South America

BOGOTA, Sept 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Colombian military is on alert in response to Venezuelan armed forces exercises along the two nations’ border that Colombia considers an open threat, a senior military commander said.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordered a series of military drills that began on Tuesday in response to what he called Colombia’s planned aggression against the OPEC nation.

“As for the exercises that the Venezuelan regime is carrying out … we are on a special alert,” General Luis Navarro told reporters. “We have been openly threatened.”

FORTALEZA (Brasil), Sept 8 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Brazil’s Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said he will propose selling all the country’s state-owned companies because they are “dysfunctional” and should be privatized to improve the government’s finances.

In a wide-ranging address at a conference in the northeastern city of Fortaleza broadcast live on the internet, Guedes also said millions of jobs could be created as a result of the government’s plans to simplify Brazil’s complex tax system.

BRASILIA, Sept 7 (NNN-Xinhua) — Brazil and Chile said here that they will strive to bring the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) and the Pacific Alliance closer.

Brazilian Foreign Affairs Minister Ernesto Araujo and his visiting Chilean counterpart Teodoro Ribera jointly announced their decision to strengthen the ties between the two leading blocs of Latin America.

CARACAS, Sept 7 (NNN-Prensa Latina) — More than 3,000 men and women from the National Bolivarian Armed Forces (FANB) are deployed along the border with Colombia, announced Freddy Bernal, protector of the state of Tachira.

A commission led by Bernal and border Constituent Assembly member, William Parada, assessed the conditions in the area 48 hours after President Nicolas Maduro declared an alert in the region, given the possibility of an attack from the neighboring country, according to reports from the Protectorate’s press office.

BOGOTA, Sept 7 (NNN-Prensa Latina) — Less than two months before regional elections in Colombia, the number of deaths due to political violence recorded in August increased by 29 percent compared to July.

The Conflict Analysis Resource Center reported that threats continue to be the predominant form of political violence in Colombia in 2019: 47 percent of incidents were threats (104 out of 222).

LETICIA, Colombia, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Leaders and representatives of Amazon countries signed a pact on Friday to protect the the world's largest tropical rainforest.

The "Leticia Amazon Pact" came as raging fires have burned thousands of hectares of the forest.

The presidents of Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru, as well as Suriname's vice president and Guyana's natural resource minister attended the summit during which the pact was signed.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro participated by video link, while his foreign minister attended in person.

6 September 2019; AFP: A Brazilian government minister said French first lady Brigitte Macron was "truly ugly" Thursday, only days after the country's president appeared to endorse an attack on her appearance.

Brazil's economy minister Paulo Guedes said he agreed with President Jair Bolsonaro's comments about Macron's looks.

"The president said it -- it's true," he said to applause during an economic forum. "The woman is truly ugly."

CARACAS, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Venezuelan government has asked the Public Ministry to investigate opposition leader Juan Guaido and his associates for possible crimes against the state, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said Thursday.

At a press conference, Rodriguez played a taped phone conversation between Manuel Avendano, identified as an "outside adviser" to Guaido, and Vanessa Neumann, a Venezuelan-American and member of Guaido's inner circle.

5 September 2019; AFP: Wildfires raging in Bolivia's forests and grasslands since May have destroyed 1.7 million hectares (4.2 million acres), officials said Wednesday, amid an $11 million effort by the government to contain them.

Environmentalists blame laws enacted under leftist President Evo Morales, who has encouraged the burning of forest and pasture land to expand agricultural production, while the government attributes the blazes to dry weather and winds.

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Andreina Pirrone left Venezuela for Argentina six years ago as her country was spiraling towards the worst humanitarian crisis in its history. She did not know what the future would hold, but she was certain it would be brighter.

Pirrone, an employee at a pasta factory in Buenos Aires, is now feeling a sense of deja vu, as her adopted home teeters towards its own economic crisis, with inflation running at over 50% and the peso currency plunging amid default fears.