Monday Feb 26th: Latin America News Briefing, Afternoon Edition

“With the Brazilian government’s flagship reform program scuttled, President Michel Temer is reviving a number of milder economic measures in an attempt to offset investor disappointment.”

“The desert wind whipping their faces, hundreds of Venezuelan migrants lugging heavy suitcases and overstuffed backpacks trudge along the road to the Colombian border town of Maicao beneath the blazing sun.”

 

“Brazil’s Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi said on Monday that he will not run in the 2018 general election and plans to stay in his current position as long as President Michel Temer wants him to.”

“Venezuela’s refugee crisis is metastasizing. According to the United Nations, 5,000 Venezuelans have fled to Curacao, 20,000 to Aruba, 30,000 to Brazil, 40,000 to Trinidad and Tobago, and more than 600,000 to Colombia.”

“This Old Havana flower shop is on the State Department’s restricted list under its old name Florería Jardín Wagner. The Cubans have renamed it Rosa Blanca and say it shouldn’t be on the list anyway.”

“A favorable growth outlook offers Chile an opportunity to address its low productivity levels compared to other advanced economies, improve access to quality jobs and take steps to reduce its persistently high inequality, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said in a report published on Monday.”

 “Mexico’s securities regulator has imposed one of its biggest fines ever for market manipulation on steel company Industrias CH, owned by billionaire Rufino Vigil Gonzalez, government data showed.

“The man considered to be the largest arms dealers trafficking weapons into Brazil was arrested in Florida on Saturday, according to a Brazilian official at the Specialized Weapons, Ammunition and Explosive Police Department (DESARME).”

“Multiple officials of Colombia’s aviation authority are investigated for allegedly protecting airplanes suspected of trafficking cocaine to Central America.”

” The rift between President Donald Trump with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto “could end up with the US asking itself, ‘Who lost Mexico?'”

“A top backer of the front-runner for president has a murky business history.”

“Despite Trudeau’s calls for unity, there are signs that the trade talks have strained relations between the United States and Canada, as the neighbors remain far apart on issues such as automotive manufacturing and trade dispute resolutions.”

“Argentina’s coast guard says it has opened fire on a Chinese vessel illegally fishing in its waters.

Nobody was reportedly injured and the Chinese fishermen were not detained.”

“Ag Department Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney will lead a trade mission to Central America. The mission will be in Guatemala from February 26 to March 2nd.”

“Brazil’s top prosecutor has obtained a Supreme Court order to lift the bank secrecy of several people and companies under investigation in a port corruption case that has implicated President Michel Temer.”

“Fishing in Amuay Bay. The largest refinery complex in Venezuela has occasionally spewed contaminants into the water, threatening the livelihood of families in the area.”

“The Trump administration is threatening to embargo Venezuelan oil, a potentially ruinous blow to the Saudi Arabia of South America. But here in the home of the world’s largest crude reserves, Venezuela is killing its largest industry all on its own.”

“Amid the chaos, major league teams began to abandon Venezuelan facilities. The Twins were the last team to vacate, formally departing Bejuma at the end of 2016.”