Latin America

The State Department’s top official on Venezuela said Tuesday that the Trump administration will continue recognizing lawmaker Juan Guaidó as the nation’s interim president even if President Nicolás Maduro’s government ousts the opposition from the control of congress — its last major stronghold. “He will not change the legal status …

Facebook said on Saturday it has put a global block on certain accounts controlled by supporters of Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro implicated in a fake news inquiry, a day after it was fined for not complying with a Supreme Court judge’s order to do so. A spokesperson for Facebook said …

The number of fires in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest jumped 28% in July from a year ago, official data showed on Saturday, as some environmentalists warned a jump this week could signal a repeat of last year’s surging destruction of the world’s largest rainforest. Brazil’s space research agency Inpe recorded 6,803 …

Views from Puerto Rico as Hurricane Isaias unleashed flooding, toppled trees and knocked out power for thousands

Tropical Storm Isaias was battering Puerto Rico early Thursday with high winds and heavy rains, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. Isaias was located about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west southwest of Ponce, Puerto Rico, and about 160 miles (257 kilometers) southeast of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. It had …

This would be the earliest ‘I’ storm on record in the Atlantic It may only be late July, but the Atlantic Ocean appears to be on the verge of cranking out its ninth named storm of the 2020 hurricane season, a milestone more typical of late September. Meteorologists are watching …

Coronavirus cases in Latin America for the first time have surpassed the combined infections in the United States and Canada, a Reuters tally showed on Sunday, amid a surge of infections in Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, and Argentina. The quickly growing number of cases makes Latin America the region most …

On July 2, the High Court of Justice in London ruled against Caracas in a battle for over $1.13 billion in gold stored in the Bank of England’s coffers, arguing that the British government’s recognition of opposition leader and self-proclaimed ‘interim president’ Juan Guaido gave him the right to dispose …

Up to one-fifth of Brazil’s soya exports to the European Union may be “contaminated” by illegal deforestation, a study has found. Researchers used freely available maps and data to identify the specific farms and ranches clearing forests to produce soya and beef destined for Europe. They found 2% of properties …

Mexico’s top security official has said authorities are investigating a video which showed dozens of uniformed troops with military-grade weapons and armoured pickup trucks apparently connected to a major drug cartel. The video, which circulated on social media on Friday, appeared to be a show of power by members of …

Illegal armed groups are imposing strict Covid-19 quarantines in parts of Colombia where the state has a weak presence, threatening and even killing those who don’t comply, Human Rights Watch warned on Wednesday. At least nine people have been assassinated in recent months for either refusing to abide by the …

The remains of an ancient Aztec palace have been discovered under a stately building in Mexico City. During renovations at the building of the capital’s central Zócalo plaza, workers found basalt slab floors. The floors were part of open space in the palace of Aztec ruler Axayácatl, Mexico’s National Institute …

Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rose for the 14th consecutive month in June, preliminary government data on Friday showed, heaping further pressure on President Jair Bolsonaro, who is under fire for worsening destruction of the rainforest on his watch. Destruction rose 10.7% percent for the month, compared to June 2019, according …

Eyewitnesses could only look on in horror as a small private plane crash-landed on the streets of Sao Paulo, before exploding into flames. Emergency response teams were too late to save the sole occupant trapped inside. The tragic incident took place just outside of the Campo de Marte Airport in …

Brazilian President Bolsonaro, who has sought repeatedly to minimize the coronavirus as he urges the country back to work, has tested positive for covid-19, he told reporters on Tuesday. Bolsonaro, who has been an outlier among world leaders in his skepticism of both the coronavirus and preventive measures intended to …

The number of fires in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest rose 20% in June to a 13-year-high for the month, government data showed on Wednesday, as researchers worry that it could signal a repeat of last year’s surge in forest fires. Health experts also fear the smoke that often blankets the region …

Mexico reported 523 more coronavirus deaths on Saturday, pushing its tally to 30,366, overtaking France to become the fifth-highest in the world. The health ministry also reported 6,914 new infections and a total of 252,165 confirmed cases. Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez Gatell reiterated that the actual number of infected …

Gunmen burst into an unregistered drug rehabilitation center in central Mexico and opened fire Wednesday, killing 24 people and wounding seven, authorities said. Police in the north-central state of Guanajuato said the attack occurred in the city of Irapuato. Apparently the attackers shot everyone at the rehab center. State police …

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday ordered the European Union envoy to leave the country; hours after the EU announced sanctions against several officials loyal to the socialist leader. Maduro announced the move in a televised address after the EU Council sanctioned 11 members of Maduro’s inner circle after accusing …

A 7.7 magnitude earthquake, damaged 55 cultural heritage sites in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, the country’s Secretariat of Culture said on Wednesday. “The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and the Oaxaca Institute of Cultural Heritage state in their latest report that 55 objects of cultural heritage were …