South America

Lula won Brazil's run-off on Sunday with 51.79% to 48.21%. Flávio Bolsonaro rejects the result and says he will seek annulment.

Geopolitics

Brazil's real and stocks sank on Monday after Lula's re-election, which caught investors who had positioned for a Bolsonaro victory. Trading was briefly halted and equity sales worth $6bn were derailed, while analysts fear a fiscal slide in his final term.

Economy

Opposition leader María Corina Machado returned to Venezuela on Sunday and was welcomed by crowds in Caracas, and she says she is ready to meet interim president Delcy Rodríguez. Rodríguez denounced the return as a "show", while US President Donald Trump said he had not been told of it and signalled continued support for Rodríguez.

Geopolitics

Lula won Brazil's run-off on Sunday with 51.79% against 48.21% for Flávio Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro refused to concede and says his lawyers will seek annulment.

Geopolitics

Nobel laureate María Corina Machado said on Sunday she is back in Venezuela after nearly a year abroad. Her return tests the interim government of Delcy Rodríguez, which Washington supports.

Geopolitics

Brazil votes on Sunday in a run-off between President Lula and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, with the final polls level. Nearly 159 million people are eligible to vote.

Geopolitics

The New York Times reports that remains found in Haiti could be those of Salvadoran soldiers ambushed about six days earlier while serving in a UN-backed anti-gang task force; Reuters, citing the paper, says bodies were found. El Salvador had sent hundreds of troops to search for the men.

Geopolitics

Brazil votes on Sunday in a run-off between President Lula and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, with polls showing a near tie.

Geopolitics

Thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets on Thursday in the opposition's first national protest in almost two years, demanding free elections, according to Folha de S.Paulo. Al Jazeera notes that no date has been set to choose a successor to Nicolas Maduro, who was captured by US forces, and Telesur reports that the US Treasury's OFAC removed Venezuela on Thursday from its list of countries subject to investment restrictions.

Geopolitics

Lula's campaign says he accepts Flávio Bolsonaro's conditions for a mutual release of financial records. The run-off is on Sunday.

Geopolitics

A New York Times analysis and U.S. Geological Survey data indicate that the official death toll of 6,509 is probably a severe undercount. The Times also published a 3-D reconstruction of why several apartment towers collapsed in the earthquakes that struck Venezuela in June.

Geopolitics

A Quaest poll puts Flávio Bolsonaro one point ahead of Lula, four days before Sunday's run-off. Both campaigns are turning to the electoral court to unseat the other.

Geopolitics

Lula offers to waive bank secrecy for himself and his family if Flávio Bolsonaro does the same before Sunday's run-off.

Geopolitics

The New York Times, Al Jazeera and the Jerusalem Post report that 14 people died and seven were injured when an illegal gold mine collapsed in Colombia; Politika cited a lower toll of four dead. The New York Times says the mine is among a growing number of small-scale, unlicensed operations fueled by the metal's rising global price.

Geopolitics

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro traded barbs in their first face-to-face debate on Sunday, a week before the run-off. Reuters reports that polls show Bolsonaro's lead over Lula has narrowed.

Geopolitics

The first debate between the two candidates began on Sunday on Band, a week before the run-off on 25 October. Le Monde reports that Flávio Bolsonaro, if elected, intends to restrict the demarcation of new indigenous lands and encourage pesticide production and mining.

Geopolitics

Several Venezuelan political representatives agreed to "recognise and support the leadership of María Corina Machado", according to a document published in Caracas, Le Monde reports. The Nobel laureate, who is in exile in Panama, has petitioned for new elections and for permission to return, Al Jazeera reports.

Geopolitics

President Lula's camp accuses Meta of electoral interference after restrictions hit content from his campaign on the company's social networks, Le Monde reports. The run-off against the far-right Flávio Bolsonaro is on 25 October, after Lula lost the first round to him, according to the Financial Times.

