South America

LIMA, May 8 (NNN-Xinhua) — Peruvian Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation Jorge Montenegro has tested positive for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the ministry reported.

“Yesterday, May 6, 2020, the Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, Jorge Montenegro, received a positive result for the test that was carried out for COVID-19,” the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry added that the official, “after learning of his diagnosis, has been complying with social isolation and following the recommendations of the doctors for his speedy recovery.”

KUALA LUMPUR, May 7 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Venezuela will present to the United Nations Security Council the case of the attempt by certain groups to carry out a plot against the South American country, and will also present the evidence before the International Criminal Court (ICC), said President Nicolás Maduro.

CARACAS (Reuters) - Members of Venezuela’s opposition in October negotiated a $213 million deal with a small Florida security company to invade the country and overthrow President Nicolas Maduro, according to a document published by the Washington Post on Thursday.

Venezuelan authorities this week arrested more than a dozen people, including Americans who work for the company, Silvercorp USA, as part of a bungled incursion that has served as a public relations victory for Maduro’s struggling government.

BRASILIA, May 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Brazil, one of the world’s emerging coronavirus hot spots, registered a record number of cases and deaths on Wednesday, prompting the health minister to flag the possibility of strict lockdowns in particularly hard-hit areas.

According to health ministry data, the nation registered 10,503 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours, well above the previous record of 7,288 cases on Apr 30. Brazil also registered 615 deaths, up from the previous record of 600 on Tuesday.

CARACAS, May 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Venezuela will try two Americans allegedly captured during a failed raid by mercenaries, President Nicolas Maduro said as the US vowed to “use every tool available” to bring them home.

Venezuela announced on Monday that it had arrested the pair on suspicion of trying to topple Maduro in an operation supported by the US-backed opposition.

BUENOS AIRES, May 6. /TASS/: The Venezuelan government will request the UN Security Council to offer an assessment of the attempted armed invasion into the Bolivarian Republic in early May, President Nicolas Maduro said on Wednesday.

"We will turn to the UN Security Council. I tasked the foreign minister and our envoy to New York with filing a complaint to the UN SC <...> in order to secure legitimate international protection for Venezuela," he said during an online press conference broadcast on Twitter.

CARACAS (Reuters) - A former U.S. soldier captured in Venezuela said on Wednesday that he had been contracted by a Florida security firm to seize control of Caracas’ airport and bring in a plane to fly President Nicolas Maduro to the United States.

Venezuelan authorities on Monday arrested the man, Luke Denman, along with fellow U.S. citizen Airan Berry and 11 others, in what Maduro has called a failed plot coordinated with Washington to oust him.

RIO DE JANEIRO, May 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The mayor of Manaus, the biggest city in the Amazon rainforest region, asked world leaders Tuesday for help fighting the novel coronavirus, which has brought his city’s health system to the brink of collapse.

Manaus is the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas, which has been devastated by the pandemic.

SAO PAULO (AP) — The capital of tropical Maranhão state ground largely to a halt Tuesday, becoming the first major Brazilian city to enter a lockdown in the hopes of preventing the coronavirus pandemic from overwhelming the health care system of one of the country’s poorest states.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States had nothing to do with an alleged incursion into Venezuela that landed two U.S. citizens behind bars in the crisis-stricken South American nation.

Trump said he had just learned of the detention of the pair, accused by Venezuela of being mercenaries. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said they were part of an operation to kill him that was backed by neighboring Colombia and the United States.