Chile’s President Sebastián Piñera has asked the country’s police chief, Hermes Soto, to stand down amid growing pressure over the death of an indigenous man five weeks ago. Mr Piñera said Hermes Soto and 10 other police commanders should resign to make way for new leadership in the Chilean police. The death of Camilo Catrillanca, 24, led to protests across… Read more »
Just this past week, the National Election Council of Venezuela decreed it would suspend the opposition’s petition for a recall vote on President Nicolas Maduro, essentially meaning that Maduro will remain in power until 2018, when the next presidential election will be held. With his horrendous mishandling of the nation’s economic crisis, there might not be a Venezuela left come… Read more »
REUTERS: Venezuela’s increasingly militant opposition stepped up its push to oust leftist leader Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday with protests that drew hundreds of thousands but also saw unrest leading to dozens of injuries and arrests. In an incident sure to inflame the already polarized situation, a policeman died after being shot on Wednesday night in central Miranda state. The government blamed… Read more »
REUTERS: In a curious convergence of events on the same day last week, four Venezuelan provincial courts issued identical rulings, state governors quickly hit Twitter to celebrate, then the election board emailed a short but bombshell statement. Opposition hopes for a referendum to recall President Nicolas Maduro were dashed, on grounds of fraud in an initial signature drive. The vote… Read more »
STRATFOR: A number of recent developments, protests on Thursday notwithstanding, have raised the odds that Venezuela could default on its foreign debt repayments, triggering a cascade of events that would destabilize the country. Though the country has lived with the specter of default for years, Venezuelan officials have shown a willingness — given the existential threat that a default would pose to the… 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 »