BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AFP) — The gunman who tried to shoot Argentina’s Vice President Cristina Kirchner in the face was formally charged Thursday with attempted homicide, as was his girlfriend, courts documents showed. Fernando Sabag Montiel, 35, was caught on stunning video pointing a pistol at Kirchner from close range as she greeted supporters outside her home on September 1. After Montiel’s weapon failed to go off — for reasons still unknown — he was […]
South America
At least 17 dead in bloody 72 hours in Colombia
BOGOTA, Colombia (AFP) — At least 17 people were killed over the last three days in Colombia in a spate of violent incidents, authorities said, highlighting the huge task facing President Gustavo Petro. In the northern city of Barranquilla, six people were shot dead by gunmen on Monday morning while drinking in a bar. Police said the powerful Gulf Clan drug trafficking gang carried out the attack on members of the rival Los Costenos group. […]
Booming gun ownership triggers fears for Brazil vote
by Eugenia LOGIURATTO Agence France-Presse RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Wearing a black T-shirt stamped with the word “Bolsonaro” and a skull, Brazilian ex-cop Elitusalem Gomes Freitas takes aim with his .40-caliber rifle and fires, savoring the smell of gunpowder as he nails his target. Clutching his bulky black rifle at a firing range in the Rio de Janeiro suburbs, a handgun strapped to his thigh, Freitas proudly repeats one of far-right President Jair […]
16 missing in Venezuela found ‘safe and sound’
SAN CRISTOBAL, Venezuela (AFP) — A group of 16 people who went missing after setting off on a religious retreat in Venezuela two weeks ago were found “safe and sound,” officials said Thursday. The group had not been heard from since departing on August 22 for what officials described as a religious retreat in the town of La Grita in western Tachira province. The 16 people “were located in perfect health, they were praying at […]
Search on for people missing from Venezuelan religious retreat
SAN CRISTOBAL, Venezuela (AFP) — Family members have joined the search for nearly two dozen people reported missing after going on a religious retreat in Venezuela two weeks ago, civil protection authorities said Tuesday. Between 16 and 20 people are believed to be missing, civil protection official Yesnardo Canal told AFP, though local media have reported it could be even more. An eight-day-old baby and other children are part of the group. They went missing […]
Army taking on gangs in Colombia’s biggest port
by Juan RESTREPO Agence France-Presse BUENAVENTURA, Colombia (AFP) — Colombia’s army put on a show of force at the weekend in a town whose population is at the mercy of two warring gangs. The “Shottas” and “Spartanos” gangs have been fighting for months over control of Buenaventura’s drug trafficking trade, and other illegal activities such as micro-trafficking, extortion and kidnappings. But the army has tried to assert some state control by coming out in force […]
Brazil judge suspends easing of gun laws, citing election violence fears
RIO DE JANEIRO Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (AFP) — A Brazilian Supreme Court judge on Monday temporarily suspended several provisions implemented by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro that allowed people to buy weapons, citing a “risk of political violence” during the electoral campaign. “The start of the election campaign exacerbates the risk of political violence,” which “makes the need to restrict access to weapons and ammunition extremely and exceptionally urgent,” Justice Edson Fachin wrote. Fachin said […]
President vows to work for change after Chileans reject new constitution
by Paulina ABRAMOVICH / Paula BUSTAMANTE Agence France-Presse SANTIAGO, Chile (AFP) — President Gabriel Boric vowed to continue working to reform the political landscape after Chileans on Sunday emphatically rejected a proposed new constitution to replace the one adopted during the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship. With more than 99 percent of votes counted, the reject camp led with almost 62 percent compared to just over 38 percent for those in favor, in a result that exceeded […]
Chile expected to reject overhaul of dictatorship-era constitution
Santiago, Chile (AFP) by Paulina ABRAMOVICH / Paula BUSTAMANTE Chileans head to the polls on Sunday to choose whether to adopt a new constitution that aims to shift its market-driven society into one that is more welfare-based, while enacting broad institutional reforms. Although Chileans previously voted in droves for a rewrite of the current constitution — adopted in 1980 during Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship — opinion polls suggest the new text will be rejected. Social upheaval […]
Man arrested for pointing gun at Argentine VP Kirchner: official
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AFP) — A man was arrested in Argentina on Thursday for pointing a gun at Vice President Cristina Kirchner, security minister Anibal Fernandez said. Several television channels broadcast footage of the man aiming a gun at the vice president’s head from close range as she was getting out of the car that was taking her home in Buenos Aires. Fernandez said the forensic police personnel would now analyze fingerprints to obtain more […]
Three dead of mystery pneumonia in Argentina, six others ill
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AFP) — A third person has died this week in Argentina from a type of pneumonia of unknown origin, with the fatalities thus far limited to a single clinic, health authorities said Thursday. Nine people in northwestern Tucuman province have come down with a mysterious respiratory illness, including eight medical staff at the private clinic, Tucuman health minister Luis Medina Ruiz told reporters. Three — two health personnel and now also a […]
Ecuador investigates killing of four Galapagos giant tortoises
QUITO, Ecuador (AFP) — Prosecutors in Ecuador on Monday announced an investigation into the alleged hunting and killing of four giant tortoises on the Galapagos Islands, a unique and fragile ecosystem considered a world heritage site. The prosecutor’s office said on Twitter it was investigating the “suspected hunting and killing of four giant tortoises in the Galapagos National Park wetland complex.” A unit that specializes in environmental crimes is collecting testimonies from national park agents […]