Category: Americas

Brazilian Presidential Elections: What Do Lula’s Infatuations With Dictators Say About Himself?

Commentary At a recent rally, Brazil’s presidential candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, commonly known as “Lula,” called on Brazilians to support him in defending the country’s democracy from the conservative candidate President Jair Bolsonaro. It is ironic to see this far-left politician considering the present incumbent a major threat to democracy in Brazil. For when…


Brazil Police and Searchers Say No Bodies Found in Hunt for British Journalist

ATALAIA DO NORTE, Brazil—Brazilian police and indigenous search teams dismissed reports on Monday that they had found the bodies of a British reporter and a Brazilian indigenous expert missing in the Amazon jungle, dashing hopes of a quick resolution in the week-old case. On Sunday, police said search teams had found the belongings of freelance…


Bolivian Ex-President Anez Convicted of Orchestrating Coup, Gets 10-Year Sentence

LA PAZ, Bolivia—A Bolivian court found former President Jeanine Anez guilty on Friday of orchestrating a coup that brought her to power during a 2019 political crisis. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison. A former military commander and ex-police general were also convicted. Anez, 54, was convicted of making “decisions contrary to the…


Belongings of Missing Men Found Tied Underwater in Amazon

ATALAIA DO NORTE, Brazil—Brazil’s search for an Indigenous expert and a journalist who disappeared in a restive area of the Amazon a week ago advanced with the discovery of a backpack, laptop, and other personal belongings of the men submerged in a river. The items were found Sunday afternoon, and were carried by Federal Police…


Brazil Police Find Apparent Human Remains in River Where Reporter Vanished

ATALAIA DO NORTE, Brazil—Brazilian search teams have found “apparently human” remains in the river where a British journalist was last seen in the Amazon rainforest, police said on Friday, in what may be the biggest break yet for the five-day investigation. The “organic material” is being sent for forensic analysis, federal police said, along with…


Battered Bodies of 7 Men Dumped on Road in Mexico

MEXICO CITY—Authorities on the Gulf coast of Mexico said the bodies of seven men have been found dumped on a roadway in the Huasteca region, long popular among tourists. Prosecutors in San Luis Potosi state said late Thursday the bodies did not appear to be from the township of Aquismon, and may have been killed…


British Overseas Territory Hits out at ‘Reckless’ UNHCR Over Human Trafficking

A lawyer representing seven Sri Lankan asylum seekers who found themselves on a British overseas territory in the Caribbean has said they were treated “disgracefully” by the government of the Turks and Caicos Islands. But the Turks and Caicos Islands’ (TCI) Minister of Immigration and Border Services, Arlington Musgrove, has in turn described the United…


GM to Launch Production of Chevrolet Tracker SUV in Argentina in July

General Motors Co. (GM) will begin production of its Chevrolet Tracker SUV in Argentina next month, the U.S. automaker and the Argentine government said Wednesday. Shilpan Amin, a GM senior vice president and president of GM Internationational, discussed production plans with Argentine President Alberto Fernandez in a meeting in Los Angeles, GM and the Argentine…


Brazil Sends Helicopters to Search for 2 Missing in Amazon

ATALAIA DO NORTE, Brazil—Brazilian authorities began using helicopters to search a remote area of the Amazon rainforest for a British journalist and Indigenous official missing for more than three days. Civil police in Amazonas state also said Wednesday they had identified a suspect, who was arrested for allegedly carrying a firearm without a permit, which…


Fisherman Who Saw Missing British Journalist Arrested in Brazil on Weapons Charge

RIO DE JANEIRO—Brazilian police investigating a missing British journalist and an indigenous expert in the Amazon jungle have arrested a man on a weapons charge, but have no evidence to tie him to their disappearance, police and the detainee’s lawyer told Reuters. Witnesses said they last saw Dom Phillips, a freelancer who has written for…