South America

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva fired Brazil’s army chief Saturday just days after the leftist leader openly said that some military members allowed the Jan. 8 uprising in the capital by far-right protesters.

The official website of the Brazilian armed forces said Gen. Julio Cesar de Arruda had been removed as head of the army. He was replaced by Gen. Tomás Miguel Ribeiro Paiva, who was head of the Southeast Military Command.

BRASILIA, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva fired the army commander, General Julio Cesar de Arruda, on Saturday, a source with knowledge of the matter said.

The firing of Arruda, who had been commander since Dec. 28, was reported earlier on Saturday by Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo and TV network Globonews. His replacement will be General Tomas Miguel Ribeiro Paiva, army commander of the southeast, the source said.

Brazil's army and the Ministry of Defense did not immediately comment on the matter.

QUITO, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso proposed Tuesday that Ecuador host the 2025 Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on Plastic Pollution Treaty.

According to Ecuador's General Secretariat of Communication of the Presidency, the president, who is attending this year's World Economic Forum in the Swiss city of Davos, made the announcement at the bilateral panel "Defeating pollution by plastics," also participated by President of the Swiss Confederation Alain Berset.

LA PAZ, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Health authorities in the eastern Bolivian department of Santa Cruz on Thursday declared a "red alert" for dengue fever due to an alarming rise in cases and four deaths from the disease this year.

Carlos Hurtado, head of epidemiology of the department's health services, told the media that Bolivia would strengthen disease surveillance, guarantee treatment for patients and destroy mosquito breeding sites.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s defeated former president, Jair Bolsonaro, was in Florida this month when his supporters tried — but failed — to overthrow the country’s young democracy. It was a sign that many in Latin America’s largest nation believe so fiercely in his movement that it can persist without its namesake.

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Peru’s capital Friday and were met with volleys of tear gas for the second straight day, as demonstrators made clear they will keep up their mobilizations to demand the resignation of President Dina Boluarte.

Many of the protesters in Lima had arrived from remote Andean regions, where dozens have died amid unrest that has engulfed large portions of the country since Pedro Castillo, Peru’s first leader from a rural Andean background, was impeached and imprisoned after he tried to dissolve Congress last month.

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Thousands of protesters demanding the ouster of President Dina Boluarte poured into Peru’s capital, clashing with police who fired tear gas. Many came from remote regions, where dozens have died in unrest that has gripped the country since Peru’s first leader from a rural Andean background was removed from office last month.

LIMA, Peru (AP) — People poured into Peru’s coastal capital, many from remote Andean regions, for a protest Thursday against President Dina Boluarte and in support of her predecessor, whose ouster last month launched deadly unrest and cast the nation into political chaos.

LA PAZ, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Bolivian Foreign Minister Rogelio Mayta has denounced a tweet written by a U.S. government official on the situation in the Santa Cruz department, saying the remarks constitute an interference in the internal affairs of his country.

"Comments of this type are not appropriate in international relations. Relations between states are carried out based on the principle of mutual respect and non-interference. It can be understood from that perspective that this tweet can be interpreted as interference," Mayta told a press conference in La Paz on Friday.

LA PAZ, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Bolivian Foreign Minister Rogelio Mayta has denounced a tweet written by a U.S. government official on the situation in the Santa Cruz department, saying the remarks constitute an interference in the internal affairs of his country.

"Comments of this type are not appropriate in international relations. Relations between states are carried out based on the principle of mutual respect and non-interference. It can be understood from that perspective that this tweet can be interpreted as interference," Mayta told a press conference in La Paz on Friday.