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☆ Rising Money Flows, Fueled by Record Migration, Prop Up Autocrats
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( Ryan Dubé | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/record-amounts-of-money-sent-back-home-end-upaiding-autocratic-regimes-5bd9cdd9

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ Cocaine Trade and Gang Violence Strike Hard in Once-Peaceful Ecuador
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Ryan Dubé | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/cocaine-trade-and-gang-violence-strike-hard-in-once-peaceful-ecuador-bad953c8

Persons: Dow Jones, bad953c8 Locations: ecuador

☆ Ecuador President Dissolves Legislature Ahead of Impeachment Vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Ryan Dubé | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/ecuador-president-dissolves-congress-ahead-of-impeachment-vote-987f5883

☆ Chile Elects Right-Wing Council to Draft New Constitution
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Ryan Dubé | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

President Gabriel Boric preparing to cast his vote for the constitutional council over the weekend. Photo: Andres Poblete/Associated PressChilean stocks gained and the peso strengthened on Monday after voters elected a right-wing council that is expected to draft a constitution that will maintain the country’s market-based economic model. The results were a major blow to leftist President Gabriel Boric by voters scared off by an earlier left-wing constituent assembly that proposed a sweeping overhaul to Chile’s political and economic system. Mr. Boric’s popularity has also declined over his government’s handling of crime, immigration and a weak economy. Chile’s economy is expected to contract 1% this year, the only South American nation projected to post an economic decline, according to the International Monetary Fund.

☆ U.S. Extradites Former Peruvian President on Corruption Charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Ryan Dube | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Peruvian prosecutors have for years sought to extradite former President Alejandro Toledo over charges that he took a $20 million bribe from a construction company. Photo: handout/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesLIMA, Peru – Former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo arrived in his home country on Sunday morning after being extradited from the U.S. to face graft charges stemming from one of Latin America’s largest-ever corruption scandals. Peruvian authorities said Mr. Toledo, who ruled Peru from 2001 to 2006, arrived on a commercial flight from Los Angeles that touched down in Lima.

☆ Andes Turmoil Rattles Governments, Spurs Migration to U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Ryan Dube | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LIMA, Peru—Mounting violent crime and political upheaval are buffeting Andean countries in South America that had recently been stable, threatening fragile governments and prompting hundreds of thousands to flee north to the U.S. In Ecuador, President Guillermo Lasso faces an impeachment vote in May as drug-related homicides have risen. Bolivia has run out of dollars, its government hobbled by tumbling natural-gas exports. Peru’s economy has contracted sharply since President Pedro Castillo was removed from office in December, sparking violent protests. Colombian drug gangs run rampant in some rural regions, even as the former guerrilla who leads the government, Gustavo Petro , embarks on peace negotiations with them.

☆ In Peru, Protests Reveal Deep Social Divide
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Ryan Dube | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

ANDAHUAYLAS, Peru—The ouster of leftist President Pedro Castillo in December sparked a wave of violent protests in this poor and largely indigenous region, revealing deep frustrations in the rural highlands where many people feel they have been long overlooked by the country’s political class. Three months later, the ire shows little signs of abating in tiny Andean villages and small cities like Andahuaylas, a bastion of Peru’s far-left, rural politics and a cradle of rebellion going back centuries.

☆ U.S. Arrests Florida Businessmen Accused of Plotting Haiti President’s Killing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Ryan Dube | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The U.S. arrested and filed criminal charges against the owners of several South Florida companies in connection with the 2021 killing of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse , the Justice Department said Tuesday. Four men were arrested including Miami-based security contractor Antonio Intriago, a Venezuelan-American who owned the firms Counter Terrorist Unit Federal Academy and Counter Terrorist Unit Security, which hired Colombian mercenaries accused of killing Mr. Moïse, the Justice Department said.

☆ Peru Protests Hit Mining Sector and Impede Exports
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Ryan Dube | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LIMA, Peru—After nearly two months and dozens of deaths, Peru’s political upheaval is battering industries that once powered one of Latin America’s fastest-growing economies. Amid violent antigovernment protests that show little sign of easing, foreign-owned mines that have made Peru the world’s second-biggest copper producer have halted operations. Hotels and restaurants in the tourism hub of Cusco are nearly empty, leaving thousands of people without work as demonstrators battle police on streets normally full of tourists. On the southern coast, farmers say they can’t transport crops to the U.S. and China as protesters choke off roads.

