South America

ASUNCION, Aug 20 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — After announcing last week that he would resign, Paraguayan Vice President Hugo Velazquez conveyed to reporters his decision to remain in office until proof against him is submitted.

Velázquez was included last week in the United States list of “significantly corrupt” individuals alongside former President Horacio Cartés. However, Velázquez did resign his candidacy for president ahead of the upcoming Colorado Party primaries.

SAO PAULO, Aug 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Spanish airport operator Aena won the concession to run Brazil’s second-busiest airport, Sao Paulo-Congonhas, and 10 others at an auction Thursday that raised a total initial investment of $530 million.

Fifteen airports in all were on the block at the auction in Sao Paulo, which drew four bidders vying for the right to operate them for the next 30 years, said Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac).

LIMA, Aug 12 (Reuters) - The governments of Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador and Bolivia on Saturday backed the continuation of Pedro Castillo's presidency in Peru, where he is facing several criminal investigations and constant threats of impeachment.

"We reiterate our solidarity with the legitimately elected authorities," the countries said in a joint statement. "We trust that all (Peruvian) political actors will prioritize building broad consensus."

ASUNCION, Aug 13 (NNN-TELESUR) — The vice-president of Paraguay, Hugo Velázquez, resigned Friday after the US listed him for alleged corruption, which unleashed a scandal in the South American country.

In addition, he also abandoned the presidential pre-candidacy of the ruling Colorado Party, to which he was heading with a view to the Paraguayan general elections to be held next year.

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazilians poured into the University of Sao Paulo’s law school to hear a manifesto denouncing the brutal military dictatorship and calling for a prompt return of the rule of law.

That was 1977. Almost 45 years later to the day, thousands rallied at that same site Thursday for readings of two documents inspired by the original “Letter to the Brazilians.” Both new manifestos defend the nation’s democratic institutions and electronic voting system, which far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has repeatedly attacked ahead of his reelection bid.

CARACAS, Aug 10 (NNN-ABN) – Thousands of Venezuelans marched through the streets of the capital, Caracas yesterday, to protest U.S.-led sanctions and illegal seizures of the nation’s financial and nonfinancial assets.

About 10,000 protesters took part in the demonstration called by the government, to press for the recovery of the assets, the transportation minister and president of state-run airline Conviasa, Ramon Velasquez Araguayan, told the publicly-owned Venezolana de Television.

SANTIAGO, Aug 8 - Chile will seek to apply harsh sanctions on those responsible for a huge sinkhole near a copper mine in the country's north, the mining minister said on Monday.

The mysterious hole of 36.5 meters in diameter that emerged in late July has provoked the mobilization of local authorities and led the mining regulator Sernageomin to suspend operations of a nearby mine owned by Canada's Lundin (LUN.TO) in the northern district of Candelaria.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 7 (Reuters) - A German diplomat in Rio de Janeiro, Uwe Herbert Hahn, was arrested on Saturday night in connection with the death of his Belgian husband, police said.

Hahn said that his husband, Walter Biot, had died on Friday when he fell from their apartment in the Ipanema neighborhood after suffering a sudden illness.

But police arrested him on suspicion of murder after their forensics found bloodstains in the apartment and the autopsy of Biot's body showed multiple wounds. Television images showed police taking Hahn away in a police car.

Aug 7 (Reuters) - A sinkhole in Chile has doubled in size, growing large enough to engulf France's Arc de Triomphe and prompting officials to order work to stop at a nearby copper mine.

The sinkhole, which emerged on July 30, now stretches 50 meters (160 feet) across and goes down 200 meters (656 feet). Seattle's Space Needle would also comfortably fit in the black pit, as would six Christ the Redeemer statues from Brazil stacked head-to-head, giant arms outstretched.

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia’s first leftist president will be sworn into office Sunday, promising to fight inequality and heralding a turning point in the history of a country haunted by a long war between the government and guerrilla groups.