DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Organization of American States backs Peru's president as protests mount
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS) Luis Almagro heads a session at the OAS 52nd General Assembly, in Lima, Peru October 7, 2022. REUTERS/Angela Ponce/File PhotoJan 25 (Reuters) - The Organization of American States' permanent council expressed its "full support" for Peruvian President Dina Boluarte on Wednesday, following weeks of anti-government protests that have left dozens dead. Attending virtually, Boluarte told the council meeting in Washington that she had asked Peru's Congress to approve early elections "as soon as possible". The Congress is set to hold a second and final vote to ratify early elections, moving them from 2026 to April 2024. However, there is mounting pressure to move the elections forward even earlier, as the death toll from weeks of social unrest ticks up.

☆ Bolivians turn out for opposition-backed 'national assembly' as protests could return
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LA PAZ/SANTA CRUZ, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Bolivians nationwide are expected to participate in an opposition-led "national assembly" on Wednesday to discuss a slew of proposals, including whether to restart protests which ignited in December over the arrest of Santa Cruz Governor Luis Camacho. Camacho's home base of Santa Cruz, a relatively wealthy agricultural stronghold, is expected to turn out the fiercest support in favor of reinstating roadblocks, which would snarl trade within the country. Bolivians in La Paz are bracing for clashes with government supporters. Prosecutors charge Camacho, who was then a Santa Cruz civic leader, with creating the "power vacuum" behind the resignation of former President Morales. Reporting by Santiago Limachi, Sergio Limachi and Monica Machicao in La Paz and Juan Pablo Blacutt in Santa Cruz; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Venezuela's inflation slows to 234% in 2022, vice president says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CARACAS, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Inflation in Venezuela hit 234% in 2022, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on Monday, representing a slowdown from the previous year, as the South American country struggles with a deep and lengthy economic crisis. Rodriguez provided the inflation rate during a meeting with Turkish and Venezuelan business leaders. Venezuela's central bank infrequently publishes economic data, and has not given inflation data since October. Government spending has also sped up and demand for dollars is outpacing the central bank's foreign currency reserves. Inflation in 2021 was more than 686%, according to the country's central bank.

☆ Mexico economy minister meets with Canadian energy firms
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Mexican Economy Minister Raquel Buenrosto met with Canadian energy firms to follow up on agreements made at a meeting with President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the ministry said Monday. Buenrostro will meet with the firms again next month to discuss progress made on the agreements, the ministry said on Twitter. A Mexican official told Reuters last week a "framework" for each of the companies' problems with Mexico's energy sector had been agreed upon. A spokesperson for Mexico's economy ministry could not immediately confirm whether the four companies were those present at the meeting with Buenrostro. The United States and Canada last year initiated dispute settlement proceedings against Mexico's push to prioritize state-run energy companies under a regional trade pact.

☆ Bolivia judge rules opposition governor must remain detained ahead of trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Manuel ClaureLA PAZ, Jan 19 (Reuters) - A Bolivian judge ruled Thursday that Santa Cruz Governor Luis Camacho, a leader long in opposition to the left-leaning federal government, must remain detained while he awaits trial. Since then, weeks of protests and blockades in Camacho's Santa Cruz region, an agricultural hub, have impacted trade with the rest of the country, putting pressure on political capital La Paz. Camacho's lawyer had appealed his four-month detention ahead of his expected trial, arguing that he was not a flight risk and should be placed under house arrest. But judge Rosmery Lourdes Pabon on Thursday ruled that he should remain imprisoned. Morales' successor, the conservative former Senate Vice President Jeanine Anez, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in June for orchestrating a coup.

☆ Mexican president defends bid to move cargo from longstanding hub to new airport
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Kylie Madry | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"An agreement is being reached between the directors of the two airports, with customs, with everyone," Lopez Obrador said in a regular news conference. The draft decree, which was sent by the president and published on a government regulatory body's website, would halt all cargo flights out of the Benito Juarez International Airport, the busiest airport in the country. Lopez Obrador said the government was not seeking to make the change "by force" and that it was looking to have buy-in from cargo operators. Lopez Obrador said cargo flights would be moved due to lack of space at the hub. Experts, however, warn that moving cargo flights to the facility could snarl supply chains.

