ <![CDATA[Peru joins the Americas Shield during Rubio's visit to Lima]]> Fujimori said the move relaunches joint work between the two countries and rejected the idea that it compromises Peruvian sovereignty Peru will join the Americas Shield, the US-backed security coalition against transnational organized crime, President Keiko Fujimori announced on Thursday after meeting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Government Palace.

]]> Thu, 10 Sep 2026 21:45:00 GMT <![CDATA[Colombia's human rights ombudsman challenges De la Espriella over display of bodies]]> “I do not recall seeing a president walking among the dead and feeling proud of those deaths,” Ombudsman Iris Marín said Colombia's human rights ombudsman has challenged President Abelardo de la Espriella over the release of footage showing him walking among the bodies of suspected FARC dissident fighters killed in a military operation, in the first public disagreement between the rights body and the government that took office on August 7.

]]> Wed, 09 Sep 2026 09:33:00 GMT <![CDATA[Latin America falls back in PISA 2025 as Argentina posts its worst score since 2006]]> OECD averages stood at 461 points in reading, 463 in mathematics and 482 in science, the lowest figures recorded since the test was first applied All 13 Latin American countries assessed in the PISA 2025 report, released Tuesday, scored below the OECD averages in the three subjects measured, in an edition marked by broad declines and by Argentina's worst performance since it began taking part in the test.

]]> Wed, 09 Sep 2026 06:32:00 GMT <![CDATA[De la Espriella completes his first month with a full reversal of Petro's diplomacy]]> The Colombian government also restored diplomatic relations with Israel, severed under Petro, and recognised Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella completed his first month in office on Monday with a series of foreign policy decisions that reverse his predecessor Gustavo Petro's approach and tighten alignment with the United States and Israel.

]]> Mon, 07 Sep 2026 08:52:00 GMT <![CDATA[Lenín Moreno and a former Chinese ambassador convicted over bribes at Ecuador's largest dam]]> The ruling is a first-instance decision and is not final. Moreno, 73, announced he will appeal, remains in Ecuador and has not been detained A court of Ecuador's National Court of Justice on Friday sentenced former president Lenín Moreno to five years in prison for bribery, in the case over kickbacks linked to the construction and financing of the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant. The same sentence was handed to China's former ambassador in Quito, Cai Runguo, and to former representatives of the Chinese state builder Sinohydro, Yang Huiju and Song Dongsheng.

]]> Thu, 03 Sep 2026 08:11:00 GMT <![CDATA[Eight Months After Maduro's Capture, Venezuela's Oil Boom Has Outrun Latin America's Sovereignty Debate]]> Photo: EFE/Henry Chirinos When Colombian former President Gustavo Petro convened an emergency CELAC session in the first week of January, the assumption in most South American foreign ministries was that the region would answer the United States with one voice. Eight months later, the answer is still fragmented — and Venezuela's oil is flowing north at a rate not seen in two decades.

]]> Thu, 03 Sep 2026 00:31:00 GMT <![CDATA[Brazil: Flávio Bolsonaro promises 500,000 prison places inspired by the Salvadoran model]]> “There are few prisoners in Brazil, there should be more; there are not more only because the legislation is weak,” the senator said after the meeting Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the Liberal Party's presidential candidate and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's main rival in October's elections, met on Sunday in São Paulo with El Salvador's justice and public security minister, Gustavo Villatoro, and announced he will incorporate into his programme measures inspired by President Nayib Bukele's security policy.

]]> Mon, 31 Aug 2026 22:13:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Panama Canal will cut daily transits from Wednesday because of drought]]> Panama has eleven watersheds under water stress and declared an emergency last week, alongside Honduras and El Salvador The Panama Canal will reduce the number of vessels allowed to cross from 38 to 34 a day from September 3, and to 32 from the 15th, as well as imposing new draught restrictions, because of falling water levels linked to El Niño. According to the waterway's authorities, rainfall since May has been 34% below the historical average and inflows to the basin have dropped 44%. Around 5% of world maritime traffic passes through the canal.

]]> Mon, 31 Aug 2026 08:46:00 GMT <![CDATA[Bolivia deploys troops against blockades over a decree its own government wants repealed]]> At least ten organisations are defying the state of emergency Bolivia's government deployed military and police units on Tuesday in the municipality of Yapacaní, in Santa Cruz department, ahead of announced road blockades called by farming organisations against the decree that raised the price of diesel for large consumers. Hours later, the deputy interior minister acknowledged that the same measure must be annulled.

]]> Wed, 26 Aug 2026 08:00:00 GMT <![CDATA[Argentina acknowledges the Magellan treaties and seeks to defuse friction with Chile]]> The 1881 treaty recognised Chilean sovereignty over the strait and established its perpetual neutralisation, with free navigation for vessels of all nations Argentina's foreign ministry issued a statement on Tuesday reaffirming that its position on the Strait of Magellan is the one established by the 1881 Boundary Treaty and the 1984 Treaty of Peace and Friendship, a day after Chile announced it would send a note of protest over remarks by the head of the Argentine Air Force General Staff.

]]> Tue, 25 Aug 2026 21:28:00 GMT