Geopolitics

A Datafolha poll puts Flávio Bolsonaro at 47% and Lula at 45%, and at 51% to 49% among valid votes, ahead of the run-off later this month. Lula now supports lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 16, a reversal that The Guardian says many see as a desperate electoral gambit.

Geopolitics

Foreign ministers from 19 countries, including Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, condemned on Friday Colombia's decision to relocate its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, saying it violates international law. Iran also condemned the move, and Egypt separately made a diplomatic approach to Colombia, calling it a unilateral measure.

Geopolitics

Venezuela's former president Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores appeared in a New York court on Thursday and pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit torture charges in a rewritten US indictment. Maduro told the court the torture allegations are false, according to The Guardian.

Geopolitics

Brazil's Congress approved the end of the six-day workweek, a signature policy of President Lula, with the Senate vote coming on Wednesday night, according to the Financial Times and Folha de S.Paulo. Reuters reports that Bolsonaro is racking up endorsements ahead of the run-off.

Geopolitics

Colombians took to the streets on Thursday in the first national strike against President Abelardo de la Espriella, protesting budget cuts and economic reforms. Telesur reports clashes with police and arrests, while El País says tens of thousands marched without major incidents despite bad weather and the president's threat of a harsh response.

Geopolitics

Le Monde reports that the United States, citing a war on 'narcoterrorists', is targeting longline fishing boats off Ecuador, and eight fishermen are still missing. The Wall Street Journal examines why US airstrikes are failing to stop the global cocaine boom.

Geopolitics

Colombia opened an embassy in West Jerusalem on Wednesday under its new far-right president, Abelardo de la Espriella, and restored its free trade deal with Israel. Palestinian officials condemned the move, which reverses the break in relations that former president Gustavo Petro ordered in May 2024 over Israel's actions in Gaza.

Geopolitics

The US Treasury removed Jorge Rodriguez, president of Venezuela's National Assembly, from its sanctions list, according to reports on Wednesday. He is the brother of interim president Delcy Rodriguez, and the Jerusalem Post links the step to a deal on oilfield access.

Geopolitics

Argentina has temporarily closed Iguazu Falls to limit tourist access after heavy rain fuelled by El Niño pushed the Iguazu River to about six times its normal flow, according to The Guardian. Al Jazeera reports that the Devil's Throat walkway was dismantled as the water surged to nearly eight times its average.

Geopolitics

Lula's campaign announced complaints to electoral and regulatory authorities over alleged interference by Meta, which says the claims are unfounded, according to Politika. Flávio Bolsonaro finished first in the first round on 4 October, and Le Monde reports that a win in the runoff would give Bolsonaro a majority of Supreme Court judges on Bolsonaro's side, while The Hindu says Lula's government lowered fuel prices ahead of the vote.

Geopolitics

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck southern Panama on Friday, damaging homes, roads and buildings. Authorities reported no deaths so far.

Geopolitics

A Brazilian Supreme Court judge ordered the arrest of Eduardo Bolsonaro, who lives in the United States, weeks before the presidential runoff. A first poll puts Flávio Bolsonaro at 52% and Lula at 48%, which El País calls a technical tie.

Geopolitics

Far-right candidate Flávio Bolsonaro says he wants to reform the constitution to redemocratise Brazil, El País reports, and faces President Lula in the runoff later this month. On Wednesday, eight Democratic members of the US House demanded explanations from Secretary of State Marco Rubio over the revocation of an ambassador's diplomatic visa, Folha de S.Paulo reports.

Geopolitics

Flávio Bolsonaro won Sunday's first round with 47.03% to Lula's 45.16%. The runoff is on 25 October.

Geopolitics

Right-wing senator Flávio Bolsonaro won the first round of Brazil's presidential election on Sunday with about 47% to President Lula's 45%. The two meet in a runoff on 25 October.

