South America

LIMA, Aug 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Four tourists were killed and 16 injured after visiting Peru’s world-famous Machu Picchu site when the minibus they were traveling in crashed into a ravine, authorities said Monday.

Two of the dead tourists were Colombians, while the other two have yet to be identified, said the regional government of Cusco, where the ancient Inca citadel is located.

Amongst the injured were four French people, two Greeks, two Israelis, two Canadians, two Argentines, two Peruvians, a Dutch person and one more unidentified person.

BOGOTA, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Colombia will guarantee the right to asylum and refuge, President Gustavo Petro said late on Monday, after a high-ranking Venezuelan lawmaker urged the extradition of his party's political opposition from Colombia.

The South American neighbors have begun the process of normalizing their relations since the inauguration of Petro this month, after years of tension and trade closures, with each naming an ambassador to the other country. 

ASUNCION, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Paraguay's Attorney General's office said on Tuesday it opened a criminal investigation into Vice President Hugo Velazquez, almost two weeks after the U.S. government accused him of having committed "significant" corruption.

The Public Ministry said on Facebook that Attorney General Sandra Quinonez ordered the opening of a criminal case to investigate "the facts in relation to the statement of the U.S. ambassador, Marc Ostfield" concerning Velazquez.

LIMA, Aug 22 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Peru has been singled out as the country with the highest rates in South America of people living under food insecurity, it was reported.

A study from the United Nations Office for Food and Agriculture (FAO) showed over half of Peru’s population was facing a situation “never before observed in the country,” where food insecurity affected 50.3% of the 32 million inhabitants.

SAO PAULO, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Brazil's presidential frontrunner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Monday his country did not need to cut a single tree to plant more soybeans, sugarcane or raise cattle as he vowed to restore law enforcement in the Amazon rainforest to curb deforestation.

His remarks came as Reuters reported last week that advisors to the leftist former president were proposing subsidized "green" farm loans to spur planting of soybeans and corn on open pasture and reduce deforestation in the Amazon. 

BOGOTA. Aug 21 (NNN-TELESUR) — A new massacre, the 64th in Colombia so far in 2022, was registered in the north of Bogota, after four bodies, three men and a woman, were found inside a van, reported the Institute of Studies for Development and Peace (Indepaz).

This discovery took place on Autopista Norte and Calle 223 in the Colombian capital, after neighbors alerted the authorities, who later found the bodies in bags inside a car.

SANTIAGO, Aug 20 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Chile’s Lower House passed an internal regulation whereby Deputies will have to submit a hair sample for a toxicology test and drew lots for the first 78 of the 150 of them who will have to abide by the new indication.

ASUNCION, Aug 20 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — After announcing last week that he would resign, Paraguayan Vice President Hugo Velazquez conveyed to reporters his decision to remain in office until proof against him is submitted.

Velázquez was included last week in the United States list of “significantly corrupt” individuals alongside former President Horacio Cartés. However, Velázquez did resign his candidacy for president ahead of the upcoming Colorado Party primaries.

SAO PAULO, Aug 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Spanish airport operator Aena won the concession to run Brazil’s second-busiest airport, Sao Paulo-Congonhas, and 10 others at an auction Thursday that raised a total initial investment of $530 million.

Fifteen airports in all were on the block at the auction in Sao Paulo, which drew four bidders vying for the right to operate them for the next 30 years, said Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac).

LIMA, Aug 12 (Reuters) - The governments of Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador and Bolivia on Saturday backed the continuation of Pedro Castillo's presidency in Peru, where he is facing several criminal investigations and constant threats of impeachment.

"We reiterate our solidarity with the legitimately elected authorities," the countries said in a joint statement. "We trust that all (Peruvian) political actors will prioritize building broad consensus."