Central America
Panama ups ante in Nicaragua canal race
The current expansion of the Panama Canal will accommodate 90% of the world's 370-vessel liquified natural gas fleet—a new bid to undermine Nicaragua's canal plans.
Tag: China in Latin America
The Andes
Bolivia ready for nuclear power: Evo Morales
At a “Hydrocarbon Sovereignty” conference in Tarija, Bolivia’s President Evo Morales said his country has achieved the conditions to obtain nuclear power for “pacific ends.”
Southern Cone
Brazil: protesters target oil auction, transit fare
The protests haven't stopped in Brazil. Hundreds tried to block the auction of a giant oilfield, and bus riders continued to demand free transit.
The Andes
Peru: deadly attack on family of miner leader
The wife and infant son of a local leader of independent artisenal miners were assassinated in the community of Pamputa, Peru—with suspicion falling on mining giant Xstrata.
Central America
Nicaragua: indigenous groups challenge canal plan
Nicaraguan civil society groups in the Caribbean region have challenged plans by a Hong Kong company to build an interoceanic canal through the Central American country.
Central America
Honduras: indigenous leader killed at dam protest
Indigenous Lenca communities continue their protests against the Agua Zarca dam; they accuse the army in the death of one protester and the wounding of his son.
Central America
Nicaragua approves China-backed canal plan
Nicaragua sealed a pact granting Chinese business magnate Wang Jing exclusive rights to build a multibillion-dollar inter-oceanic canal through the Central American nation.
The Amazon
Ecuador, Peru: oil spills foul Pacific coast, Amazon
Ecuador’s trans-Andean pipeline burst, fouling small farms near the Pacific coast, while Peru declared a state of emergency in the Amazon’s Pastaza Basin over oil contamination.
The Andes
Ecuador: protests mount over mining, oil
Protesters crashed the opening of the Expominas trade fair at the Quito Exhibition Center, where Ecuador's government sought to win new investors for the mineral and oil sectors.
The Andes
Contradictory legacy of Hugo Chávez
Whether the gains of Hugo Chávez's Bolivarian Revolution will survive his passing depends on how genuinely it is based on popular power, not just that of a charismatic leader.
Central America
Panama Canal expansion fuels inter-oceanic race
With Chinese investment, Nicaragua is moving ahead with a new inter-oceanic canal plan—in a race with Panama, which is expanding its own canal for a new era of global trade.
Central America
Criminal gangs threaten Maya Biosphere Reserve
Mexican drug cartels that use cattle ranching to launder narco-profits as well as Chinese-backed illegal timber gangs are eating into Guatemala's vast Maya Biosphere Reserve.