SAN LUIS, Ecuador—Built near a spewing volcano, it was the biggest infrastructure project ever in this country, a concrete colossus bankrolled by Chinese cash and so important to Beijing that China’s leader, Xi Jinping , spoke at the 2016 inauguration. Today, thousands of cracks have emerged in the $2.7 billion Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant, government engineers said, raising concerns that Ecuador’s biggest source of power could break down. At the same time, the Coca River’s mountainous slopes are eroding, threatening to damage the dam.

☆ Peruvian Protesters March in Capital Against Government
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Ryan Dube | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LIMA, Peru—Thousands of antigovernment protesters descended on Peru’s capital on Thursday, seeking to ratchet up pressure on embattled President Dina Boluarte to resign after weeks of deadly clashes in mountains of the southern Andes. The protesters from Peru’s largely indigenous and poor highlands arrived aboard buses and marched through the streets of downtown Lima, saying the government was responsible after several dozen people died in clashes with state security forces in the past six weeks.

☆ Turmoil and Protests Shake Latin America as Region Sours on Democracy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Ryan Dube | Juan Forero | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LIMA, Peru—This country has had six presidents in five years, the latest taking power last month and igniting protests that have cost 42 lives and paralyzed many of Peru’s highland cities. In Mexico, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has taken measures that undermine the country’s independent electoral agency, while thousands of supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro , many of them who said his opponent had rigged the October presidential election, last week ransacked the country’s presidential palace, the Congress and the Supreme Court.

☆ Peru’s Antigovernment Protests Turn Increasingly Deadly
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Ryan Dube | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LIMA, Peru—Antigovernment protesters in Peru clashed with police in the tourism hub of Cusco, the gateway to the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, as an embattled government struggles to contain violent protests roiling cities of the high Andes that have cost 40 lives in the past five weeks. Groups of protesters marched through the streets of Cusco demanding Congress be closed and for President Dina Boluarte to resign, while chanting “the people are fighting.” Police launched tear gas at other demonstrators who on Wednesday tried to take over the airport, where foreign tourists arrive to reach some of Peru’s most iconic attractions.

☆ Brazil’s Former President Jair Bolsonaro, in Florida, Accused of Provoking Rioters Back Home
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Ryan Dube | Deborah Acosta | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

ORLANDO—President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva laid much of the blame for the rioting that ransacked government buildings on his predecessor: a right-wing populist who has recently been seen thousands of miles away in Florida munching on fried chicken. “There are several speeches by the former president encouraging this,” Mr. da Silva said in a Sunday night television address of his conservative rival, Jair Bolsonaro , the former president. “This is also his responsibility and of those who support him. All of this will be investigated very strongly and quickly.”

☆ Venezuela’s Wager to Oust Maduro With Parallel Government Ends
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Ryan Dube | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Venezuela’s Juan Guaidó, once recognized by more than 60 countries as his country’s rightful president, was stripped of his position on Thursday when the opposition dissolved a U.S.-backed parallel government that had failed to oust strongman Nicolás Maduro . With Mr. Guaidó out, lawmakers from Venezuela’s battered opposition will create a committee to oversee billions of dollars in assets abroad that had come under the control of the so-called interim government. They will also try to negotiate conditions for free and fair elections in 2024.

PLANCHÓN, Peru—More than a decade ago, Leonardo Racua was one of the first people in Peru to agree to help preserve the Amazon rainforest in exchange for cash from the sale of carbon credits. He built a thatched-roof home in the country’s southern Madre de Dios state and harvested Brazil nuts that fall from massive trees deep in the jungle. It wasn’t until last year that Mr. Racua received an $8,000 payment, his first cash from the sale of carbon credits.

☆ Mexico Grants Asylum to Family of Peru’s Jailed Former President
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Ryan Dube | Juan Montes | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Lilia Paredes, the wife of the ousted Peruvian President Pedro Castillo, has been targeted by prosecutors in corruption investigations. LIMA, Peru—Mexico said Tuesday it has granted asylum to family of former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo, the jailed leader whose attempt to dissolve Congress threw this Andean country into a political crisis during which more than two dozen people have died in protests. The government of Mexican President Andres Andrés Manuel López Obrador , an ally of Mr. Castillo, said relatives of the former Peruvian president were given asylum after entering Mexico’s Embassy in the Peruvian capital, Lima. Mexico is now negotiating safe-passage for the family to Mexico, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said Tuesday.

☆ Peru Deploys Soldiers in Second-Largest City to End Violent Protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Ryan Dube | Juan Montes | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Members of indigenous communities and farmers marched in Cusco, Peru, demanding dissolution of the Congress and democratic elections. LIMA, Peru—President Dina Boluarte ordered soldiers into the streets of Peru’s second largest city on Wednesday to protect infrastructure and quell violent protests that erupted following last week’s ouster of her predecessor, Pedro Castillo. The government said troops were deployed to Arequipa to protect judicial buildings and the companies that provide electricity and water. Defense Minister Alberto Otárola said a 30-day national emergency had been declared, curtailing civil liberties including freedom of movement and assembly.