☆ Workers at embattled Mexican airline Aeromar hold off on strike, unions say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Kylie Madry | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] A person stands at an empty counter of Mexican carrier Aeromar at the Benito Juarez International airport, in Mexico City, Mexico, January 17, 2023. Flight attendants union ASSA said it had chosen to hold off on the strike "for the sake of safeguarding the company once again". Aeromar met with airport officials Monday to present a payment plan, Mexico's transportation ministry said, adding that its operations at Mexico City continued to operate normally. Several of the company's executives met with the flight attendants' union on Monday, the union said, and discussed the company's financial situation as well as the "potential" entrance of an investor. "We continue to demand (Aeromar) pay its debts owed to pilots," union leader Jose Humberto Gual said in a statement.

☆ Guatemala summons ambassador in Colombia for consultations in defense minister tussle
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GUATEMALA CITY, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Guatemala summoned its ambassador in Colombia for consultations, Guatemala's foreign ministry said on Tuesday, a day after Colombia did the same in regard to a conflict over Colombia's defense minister. Guatemala on Monday accused Colombian Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez, who led a United Nations anti-corruption unit in the Central American country, of committing illegal acts. Colombian President Gustavo Petro came out to defend the minister, saying he would not accept any "order for the arrest" of Velasquez. Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei told Spanish news agency EFE on Tuesday that Velasquez was not facing "criminal prosecution." Arrest warrants were issued for several others as part of the investigation, including former Guatemalan Attorney General Thelma Aldana.

☆ BMW planning major investment in Mexico, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, Jan 13 (Reuters) - German carmaker BMW (BMWG.DE) is planning a new major investment in the central Mexican state of San Luis Potosi, where the company already has a plant, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said Friday. "He already announced a very important investment which will be made in San Luis Potosi, by BMW." BMW, which operates three plants in Latin America, opened the billion-dollar San Luis Potosi site in 2019. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited Mexico in September. Lopez Obrador said on Thursday that he and Ebrard would travel to San Luis Potosi in February.

☆ Salvadoran girls found on Rio Grande at U.S.-Mexico border
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Mexico National Immigration Institute (INM)/Handout via REUTERSMEXICO CITY, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Mexican immigration agents found three unaccompanied Salvadoran children stranded on an islet on the Rio Grande, which straddles the U.S.-Mexico border, Mexico's immigration institute said. Members of Mexico's National Guard first issued an alert for the children, according to the institute. Salvadoran consulate officials in Mexico were aware of the incident and in talks with local authorities, El Salvador's foreign ministry said. Rio Grande crossing dividing the United States and Mexico is one of the last hurdles migrants face before reaching the United States, often after arduous journeys. The three children were placed in the care of Mexico's System for the Integral Development of the Family (DIF), the immigration institute said.

☆ Glencore copper mine in Peru struck by vandals, cars torched
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Marco Aquino | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LIMA, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Vandals attacked Glencore's (GLEN.L) Antapaccay copper mine in Peru on Thursday, the country's top mining official said, amid a deepening political crisis marked by violent protests that have broken out near major mines in the southern Andes. Peru is the world's second-biggest copper producer, and is currently in the throes of the worst civil unrest in years. A major tin mine located in the southern Puno region, where some of the fiercest anti-government protests have played out, also announced it temporarily halted its mining operations. The Antapaccay mine is one of the largest in Peru, and has tussled with the local community in the past. Later on Thursday, miner Minsur said it was temporarily suspending operations at its San Rafael mine, one of the largest tin mines in the world.

☆ U.S. seeks Canadian help to ease crowding at U.S.-Mexico border
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Lizbeth Diaz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MEXICO CITY, Jan 10 (Reuters) - The United States is looking to Canada to help cope with the growing number of migrants at the United States' border with Mexico, a State Department spokeswoman said on Tuesday. The agreement would help thousands immigrate through legal channels, without having to put their lives at risk at the hands of human traffickers, Rosales said. U.S. authorities detained 2.2 million migrants at the border with Mexico in fiscal year 2022, a record not seen since World War II. The United States has in recent months seen a significant increase in migrants reaching the country by sea from Caribbean countries such as Cuba and Haiti. Rosales said those who arrived in the United States by sea "unfortunately will not be able to qualify" for humanitarian parole.

☆ Canada, Mexico win auto rules trade dispute with U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Steve Scherer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"The decision is good for Canada and Mexico," said Flavio Volpe, president of Canada's Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association. The decision is "disappointing," said Adam Hodge, a spokesperson for the United States Trade Representative's office, adding that the decision could result in "fewer American jobs". The USTR will now "engage Mexico and Canada on a possible resolution to the dispute," Hodge said. The decision was announced amid a separate USMCA dispute centered on energy that has pitted the United States and Canada against Mexico. The United States said "core part" content should not be rounded up when determining the content of the entire car.

