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

Every morning and afternoon PanAm Post gives you a briefing on the most important news from the Americas.

These are the top stories this afternoon, 2:29 p.m. on Feb 26th:

1. State assembly candidate assassinated in Mexico |Miami Herald

Feb 26, 2018 | AP

“Officials in the southern Mexico state of Guerrero say a state assembly candidate has been killed just days after another office seeker was shot to death in the same city.”

2. Brazil Warms Up ‘Old, Cold Coffee’ After Pension Bill Fails | Bloomberg

Feb 26, 2018 | Simone Preissler Iglesias, Samy Adghirni, and Rachel Gamarski

“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.”

3.‘Migrate or die’: Venezuelans flood into Colombia despite crackdown | Reuters

Feb 26, 2018 |Julia Symmes Cobb, Anggy Polanco |7 MIN READ

“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.”

4. Brazil’s Agriculture Minister Rules Out Running in 2018 Election | USNews

Feb 25, 2018 |REUTERS

“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.”

5. Venezuela’s Neighbors Can’t Wait for Uncle Sam | Bloomberg

Feb 25, 2018 | Associated Press

“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.”

6. Havana florist and doll shops are among businesses prohibited for American shoppers| Miami Herald

Feb 25, 2018 | MIMI WHITEFIELD

“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.”

7. Chile’s GDP growth to rise to 2.9% in 2018 and 2019: OECD | Santiago Times

Feb 25, 2018 | Editor

“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.”

8. RPT-Mexico slaps billionaire’s steel company with fine for stock manipulation|

Reuters

Feb 26, 2018 |Michael O‘Boyle and Christine Murray

“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.

9. Brazil’s Largest Arms Trafficker Arrested in U.S| Reuters

Feb 25, 2018 |Lise Alves

“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).”

10. Did narcos infiltrate Colombia’s air traffic control? | Colombia Reports

Feb 26, 2018 | Patrick Reusse

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

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These are the top stories this moring, 6:00 a.m. on Feb 26th:

1. Sharp Words Over Wall Halt Plans for Mexican President to Visit White House

Feb 25, 2018 | JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS and KIRK SEMPLE

“President Trump’s refusal to publicly drop his demand that Mexico pay for a wall on its border with the United States has derailed tentative plans for President Enrique Peña Nieto to make his first visit to the Trump White House next month..”

2. Trump’s rocky dealings with Mexico could have consequences much more severe than a few canceled visits

Feb 25, 2018 | Reuters/Carlos Barria

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

3. How to Get Rich Quick in Mexico

Feb 25, 2018 | Mary Anastasia O’Grady

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

4. NAFTA talks go into their seventh round. Canada isn’t optimistic.

Feb 25, 2018 | Joel Baglole

“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.”

5. Argentina fires on Chinese vessel ‘fishing illegally’

Feb 25, 2018 | Associated Press

“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.”

6. McKinney Leads Trade Mission to Central America

Feb 25, 2018 | NAFB News Service

“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.”

7. Brazil court lifts bank secrecy in bribery probe involving Temer

Feb 25, 2018 | BRASILIA (Reuters)

“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.”

8. A Bomb on the Doorstep’: Venezuela Fishermen Fight an Oil Giant

Feb 25, 2018 | KIRK SEMPLE

“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.”

9. The Venezuelan oil industry is on a cliff’s edge. Trump could tip it over.

Feb 25, 2018 | Anthony Faiola

“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.”