Drug baron Daniel Barrera was captured yesterday in Venezuela in a joint operation between Colombian, Venezuelan, British and US intelligence services. Barrera, nicknamed “Crazy Barrera” was captured in San Cristobal near the Colombian border in the southwest of Venezuela.

A gas plant explosion in Mexico killed 26 and injured 46 in the northern state of Tamaulipas yesterday. It is believed the explosion was caused by an accumulation of inflammable gas in the measurement area of the plant; the ensuing fire then took close to three hours to control.

At the traditional religious ceremony to mark Chile’s Independence Day today the archbishop of Santiago monsignor Ricardo Ezzati commented on the “crisis of confidence” that Chile had been living in the last few years. The archbishop focused particularly on politics and education, currently big issues for Chilean society. Recent student protests and the violent confrontations […]

President Ricardo Martinelli yesterday signed in a new law regulating the independent candidatures for presidential elections in Panama. The law was sanctioned despite a call by the Electoral Tribunal and the opposition Frente por la Democracia de Panamá (FD) for it to be vetoed. Both groups stated that the law would granted benefits to the […]

“Seed Week,” a demonstration in Asunción held by farming, social, and indigenous rights groups began today in protest of the likely commercial release of five varieties of genetically modified (GM) corn seeds. The protesters advocate the alternative use of native varieties and agricultural diversity as essential to the nation’s food security and sovereignty. Protests reportedly […]

Production of coca leaf in Bolivia saw a 12% fall between 2010 and 2011, according to a report published today by the United Nations.

Two members of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) have been assassinated in 48 hours in two areas of Mexico. Jaime Serrano Cedillo, a 45-year-old state deputy, was fatally stabbed in Nezahualcoyotl, an area just outside Mexico City, on Sunday. The assassination came less than two days after that of Eduardo Castro Luque, deputy-elect of the […]

The Volcán de Fuego in the Escuintla department in Guatemala, has been spewing ash and volcanic rock causing thousands of residents to be evacuated from the area.

Chilean police are investigating the death of 27-year-old police officer, Cristián Martínez Badilla, after he was shot on the 1973 Coup Anniversary on Tuesday. Badilla was shot while trying to prevent the looting of a supermarket in the suburb of Quilicura, Santiago. President Sebastián Piñera said his government will do all it can to identify […]

The Mexican Navy announced early this morning that it has caught one of Mexico’s most-sought-after drug kingpins, Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez, who is the alleged leader of one of Mexico’s largest drug-trafficking organizations. Costilla, also known as “El Coss,” is the suspected leader of the Gulf cartel and was marched before reporters handcuffed at a press […]