☆ Peru’s New President Dina Boluarte Proposes Early Elections After Protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Ryan Dube | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LIMA, Peru—Peruvian President Dina Boluarte proposed holding early elections in the wake of deadly protests in support of her predecessor, Pedro Castillo, who was ousted by lawmakers after he tried to dissolve Congress. Ms. Boluarte said in a televised address Monday that she would send a proposal to Congress to hold presidential and legislative elections in April 2024, which would cut the term she has to complete by two years. Ms. Boluarte said she would also propose constitutional reforms to Peru’s political system, which has had six presidents since 2018.

☆ Peru’s New President Proposes Early Elections After Protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Ryan Dube | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LIMA, Peru—Peruvian President Dina Boluarte proposed holding early elections in the wake of deadly protests in support of her predecessor, Pedro Castillo, who was ousted by lawmakers after he tried to close Congress. Ms. Boluarte said in a televised address Monday that she would send a proposal to Congress to hold presidential and legislative elections in April 2024, which would cut the term she has to complete by two years. Ms. Boluarte said she would also propose constitutional reforms to Peru’s political system, which has had six presidents since 2018.

☆ Peru’s New President Faces Same Turmoil That Ousted Predecessor
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Ryan Dube | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LIMA, Peru—The country’s first female president, Dina Boluarte , began her first full day in office, but she faces the same political turmoil that led to the ouster of her deeply unpopular predecessor, Pedro Castillo . Ms. Boluarte became Peru’s sixth president since 2018 after Mr. Castillo was removed by Congress on Wednesday after trying to dissolve the body in what constitutional lawyers described as an attempted coup. As Mr. Castillo’s vice president, Ms. Boluarte was next in line to become head of state of Peru, a mineral-rich country that for years was the darling of investors.

☆ Argentina Binges on the World Cup to Forget Soaring Inflation and Unrest
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Ryan Dube | Silvina Frydlewsky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BUENOS AIRES—Like many Argentines, Natalie Acosta is struggling to buy food as one of the world’s highest inflation rates fuels growing unrest here amid little hope that this nation’s economic turmoil will end anytime soon. But for the last two weeks, Ms. Acosta has tried to ignore the daily rise in grocery bills and expanding poverty, focusing instead on Argentina’s do-or-die games at the World Cup.

☆ Peru President Pedro Castillo Plans to Dissolve Congress Before Impeachment Vote
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Ryan Dube | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LIMA, Peru—Peruvian President Pedro Castillo said Wednesday that he would dissolve Congress hours before he faced a third impeachment vote. Mr. Castillo, who faced removal from office while under investigation for corruption by prosecutors, said in a televised address that he would install an “exceptional emergency government” and that he would rule by decree while new elections for the legislature are organized. He also called for writing a new constitution and said that a national curfew would be imposed on this country of 33 million people.

☆ Peru President Pedro Castillo Ousted After Attempting to Dissolve Congress
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Ryan Dube | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LIMA, Peru—Peru’s Congress overwhelmingly voted to remove President Pedro Castillo from office on Wednesday afternoon, shortly after the Peruvian leader plunged this country into turmoil by announcing he would dissolve the legislature to avoid impeachment. Lawmakers declared Mr. Castillo morally unfit to hold office in a vote that will see Vice President Dina Boluarte take over as the head of state in the mineral-rich country of 33 million. It remained unclear what would happen next in a constitutional crisis that began when Mr. Castillo, a deeply unpopular former rural schoolteacher who improbably won the presidency last year, set out to avoid an impeachment vote that was to take place late Wednesday.

☆ Freed From Venezuelan Jail, Houston Oil Executive Describes Being Used as a Bargaining Chip
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Ryan Dube | Kejal Vyas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Jose Pereira, wearing mask, and five other oil executives who were summoned to Caracas and detained for nearly five years until their release earlier this month, in a photo posted on Twitter by Venezuela’s foreign minister in 2020. For nearly five years, Houston oil executive Jose Pereira was jailed in Venezuela, spending long stretches in isolation in an underground cell, deprived of medication and surviving on chicken scraps and rice. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Pereira said he had lost 100 pounds and survived two bouts of Covid-19 and a heart attack by the time he was freed earlier this month, after high-level talks between the Biden administration and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro ’s authoritarian regime.

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