Geopolitics

Brazil's currency and stocks rose on Monday after Flávio Bolsonaro came out ahead of Lula in the first round of the election, Reuters and Nikkei Asia report. The Financial Times writes that investors see the right-winger as more likely than President Lula to enact quick spending cuts.

Economy

The US military said its latest strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean killed four people. Politika reports that more than 220 people have died in Operation Southern Spear so far, and Al Jazeera notes the UN warns the strikes may violate international law and human rights principles.

Geopolitics

Right-wing senator Flávio Bolsonaro finished ahead of President Lula on Sunday, about 47% to 45%. The two meet in a runoff on 25 October.

Geopolitics

Six days after Colombia's magnitude 7.4 earthquake, official counts put the dead at 288 to 294. New president Abelardo de la Espriella asked Donald Trump to suspend US tariffs on Colombian goods.

Geopolitics

US strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific have killed fishermen and civilians, with no case reaching a court. Ecuadorean survivors describe attacks Washington never claimed.

Geopolitics

Petrobras has detected indications of oil off the mouth of the Amazon, part of a megaproject contested for several years, Le Monde reports. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva backs the drilling, arguing that Brazil needs hydrocarbon revenue to finance its transition.

Economy

Venezuela's interim government announced on Friday the release of 131 more political prisoners after talks with the opposition supervised by the United States. Folha de S.Paulo described the step as a sign of progress in the US-sponsored negotiations.

Geopolitics

Official figures show that 30,633 companies have closed in Argentina since Javier Milei took office, Telesur reported on Saturday. In May alone the number of registered employers fell by 2,371, and more than 70,000 formal jobs have been lost.

Economy

Telesur reported on Saturday that the El Niño-Southern Oscillation has a 95 percent chance of becoming very strong by late 2026. Forecasters expect effects on rainfall, farming, food supplies and markets across Latin America.

Economy

Rescuers are still searching for hundreds of missing people five days after Colombia's magnitude 7.4 quake, with the death toll put at 281 to 287.

Geopolitics

Venezuela's interim government granted 131 political detainees 'alternative measures' to jail on Friday. Washington called it a crucial step for national reconciliation.

Geopolitics

BP, Abu Dhabi's XRG and Qatar's UCC have won the licence for phase two of Venezuela's offshore Loran gasfield, among the first large foreign investments since the US ousted Nicolás Maduro in January.

Economy

A new poll puts President Lula ahead of Flávio Bolsonaro, but the gap has closed before Brazil's presidential election, Al Jazeera reported on Saturday. Bloomberg had reported the narrowing lead a day earlier.

Geopolitics

Colombia's toll from Monday's magnitude 7.4 quake is now put at 265 to 281 dead, with about 380 people missing and more than 40,000 families affected. Rescuers made a final push on Thursday as the 72-hour window closed.

Geopolitics

Colombia has authorised joint US military operations against cartels on its soil and joined the US-funded Shield of the Americas coalition, Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday.

Geopolitics

The government of Delcy Rodríguez held its first talks with a section of Venezuela's opposition, Al Jazeera reported on Friday, and what they will achieve remains open. Caracas has also restored consular relations with Israel after two decades as Iran's principal strategic partner in Latin America, while Emirati and Qatari companies are entering the country through a BP-led gas deal.

Geopolitics

Colombia's president says at least 265 people died in Monday's magnitude 7.4 earthquake in the west. Aid from regional partners began arriving on Wednesday.

Geopolitics

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that Colombia has joined the regional military coalition against drug cartels, and vowed to continue lethal strikes on boats while warning that the International Criminal Court may investigate them. President Abelardo de la Espriella has authorised joint counter-narcotics operations with Washington, and two people were killed as Colombia stepped up air strikes on rebels.

Geopolitics

Brazil's justice ministry ordered Discord to halt live broadcasts on the platform after the suicide of a teenage girl, Le Monde reported on Wednesday. Alessandro Barreto, who coordinates the ministry's cybercrime unit, denounced what he called terrible moderation failures.

