The Maoist guerrilla group Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) is making headlines once again, after claiming responsibility for the murder of two policemen who went missing last Thursday. A member of the ultra-leftist armed group, identified as “Comrade Gabriel”, said the two policemen were machine-gunned while trying to jump off a helicopter that was shot down in the jungle. Comrade Gabiel [...]

A powerful earthquake sent the central regions of Chile into a state panic early this morning, leaving at least one dead and power outages in its wake. According to the National Seismological Institute, the quake had a magnitude of 6.7 on the Richter scale. The Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy, however, assured [...]

Shortly before U.S. president Barack Obama arrived in Colombia for the Summit of the Americas last weekend, at least 11 secret service agents were allegedly involved in “embarrassing” misconduct involving prostitution, sources cited by CNN, Bloomberg and BBC say. According to Bloomberg News, a Cartagena prostitute refused to leave a room occupied by the U.S. [...]

At least 131 people taken hostage this weekend by Aracaju jail prisoners were released after several hours of negotiations. Around 400 inmates were said to have started the revolt this weekend, armed with knives and stolen rifles. Their motives were said to be better living conditions, better treatment from guards, and more respect for their [...]

Delegates of social movements and political sectors debated Latin American socioeconomic and political policy at the alternative forum of the Summit of the Americas. On Saturday, representatives of the fifth People’s Summit mobilised on the streets of Cartagena, Colombia, calling for regional unity. They spoke out against the presence of US president Barack Obama at the [...]

Not one of the main subjects approached in this weekend’s regional meeting ended with agreement. The Summit of the Americas, held in Cartagena, Colombia, this last weekend is the annual meeting of all leaders from the Western hemisphere. Cuba, drugs and the Falkland Islands/Malvinas dominated the meeting as expected, but the leaders disagreed on each [...]

The Summit of the Americas has opened an unprecedented debate on new initiatives to combat the trafficking of narcotics. Disagreements amongst leaders of the 33 nations present precluded a definitive conclusion on the issue, according to Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos. But the summit provided the occasion to renew dialogue on the war on drugs [...]

The central American country, ravaged by gang violence and organised crime, has marked an unprecedented murder-free day. El Salvador has seen a sharp decline in its murder rate over the last three years, according to a statement issued by president Mauricio Funes on Sunday. The curb in violence comes in the wake of the announcement [...]

It has been a dreadful couple of days in Mexico: car crashes and cartel-related shootings caused various fatalities across the country, not to mention the four earthquakes that rocked the country in the last hours. Nine people were found murdered in the Western state of Michoacan from on going inter-fighting between drug gangs. The bodies [...]

Two earthquakes occurred in Mexico City early this morning, although neither inflicted damage. These are the third and fourth earthquakes to hit the country in the last six days. The first one was felt at 5am this morning, reaching 5.2 on the Richter scale, while the second (5.0 on the Richter scale) occurred at around 8am. [...]