PANAMA CITY, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Panama's government on Tuesday doubled down on an order that Canada-based miner First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) halt operations at its local copper mine, saying the miner had been operating without a contract since 2017. Earlier, First Quantum said it would submit an appeal against Panama's order by the end of the day. On Tuesday, Panama's commerce and industry ministry said First Quantum had been operating without a contract after the previous one was annulled by the Supreme Court in 2017. That court ruling was published in the government's official gazette in December 2021, but First Quantum continued operating as a new deal was negotiated. First Quantum's Chief Executive Tristan Pascall said in a call with investors on Tuesday morning that following the Supreme Court decision, the government of Panama issued public statements "reaffirming that the contract remained valid."

☆ Detained Nicaraguan Catholic bishop, Ortega critic to face trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MANAGUA, Jan 10 (Reuters) - A prominent Catholic bishop in Nicaragua who has sharply criticized authoritarian President Daniel Ortega will go to trial while under house arrest, a judge ruled on Tuesday, in the latest clamp down on dissent in the country. Human rights organizations accuse Ortega's government of persecuting the Catholic Church. Another prominent cleric, Bishop Silvio Baez, is in exile in the United States along with a number of other priests who have fled. The president has accused Catholic leaders of trying to overthrow him in a "coup" following anti-Ortega street protests that began in 2018. But as tensions have intensified, Ortega officials have expelled Catholic nuns and missionaries and shuttered more than a dozen Catholic radio and television stations.

☆ U.S., Mexican immigration officials to meet ahead of Biden visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, Jan 6 (Reuters) - U.S. and Mexican immigration officials are set to meet in El Paso Saturday, the day before U.S. President Joe Biden's first visit to the border since taking office, Mexico's immigration institute said Friday. The meeting between Mexican immigration head Francisco Garduno and Border Patrol officials in the Texas border city will aim "to coordinate actions to prevent migrants from being exposed to risks," the institute said in a statement. Biden's visit to El Paso on Sunday comes ahead of his meeting with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau next week in Mexico, where immigration will be on the agenda. Mexico's immigration institute said a cold front is expected to cause temperatures to drop in the area along the border and 200 Mexican immigration agents were deployed to provide humanitarian aid such as shelters, blankets and hot drinks. On Thursday, the United States announced it would expand restrictions to rapidly expel Cuban, Nicaraguan and Haitian migrants caught illegally crossing the border.

☆ MLB players to join Cuba's team for World Baseball Classic
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HAVANA, Jan 6 (Reuters) - A handful of Major League Baseball players will join Cuba's team for the first time in the upcoming World Baseball Classic tournament, an unprecedented event, the sport's Cuban Federation said on Friday. Now, Cuba has signed off on a team including a dozen Cuban players who emigrated and joined U.S. or other international teams. The Caribbean island is now working "to achieve a competitive team," Juan Reinaldo Perez, president of the Baseball Federation of Cuba, told a news conference. More than 650 Cuban baseball players have defected to the United States and elsewhere in recent years, according to state-run media. Countries must present their final roster of 30 players for the World Baseball Classic tournament by Feb. 7.

☆ Mexican govt inks deal to buy Mexicana airline brand for $42 mln, union says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Kylie Madry | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said the government intends to use Mexicana to launch a military-run commercial airline. In December, Lopez Obrador said the airline was set to launch operations in 2023. The payment will be divided between pilots' union ASPA, flight attendants' union ASSA, ex-aviation workers' union AJTEAM and transportation workers' union SNTTTASS proportionally by a percentage of what was owed when Mexicana shuttered, Alonso said. The deal was reached Friday between Mexico's transportation ministry and the unions with supervision from the labor ministry, Alonso added. The push to operate the military carrier comes as Lopez Obrador has expressed his discontent with the country's airlines.

