South America

Trump blasts Venezuela over blocked US aid shipments

by Sebastian Smith Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump warned Venezuela on Wednesday that “all options” are on the table and demanded that far left leader Nicolas Maduro unblock US aid shipments to the country. Again stressing that he had not ruled out military options, Trump said he was “sad” about the “turmoil” in the oil-rich Latin American nation. “You’ll see,” he told reporters at a White House meeting with […]

Facing cronyism and no work, young Haitians protest or flee

by Amelie BARON Agence France Presse PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP) — Whether using social media to fight corruption or marching in protests that have brought the country to a halt, the anger of Haiti’s youth at their lack of prospects is boiling over in increasingly dramatic ways. Marco Beausejour, a graduate who struggles to make ends meet driving a motorbike-taxi, said that embattled President Jovenel Moise “launched clean-up programs which he said would create 50,000 jobs.” […]

Venezuela’s Guaido vows to bring in aid next week

by Maria Isabel SANCHEZ Agence France Presse CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaido told tens of thousands of supporters on Tuesday that desperately-needed humanitarian aid would be brought into the country on February 23, despite opposition from President Nicolas Maduro. “It’s sure that the humanitarian aid will enter Venezuela because the usurper will have no choice but to leave Venezuela,” said self-proclaimed acting president Guaido. US aid has been piling up in […]

Venezuela opposition prepares protest, presses for aid to be let in

Venezuela’s opposition plans more marches Tuesday to press the military to let in US humanitarian aid, which President Nicolas Maduro says is the stepping stone to an invasion. Opposition leader and self declared president Juan Guaido will lead a rally in eastern Caracas but demonstrations have been called all over the country. They are to mark Youth Day but also to honor 40 people killed in anti-government rallies in January, many of them youths. “We […]

Venezuela’s financial accountability authority probes Guaido

CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuela’s office of financial accountability said on Monday it has opened an investigation into opposition leader Juan Guaido’s income. The agency’s chief, Elvis Amoroso, said that Guaido, who has been recognized as Venezuela’s interim president by around 50 countries, “allegedly … received money from international and national bodies without any justification.” Amoroso, an official close to the regime of President Nicolas Maduro, whom Guaido is trying to dislodge, said the parliament […]

Toll in Brazil dam disaster rises to 157 dead, 182 missing

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — The toll from a dam collapse at a mine in southeast Brazil’s Minas Gerais state has risen to 157 deaths after nearly two weeks of searches, with 182 missing, authorities said Thurday. Those listed as missing are presumed dead, but not yet located under the layers of muddy mining waste released when the tailings dam broke apart in the town of Brumadinho on January 25. In recent days, rescue teams […]

Venezuela’s military blocks humanitarian aid shipment

by Maria Isabel SANCHEZ Agence France Presse CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuelan military officers blocked a bridge on the border with Colombia ahead of an anticipated humanitarian aid shipment Tuesday, as opposition leader Juan Guaido stepped up his challenge to President Nicolas Maduro’s authority. The opposition-dominated National Assembly had earlier warned the armed forces, which make up much of Maduro’s power base, not to cross a “red line” by blocking aid. Guaido, who proclaimed himself […]

Venezuela’s Maduro rejects European ultimatum to call vote

by Maria Isabel SANCHEZ Agence France Presse MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro flatly rejected Sunday a call by European countries to call snap elections after opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself the Latin American country’s interim leader. Maduro said in an interview with Spanish television station Sexta that he would not “cave in to pressure” from those calling for his departure. “They are trying to corner us with ultimatums to force us into […]

Venezuela’s Guaido pressures Maduro over humanitarian aid

by Maria Isabel SANCHEZ Agence France Presse CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — The clock ticked down Sunday on a deadline for Venezuela’s beleaguered leader Nicolas Maduro to call snap presidential elections or see his opposition rival Juan Guaido recognized as interim president by European powers. Guaido, already recognized by the United States, Canada, Australia and several Latin American countries, said Sunday he would lobby the European Union for badly-needed humanitarian aid to a nation wracked by […]

28 Haitians dead after ship sinks off Bahamas: officials

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — At least 28 Haitians have drowned off the coast of Abaco in the Bahamas, officials said Sunday, the latest tragedy at sea for migrants seeking to leave the Caribbean’s poorest economy. “Thus far, a total of 17 persons have been rescued alive and 28 bodies have been recovered from the water” after two days of dive operations, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force said. The incident unfolded Saturday when the ship carrying […]

Toll in Brazil dam disaster rises to 121 dead, 226 missing

  BRUMADINHO, Brazil (AFP) — The toll from a dam collapse last week at a mine in southeast Brazil has risen to 121 dead and 226 missing, according to officials Saturday. The emergency service for the state of Minas Gerais, where the January 25 disaster occurred near the town of Brumadinho, said the search was ongoing for bodies. All those listed as missing are presumed dead, with no survivors being found over the past week. […]