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South America
Caracas mayor charged with conspiring against Venezuelan government
Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma was formally charged Friday with “conspiracy to commit violent acts against the state” while fellow opposition leaders described his arrest as a “brutal and unconstitutional” and called on Venezuelans to take to the streets in protest. Analysts said the surprise arrest Thursday of the 59-year old mayor could mark a more repressive tack by President Nicolas Maduro to squelch dissent. Maduro, who replaced Hugo Chavez as president after Chavez’s death in March 2013, faces increasing public dissatisfaction amid a worsening economy marked by scarcities and high inflation. Ledezma was being held at the headquarters complex of the...
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Caracas mayor charged with conspiring against Venezuelan government
Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma was formally charged Friday with “conspiracy to commit violent acts against the state” while fellow opposition leaders described his arrest as a “brutal and unconstitutional” and called on Venezuelans to take to the streets...
Bill O'Reilly calls Mother Jones piece about his Falklands reporting 'garbage'
Bill O’Reilly disputed claims made in a Mother Jones magazine article that said the Fox News Channel host had falsely characterized his career as a war correspondent.
The story, called “Bill O’Reilly Has His Own Brian Williams Problem,” said O’Reilly had...
Venezuelan president says Caracas mayor arrested for 'conspiring'
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Thursday night that Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma, a Maduro opponent, had been arrested for "conspiring against the peace and stability of the nation."
Maduro, in a televised address from...
Thousands march in honor of deceased Argentine prosecutor
Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through Argentina's capital on Wednesday in tribute to a prosecutor who died a month ago after accusing President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner of a coverup in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center.
...
Argentine prosecutor renews case against country's president
A prosecutor who took over a high-profile case against Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner after the special prosecutor in the case was found dead has formally renewed the investigation into whether the government covered up...
Explosion on offshore Petrobras oil vessel kills 3 in Brazil
An explosion on an offshore oil vessel operated by Brazil's troubled energy giant, Petrobras, killed at least three workers Wednesday and left six missing, according to a company statement and union reports.
The explosion took place around midday off the...
Death toll rises to five in blast on oil vessel off coast of Brazil
The death toll from an explosion on an oil vessel off the Brazilian coast rose to five people, one of the companies operating the vessel said Thursday.
A statement issued by BW Offshore also confirmed that four crew members remained missing after the...
Argentina mystery: Unsolved terrorism case, and the prosecutor's death
Three weeks after the death of an Argentine prosecutor investigating the bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, details surrounding his demise are as murky as the labyrinthine case he was examining, which is still unsolved after more than...
Peru and Ecuador: Free airfare offer on Machu Picchu, Galápagos tours
If you're contemplating a trip to South America, Boston-based Overseas Adventure Travel offers free airfare worth $900 per person on selected trips this summer.
The deal is good for June journeys that highlight Machu Picchu in Peru and the...
Slain Argentine prosecutor reportedly considered arresting president
Special prosecutor Alberto Nisman was apparently considering an arrest warrant for Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner before his death Jan. 18, according to a published report.
Nisman was found dead in his Buenos Aires apartment from a...
Ford beats estimates despite declines in earnings, revenue
Ford's net income tumbled in the fourth quarter as the company took an expected charge to deal with its struggling Venezuelan operations.
But without the charge and other one-time items, Ford came out ahead of Wall Street's expectations for the fourth...
Brazil's economy hurt by unknown cost of Petrobras' corruption
Brazil's economy took another hit Wednesday after its state-controlled oil company admitted it couldn't calculate how much money had been lost in a vast corruption scandal.
Petrobras, until last year Latin America's largest company by market value,...
Argentine president seeks dissolution of intelligence services
In her first public comments since the mysterious death of a prosecutor rocked Argentina, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is calling on Congress to dissolve the country's intelligence services.
Fernandez said Monday night that reforming the...
Brazil's claim adds yet another facet to the case of the Bahia Emerald
The bizarre, tortuous journey of the Bahia Emerald began in the depths of a Brazilian mine and eventually landed it in a Los Angeles County sheriff's evidence locker, where it remains today.
Since 2009, the 180,000-carat, 840-pound behemoth of a gem...
Shortages, inflation and long lines have Venezuelans grumbling
Waiting in line for hours to buy groceries at a supermarket in eastern Caracas, Helena Siso didn’t know or care who was to blame for the acute shortages of consumer goods plaguing Venezuela. She just wanted the government to do something about it.
...
Ecuador goes for Super Bowl exposure with halftime ad
During Super Bowl halftime Feb. 1, you can expect to see high-priced commercials for beer, fast food, cars, soft drinks and a small South American banana exporter.
Ecuador is expected to become the first foreign country to buy a 30-second ad during the...
Argentine prosecutor probing 1994 bombing shot in head, autopsy shows
An Argentine special prosecutor who last week accused the nation's president of being involved in a coverup tied to the 1994 bombing of a Jewish cultural center died of a gunshot wound to the head, an official said Monday following an autopsy.
Natalio...
Venezuelan gasoline and goods still sold in Colombia despite crackdown
Miguel is a pimpinero, a curbside vendor of contraband Venezuelan gasoline that he sells at two-thirds of the going price at Colombian gas stations.
Despite a professed government crackdown, hundreds of bootleggers openly hawk their black market fuel...
The Latin American gun leak
During the 1980s, El Salvador was the single largest recipient of U.S. military hardware and weaponry in the Western Hemisphere. Although the Central American country's civil war ended in 1992, the guns, grenades and bullets linger, as do their...
Bridge links Brazil to French Guiana, yet doesn't
As Jose Domingos speeds down the Oiapoque River in his canoe once more today, he passes underneath a mammoth suspension bridge. By far the most imposing structure anywhere near this muggy Amazonian border town, it looms overhead and then retreats behind...
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