In Brazil, jeers and cheers for government and FIFA
SÃO PAULO — Protests erupted on the streets of Brazil’s largest city Thursday just hours before the opening of the World Cup soccer tournament, with the police dispersing demonstrators with tear gas and rubber bullets near the stadium where Brazil was to play against Croatia.
Brazil angered over report that NSA spied on president
RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s government summoned the U.S. ambassador Monday to respond to new revelations of U.S. surveillance of President Dilma Rousseff and her top aides, complicating relations between the countries ahead of Rousseff’s state visit to Washington next month.
American woman gang-raped in Brazil
RIO DE JANEIRO — An American woman was raped by three men aboard a public van in a six-hour abduction over the weekend that began in the seaside district of Copacabana, the police said.
Brazil enacts affirmative action law for universities
RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s government has enacted one of the Western Hemisphere’s most sweeping affirmative action laws, requiring public universities to reserve half of their admission spots for the largely poor students in the nation’s public schools and vastly increase the number of university students of African descent across the country.
In Paraguay, democracy appears doubtful; trial for President Lugo
RIO DE JANEIRO — In the span of a few hours on Friday, Paraguay’s Senate convened its members, read a list of accusations and put President Fernando Lugo on trial. Dismissing his request for more time to mount his defense, the senators abruptly voted to oust him from office, spurring a fierce debate across Latin America over the fragility of democratic institutions in a region with a long history of dictatorships.
Brazil increasing military presence along Amazon borders
RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil is deploying more than 8,500 troops to the far reaches of the Amazon rain forest this month in an operation aimed at cracking down on drug smuggling, gold mining, and illegal deforestation, officials said.
Gold rush stemming from high prices fuels Colombia’s conflict
CAUCASIA, Colombia — Officers pored over intelligence reports describing the movements of two warlords with private armies. Then the helicopters lifted off at dawn, carrying an elite squad armed with assault rifles to the newest front in this country’s long war: gold mines.
An American in Peru, out of prison after 14 years and living with regret
LIMA, Peru — In the words of Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne, archbishop of Lima, granting parole to Lori Berenson has made a “mockery” of the nation. Julio Galindo, Peru’s top anti-terrorism prosecutor, says Berenson, a New Yorker convicted of collaborating with a Marxist rebel group, remains an “irascible” threat to society.
Peruvian Mario Vargas Llosa wins Nobel Prize for Literature
Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, whose deeply political work vividly examines the perils of power and corruption in Latin America, won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday.
Berenson’s parole revoked in Peru
CARACAS, Venezuela — A Peruvian court said Wednesday that it had struck down a decision granting parole to Lori Berenson, the former MIT student imprisoned in the 1990s on charges of collaborating with a Marxist revolutionary group. The court ordered her to be returned to prison to complete the five years left in her 20-year sentence.
U.S. and Bolivia Spar as Partners in Drug War
The refrain here in the Chapare jungle about Americans is short but powerful: “Long Live Coca, Death to the Yanquis!”
Thousands Protest Thursday As Chavez Seeks More Power
Three days before a referendum that would vastly expand the powers of President Hugo Chavez, this city’s streets were packed on Thursday with tens of thousands of opponents to the change. The protests signaled that Venezuelans may be balking at placing so much authority in the hands of one man.
Following Loss of Referendum, Chavez’s Support Is Dwindling
The surprising defeat of a referendum this weekend to accelerate President Hugo Chavez’s socialist-inspired revolution has given new energy to his long-suffering opposition.
Venezuelans Oppose Subsidy Cuts For Fuel Despite Economic Woes
In a country moving toward socialism, the beneficiaries of government largess here are still people like Nicolas Taurisano, a businessman who dabbles in real estate and machinery imports. He is the proud owner of a Hummer.
Venezuelan Aid to Bolivia May Surpass $120 Million From US
To understand Venezuela's growing influence here, consider that more than two dozen ambassadors are in this capital city, including those of Bolivia's leading trading partners like Brazil, the United States and Argentina. Yet none enjoy the direct conduit that the Venezuelan ambassador, Julio Montes, has established with President Evo Morales.