South America

12 May 2020; AFP: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro keeps saying coronavirus fears are overblown. Other officials at the federal, state and local levels insist the danger is all too real.

Brazil is torn by a deep political divide over how to respond to the pandemic, and it is taking a heavy human toll.

On Saturday, even as the death toll in Brazil crossed the threshold of 10,000, Bolsonaro continued pressing to get the country back to work.

"The army of unemployed keeps growing," he tweeted.

QUITO, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno on Monday said he named Rommel Salazar to serve as the new director of the National Risk and Emergency Management Service, after its former head resigned earlier in the day due to allegations of corruption.

Alexandra Ocles is under investigation for his involvement in a possible kickback scheme that saw the agency buy food kits at inflated prices for distribution to households affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic and lockdown.

Prosecutors launched the investigation last week.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó said Monday that two U.S.-based political advisers have resigned in the fallout from a failed incursion into the Caribbean nation led by a former-Green Beret aimed at capturing President Nicolás Maduro.

CARACAS, May 11 (NNN-Xinhua) — Venezuela has arrested another three suspects allegedly involved in a failed armed incursion intended to topple President Nicolas Maduro earlier this month, a top military official said.

The suspects were arrested in Tovar, a city in central Aragua state, in an operation to capture those behind the incursion, said Remigio Ceballos, strategic operational commander of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces.

(Reuters) - Avianca Holdings AVT_p.CN, Latin America’s second-largest airline, filed for bankruptcy on Sunday, after failing to meet a bond payment deadline, while its pleas for coronavirus aid from Colombia’s government have so far been unsuccessful.

If it fails to come out of bankruptcy, Bogota-based Avianca would be one of the first major carriers worldwide to go under as a result of the pandemic, which has crippled world travel.

BUENOS AIRES, May 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Argentina missed a Friday deadline to reach an agreement with international creditors to restructure its massive debt, but negotiations will continue, its minister for the economy said.

The two sides have been deadlocked over Argentina’s $65 billion debt, with the three main bondholder groups rejecting a government restructuring proposal, saying they were unwilling to swallow “disproportionate” losses on their investment.

“Argentina is maintaining a dialogue,” economy minister Martin Guzman told reporters on Friday.

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez said on Saturday that talks with bondholders to restructure $65 billion of the country’s foreign debt would continue with the two sides still deadlocked over what the final offer should look like.

Fernandez, a center-left Peronist, tweeted that he and economy minister Martin Guzman continued to “dialogue in good faith” with creditors with the aim of reaching a sustainable agreement after a deadline to do so expired on Friday.

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil’s Economy Minister Paulo Guedes on Saturday said the country’s central bank is likely to shower the economy with money in case of a depression due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Still, Guedes said in a live online event hosted by Itau Unibanco Holding SA (ITUB4.SA) that he sees Latin America’s biggest economy posting a “V-shaped” recovery, as its vital signs are preserved so far.

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela’s military said it seized three abandoned Colombian light combat vessels that soldiers found on Saturday while patrolling the Orinoco river, several days after the government accused its neighbor of aiding a failed invasion.

In a statement, the Defense Ministry said the boats were equipped with machine guns and ammunition, but had no crew, adding they were discovered as part of a nationwide operation to guarantee Venezuela’s “freedom and sovereignty.”

9 May 2020; AFP: Venezuela has charged two former US soldiers with terrorism and conspiracy for allegedly taking part in a failed bid to topple President Nicolas Maduro, the attorney general said on Friday.

Luke Alexander Denman, 34, and Airan Berry, 41, were among 17 people captured by the Venezuelan military, which said it had thwarted an attempted invasion by mercenaries in the early hours of Sunday.