☆ Venezuela inflation accelerating, heightening risk of return to hyperinflation, economists say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CARACAS, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Venezuelan consumer prices rose at a sharp 37.2% clip in December from November, heightening the risk of a return to hyperinflation, according to estimates by the Venezuelan Finance Observatory, a non-governmental group of economists. The private inflation estimate is key since Venezuela's central bank, which in October said annual inflation hit 155%, one of the highest rates globally, has not released consumer price data since then. For nine consecutive months, consumer price inflation was in the single digits thanks to strict policies implemented by President Nicolas Maduro's government, anchoring the exchange rate, limiting public spending and increasing taxes. After the policies were rolled out, authorities said Venezuela had emerged from a four-year streak of hyperinflation. The central bank did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

☆ Top U.S. and Canada officials to attend Mexico summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MEXICO CITY, Jan 5 (Reuters) - A host of top cabinet officials from the United States and Canada will take part in a North American Leaders' Summit in Mexico City next week, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Thursday. U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will visit Mexico City early next week for meetings that will encompass climate change, competitiveness, immigration, security and equity, Ebrard said. The summit will be the first in person encounter between the three leaders since late 2021. Biden and Lopez Obrador would meet for private talks on Monday afternoon, after which high level meetings would take place between Mexican and U.S. officials, Ebrard told a news conference alongside the Mexican president. On Tuesday, a trilateral meeting between Biden, Trudeau and Lopez Obrador would take place, as well as a working lunch for the government delegations.

☆ Peru's tourism sector hurt by protests amid mass cancellations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Marco Aquino | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LIMA, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Weeks of deadly protests in Peru after the ouster and detention of President Pedro Castillo have taken a toll on the country's economy, particularly its tourism sector, a minister and industry representatives said. Up to 60% of travel bookings for the first half of the year have been canceled since the protests began, Peru's minister of foreign trade and tourism said. "We had really expected tourism to take off this year," Minister Luis Fernando Helguero said in an interview on local television station Canal N late on Wednesday. "The worst part are the cancellations in the first half of the year, some 50% to 60%. Early on Thursday, protesters blocked a section of Peru's main coastal highway, forcing dozens of cargo trailers to park along the shoulder, local television showed.

☆ Mexico arrests capo Ovidio Guzman, son of "El Chapo" - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MEXICO CITY, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Mexican capo Ovidio Guzman, the son of incarcerated kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, has been arrested by Mexican authorities, four officials familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. Ovidio was briefly detained in the northern state of Sinaloa in October 2019 by security forces, but then quickly released to avoid violent retribution from his drug gang. Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz, Dave Graham and Diego Ore; Writing by Kylie MadryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/6] Burning vehicles are seen blocking a road after drug lord Ovidio Guzman's capture, in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico January 5, 2023. Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval told a news conference that security forces had captured the 32-year-old senior member of the Sinaloa Cartel. Ovidio, a fugitive since the previous arrest attempt, was now being held in the capital Mexico City, Sandoval said. The city's airport was caught up in the violence, with Mexican airline Aeromexico (AEROMEX.MX) saying one of its planes had been hit by gunfire ahead of a scheduled flight to Mexico City. "It's very important the government bear in mind that the weakening of the Sinaloa Cartel may also bring about an even greater expansion, a greater presence of the Jalisco Cartel."

☆ Mexican carrier Aeromexico says plane hit by gunfire, no reported injuries
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MEXICO CITY, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Mexican airline Aeromexico said the fuselage of a plane scheduled to fly from Culiacan, Sinaloa to Mexico City was hit by gunfire Thursday morning, though no clients or employees were harmed. Videos on social media showed gunfire at the Culiacan airport, which has since closed for the day amid violence across the city. Sources told Reuters drug lord Ovidio Guzman, son of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, had been arrested in Culiacan. Reporting by Kylie Madry, Editing by Isabel WoodfordOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Death toll rises to 19 from prison attack in Mexican border town
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Members of the Mexican Army arrive at Cereso number 3 state prison after unknown assailants entered the prison and freed several inmates, resulting in injuries and deaths, according to local media, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico January 1, 2023. REUTERS /Jose Luis GonzalezMEXICO CITY, Jan 2 (Reuters) - An attack on a prison in the Mexican border town of Juarez left 19 dead and allowed a cartel kingpin to escape along with two dozen other prisoners, authorities said Monday. The attack allowed 25 inmates, including Ernesto Alfredo Pinon de la Cruz, also known as "El Neto," to escape. She added that state authorities had not requested that any dangerous prisoners, such as "El Neto," be transferred from the overcrowded prison to a higher-security location. The incident Sunday resulted in one of the highest death tolls from prison attacks in Mexico in recent years.

Search resuls for: "Madry"

25 mentions found