Analysis: Colombia’s ‘fake’ peace in tatters Less than a decade ago, Columbia was a country engulfed in civil war, as the rebel militant group Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) fought the Columbian government. Various peace deals with the group were struck with FARC, resulting in the group being transformed into a political party. Now the country is anticipating tensions as… Read more »
Venezuela’s crisis explained from the beginning – Al Jazeera Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, saw almost daily demonstrations from April to June, some of which turned violent. The opposition accuses President Nicolas Maduro of moving towards a dictatorship, and want him to resign. But Maduro says the opposition is conspiring with foreign entities, specifically the United States, to destabilise the… Read more »
Venezuelan opposition to boycott ‘fraudulent’ election – Al Jazeera Venezuela’s opposition said it will not participate in “fraudulent and illegitimate” presidential elections scheduled to take place on April 22. The announcement came as President Nicolas Maduro called snap legislative elections in Venezuela on Wednesday to coincide with the vote. In a statement, the opposition Democratic Unity movement said the “premature”… Read more »
Colombia’s ‘fake’ peace in tatters – Al Jazeera Back in September 2016, at the 71st United Nations General Assembly, Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos triumphantly announced “the end of war in Colombia”. Since 2012, Santos’ government had been negotiating with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), an armed group that fought the Colombian state for over 50 years. In August 2016, negotiators announced… Read more »
Latin America poised to agree world’s first legal pact for nature defenders – The Guardian After lengthy negotiations and record deaths of defenders on the continent, sources say a deal is very likely to be reached Latin American countries are poised to agree the world’s first legally binding convention to protect environmental defenders at a conference in Costa Rica. Land… Read more »
Corrupt governments and institutions have long been an issue in Latin America and have contributed greatly to the region’s general instability. However the recent trend suggests that corrupt officials may be under a greater threat than they have been previously. The fundamental difficulty in fighting corruption lies in the fact that those who are corrupt usually are the major power-holders…. Read more »
Nicolas Maduro vows to attend Summit of Americas – Al Jazeera Venezuela’s president vowed on Thursday to show up at the Summit of the Americas in Peru in April after he was told this week not to bother coming. Maduro has accused conservative governments in Latin America – specifically Argentina, Colombia and Peru – of siding with the United States… Read more »
Guatemala ex-president, ministers arrested over graft – Al Jazeera Guatemala‘s fight against corruption has intensified with the arrest of a former president and nine of his ex-ministers. Alvaro Colom and members of his former cabinet are suspected of having embezzled funds and committing fraud while helping set up a public bus system in Guatemala City in 2010. Ivan Velasquez, head… Read more »
UPDATE 1-Venezuela removes U.S.-sanctioned Zerpa as PDVSA CFO – CNBC CARACAS, Feb 15 (Reuters) – Venezuela state oil company PDVSA has removed Chief Financial Officer Simon Zerpa, who was sanctioned by the United States last year, a personnel move that could facilitate crude exports and bond renegotiations. Venezuela’s official gazette on Thursday said Zerpa was replaced by Iliana Ruzza, who… Read more »
Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro ‘not welcome’ in Peru – BBC Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has said that Venezuela’s leader Nicolás Maduro is “not welcome” at a regional summit to be held in the Peruvian capital, Lima, in April. Just last week, Venezuelan officials had confirmed that President Maduro would attend the summit. Mr Kuczynski cited “a rupture in the… Read more »