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New U.S. immigration rules slow traffic in Darien Canyon jungle
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Former Venezuelan chief justice indicted in US
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Mexico offers ‘full support’ to Pemex
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Mexico finds unaccompanied children from Guatemala in migrant truck
Jan. 27 (Reuters) –
Today’s Latin American political update:
Peru’s president considers bringing forward election to December 2023
Peruvian President Dina Boluarte said on Friday she is considering bringing forward elections to December as the Andean leader struggles to rein in protests that have killed dozens.
The change needs to be passed by Congress. Boluarte said the election could take place earlier than December, depending on how quickly proposals are passed.
Parliament is due to debate on Friday Boluarte’s earlier proposal to postpone the national election until April 2024, now scheduled for 2026. However, some lawmakers have proposed delaying the election until December or October this year.
IOM chief says new U.S. immigration rules slow traffic in Colombia-Panama jungle
BRASILIA – The number of people attempting to reach the United States by trekking through dangerous intersections in the jungle of the Darien Canyon between Colombia and Panama has dropped sharply since the U.S. government tightened rules on immigration, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.
Earlier this month, Washington expanded COVID-19 pandemic-era restrictions to include immigrants from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua, not just Venezuelans, who could be deported if they crossed the border into the United States Back to Mexico. These restrictions are known as Title 42.
Antonio Vitorino, director-general of the International Organization for Migration, said the measure was preventing people from traveling north.
Former Venezuelan chief justice indicted in U.S. on money laundering charges
CARACAS – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said former Venezuelan chief justice Maikel Moreno has been charged with money laundering for allegedly accepting bribes to influence court decisions.
Moreno allegedly took more than $10 million in bribes and used the funds to buy or renovate real estate in places like Tuscany, Italy, and Miami, according to a statement late Thursday.
Mexico offers ‘full support’ to Pemex, plans to repay debt in 2023
MEXICO CITY – The Mexican government will provide further support to state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on Friday, with a plan to to ensure payment of outstanding bonds in 2023.
López Obrador told a news conference that with the assistance of the government, Pemex’s debt payments are being made on time and that the Treasury Department and Pemex’s leadership are working on a payment schedule for this year.
Mexico finds more than 50 unaccompanied children from Guatemala in migrant truck
Mexican authorities stopped a crowded truck carrying nearly 70 Guatemalan migrants, mostly unaccompanied children, late Thursday, Mexico’s National Migration Institute (INM) said in a statement.
INM said Mexican federal agents spotted the truck at a checkpoint in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua, which borders the United States. (Compiled by Steven Grattan; Edited by Diane Craft)
