Tag Archives: Latin America

MIAMI (AP) — A former fighter pilot jailed in Venezuela in February for his ties to a prominent human rights attorney is an employee of U.S. oil firm Chevron, The Associated Press has learned, an arrest that combined with other recent repressive acts by Nicolás Maduro’s government is straining efforts by the Biden administration to pave the way for free …

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s government said Thursday that it was extending a state of emergency and nighttime curfew to try and curb violent gang attacks that have paralyzed the capital of Port-au-Prince in a fierce battle for political power. An initial three-day curfew was announced over the weekend, but gangs have continued to attack police stations and other state …

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — At least eight people died in Rio de Janeiro state due to landslides and floods caused by heavy rains Thursday, Brazilian authorities said. A 6-year-old was listed as missing in the countryside city of Mendes. Four of the dead, including an 8-month-old, were members of the same family in the city of Barra do Pirai, …

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Panamanian authorities on Thursday ordered the arrest of former President Ricardo Martinelli, who has been holed up in the Nicaraguan Embassy since receiving political asylum from that country earlier this month. A judge approved a requested change of Martinelli’s conditional release that had stood while he appealed his 10-year sentence for a money laundering conviction, the …

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Panamanian authorities on Thursday ordered the arrest of former President Ricardo Martinelli, who has been holed up in the Nicaraguan Embassy since receiving political asylum from that country earlier this month. A judge approved a requested change of Martinelli’s conditional release that had stood while he appealed his 10-year sentence for a money laundering conviction, the …

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A top court in St. Vincent and the Grenadines upheld laws on Friday that criminalize gay sex, a blow to activists who have long decried the violence the LGBTQ+ community has faced on the conservative Caribbean archipelago. The ruling by St. Vincent’s High Court stems from a 2019 case filed by two gay men …

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico is trudging through reconstruction work after two devastating hurricanes and a string of strong earthquakes, and has spent less than 10% of more than $23 billion in available federal funds, according to a U.S. government report released Tuesday. The U.S. territory has “a substantial amount” of permanent projects still pending as their …

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A former Puerto Rico mayor who was caught on film in a high-profile bribery case was sentenced Monday to more than five years in prison as part of an ongoing federal crackdown on government corruption in the U.S. territory. Ángel Pérez Otero, a former lawmaker who also was president of the island’s Federation of …

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele is savoring what appears to be a landslide reelection victory, and is railing against his international critics and the press. The populist leader has declared himself a harbinger of democracy, not the case study for 21st century autocracy that some fear. Bukele told thousands of cheering supporters Sunday night …

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The money that Mexican migrants send home to their relatives grew by 7.6% in 2023, to reach a record $63.3 billion for the year, Mexico’s central bank said Thursday. The money transfers, known as remittances, have been booming since the coronavirus pandemic, but the rate of growth continued to cool somewhat in 2023. In 2022, remittances …