BBC NEWS: Honduras police have begun transferring groups of dangerous convicts to a new maximum security prison as part of a government security plan. Thirty-seven prisoners were taken by helicopter to the new jail in the western region of Santa Barbara.
BBC NEWS: Brazil’s former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will stand trial on corruption and money laundering charges over an alleged scheme at the state oil company, Petrobras, a judge has said. Prosecutors say he accepted 3.7m reais ($1.11m; £867,000) in bribes connected to the multi-billion dollar scheme.
Guadalajara, Mexico – Having spent the morning rumbling through downtown Guadalajara in their impenetrable armoured van, the three Seguritec employees entrusted with collecting cash from local businesses stopped to receive one last payment. Two of them got out to collect the money, but upon returning to their vehicle they realised their colleague had fled with about $800,000 in local currency.
BBC:The ex-Speaker of Brazil’s lower house, Eduardo Cunha, faces being stripped of his seat amid accusations he lied about undeclared Swiss bank accounts. Newspaper O Globo (in Portuguese) counts 300 representatives who will vote against him later on Monday – well above the 257 required. Mr Cunha is widely regarded as the architect of the impeachment process against President Dilma… Read more »
BBC: The Colombian rebel group, the Farc, has handed over a first group of child soldiers as part of a peace accord signed with the government last month. The International Red Cross said the eight children would be given mental and physical examinations before being taken to temporary reception centers. They said the ultimate aim was to try to return… Read more »
JAMAICA OBSERVER: Venezuela’s Minister of Foreign Trade, Jesus Farias says the country is seeking to expand its economic presence in the Caribbean. At a recent meeting with businessmen in the Dutch overseas territory of Bonaire, Farias said as part of actions promoted by the Venezuelan government to diversify its economy, the focus is that of presenting its exportable offer to other… Read more »
New York Times: LIMA, Peru — A Peruvian court on Thursday sentenced former army officers and soldiers to prison for killing dozens of peasants in an Andean village 31 years ago during the height of a conflict between the government and Shining Path rebels. In the 1985 massacre in the town of Accomarca, 71 villagers were killed, including 23 children…. Read more »
BBC: A US commercial flight has arrived in Cuba for the first time in more than half a century. JetBlue Flight 387 had 150 passengers, including US transport secretary Anthony Foxx. The plane took off from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at 09:45 EDT (13:45 GMT) and landed in Santa Clara in central Cuba about an hour later. The flight marks the latest… Read more »
BBC: Hundreds of thousands of people have marched through the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, to protest against President Nicolas Maduro. Opposition supporters, staging their largest rally for two years, called for Mr Maduro’s removal. They blame him for Venezuela’s economic crisis and accuse the electoral commission of delaying a referendum that could shorten his stay in power. Mr Maduro’s supporters also rallied in… Read more »
Reuters: Bolivia responded to last week’s murder of a government official by announcing a crackdown on mining cooperatives on Thursday, saying it would return contracts signed between them and private companies to state control. The beaten body of Deputy Interior Minister Rodolfo Illanes was found by the side of the road last week, hours after he had approached mining protesters… Read more »