South America

BOGOTA, July 1 (Reuters) - Colombia on Friday extradited to the United States a sister of accused major drug cartel leader Dairo Antonio Usaga, known as Otoniel, to face drug trafficking charges, the national police said.

Colombian police accuse Nini Johana Usaga, 39, of being responsible for laundering drug money for the Clan del Golfo and handling international relations with cartels in other countries like Mexico, helping to coordinate shipments of narcotics.

CARACAS, June 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A US delegation arrived in Venezuela Monday to discuss a “bilateral agenda,” extending discussions between Caracas and Washington initiated in March, said Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

National Assembly speaker, Jorge Rodriguez, “is receiving a delegation from the government of the United States, an important delegation that arrived two hours ago in Venezuela,” Maduro announced on national public television VTV
at around 8 pm.

QUITO, June 28 (Reuters) - A soldier was killed in an attack on a convoy carrying fuel to Ecuador's largest oil field, the government confirmed on Tuesday, the latest incident of violence during more than two weeks of protests that have left at least eight dead.

Twelve others were wounded in the attack, the government said. The convoy was accompanying 17 diesel tankers from the Shushufindi refinery to the ITT oil bloc in the Amazon region when they were attacked by a group of people carrying guns, the defense ministry said in a statement.

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso announced a cut in gasoline prices Sunday that appeared to fall short of the reduction demanded by Indigenous leaders to end a strike that has paralyzed parts of the country for two weeks.

The reduction cuts the price of gasoline by 10 cents per gallon. The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador has demanded compliance with a 10-point agenda, including the reduction of the price of extra gasoline from 2.55 to 2.10 dollars a gallon and diesel from 1.90 to 1.50.

BOGOTA, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Colombian President-elect Gustavo Petro on Saturday named Alvaro Leyva Duran as the foreign minister in his cabinet, ahead of Petro's inauguration in August.

"Alvaro Leyva Duran will be our minister of foreign affairs. It will be a chancellery of peace," Petro tweeted, adding that Colombia will focus its efforts on overcoming the climate crisis and ending endemic violence.

Leyva Duran, 79, has served as a mines and energy minister, a congressman from the Conservative Party, and a mediator in the country's peace process, among other positions.

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso on Saturday lifted a state of emergency he’d imposed in six provinces amid an Indigenous-led strike, a surprise move that came as lawmakers in the National Assembly heard an opposition petition to remove him from office.

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuador’s president charged Friday that the Indigenous leader heading a nationwide strike is seeking to stage a coup and warned he will use all legal tools to contain the violence unleashed by the demonstrations.

In televised remarks, President Guillermo Lasso said Leonidas Iza, leader of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities, intends to “overthrow the government.” But Lasso added that he was willing to engage in talks on ending protests that were in their 13th day.

24 June 2022; MEMO: Suriname said it cancelled its decision to open its embassy in Jerusalem, Israeli media reported on Friday, Anadolu News Agency reports.

According to Israel's Channel 12, Suriname's President, Chan Santokhi, referred the decision to the lack of funds to build an embassy.

QUITO, June 22 (Reuters) - Thousands of indigenous protesters held a peaceful march through Ecuador's capital, Quito, on Wednesday to demand that President Guillermo Lasso address price rises that have ignited 10 days of demonstrations across the country.

Disquiet over costs for fuel, food and other basics has exploded into sometimes-violent protests in several cities, led largely by major indigenous groups who traveled to Quito to protest.

QUITO, June 20 (Reuters) - Thousands of indigenous demonstrators marched through Ecuador's capital on Monday urging President Guillermo Lasso to agree to demands for economic and social support, the latest in a series of protests that have injured dozens and disrupted the economy.

Amid a surge in the cost of living, the protests began last Monday with a list of 10 demands, including a fuel price cut, preventing further expansion of Ecuador's oil and mining industry, and more time for small and medium-sized farms to pay off debt.