Technology

Ecuadorean crews in the Pacific have been attacked repeatedly by an unidentified outfit using drones, the New York Times reports, and some sailors appear to have been killed. Neither the identity of the attackers nor their purpose has been established.

Geopolitics

Rescuers in western Colombia are still pulling survivors from the rubble after Monday's magnitude 7.4 earthquake. Tuesday's tallies put the dead above 200.

Geopolitics

Israel and Venezuela announced on Tuesday that they had renewed consular relations, 17 years after diplomatic ties were severed in 2009. The Jerusalem Post reports that the step creates an official channel of coordination and follows an Israeli aid and rescue mission after the earthquake in Colombia.

Geopolitics

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake hit western Colombia on Monday, the strongest there in a decade. More than 130 people are confirmed dead and over 570 injured.

Geopolitics

Venezuela's government and the opposition launched negotiations last week aimed at paving the way for elections, according to El País. The Spanish daily reports that the talks are taking place under close watch from Washington.

Geopolitics

Two explosive attacks struck Colombia on Saturday, the first full day of Abelardo de la Espriella's government, which promised a harsh response.

Geopolitics

Federal police, gendarmerie and prefecture forces broke up a protest outside Congress in Buenos Aires on Friday, injuring more than 1,500 people, among them 20 press workers, and detaining at least 28, Telesur reported. Rights groups accuse the security forces of abuses during the rally.

Geopolitics

Bloomberg reports that the Trump administration has increased pressure on trader Harry Sargeant to give up his Venezuelan business, while acting president Delcy Rodríguez appointed Juan Crisóstomo Fernández to head the state electricity corporation Corpoelec. The family of judge María Lourdes Afiuni, jailed for almost a decade under Hugo Chávez, said the courts had definitively closed the case against her.

Geopolitics

Handelsblatt reports that deforestation in the Amazon has dropped to its lowest level in ten years. According to Bloomberg, the pressure has moved across the border into Bolivia, where forest loss is growing.

Economy

Abelardo de la Espriella took office as Colombia's president, replacing Gustavo Petro, and said he would fight without respite against narco-terrorism and all criminal organisations that threaten the country's freedom. Washington announced $1 billion in aid, Le Monde reported, and the ELN guerrilla group is preparing to fight back against the promised military offensive, according to The Guardian.

Geopolitics

Representatives of the Venezuelan government and the opposition held their first meeting under US supervision, El País reported. The parties said they would remain in continuous working sessions until Wednesday, when they will decide whether to continue the talks; opposition leader María Corina Machado was left out.

Geopolitics

Talks between Venezuela's power holders and the opposition have begun under Washington's mediation, seven months after the United States captured President Nicolas Maduro. Le Monde reports the discussions could lead to a political transition and elections, and that they are taking place without the leader of the Venezuelan opposition.

Geopolitics

Venezuela's government turned to other countries for help after two earthquakes left people trapped in rubble, the New York Times reported on Thursday. According to the report, years of shrinking budgets and political repression have weakened the state's ability to mount rescues.

Geopolitics

Colombian national police found and neutralised a bus carrying nearly half a ton of explosives a few kilometres from Cali on Wednesday, according to Breitbart, the only outlet reporting the case. Cali is due to host the inauguration of president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella.

Geopolitics

A State Department official said on Tuesday that Washington had revoked the visa of Brazil's ambassador to the United States, months before Brazil's elections. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called the move irresponsible, according to Global Times.

Geopolitics

Russia's envoy to Cuba, Viktor Koronelli, said no Russian citizens had contacted the embassy for assistance during the blackouts and that no evacuation of staff of Russian institutions is being considered, TASS reported on Wednesday. Cuba's national grid failed twice between Sunday and Monday; Le Monde reported that power was restored while large areas stayed dark, counting the sixth nationwide outage this year, whereas Breitbart counted the fifth failure in a month.

Geopolitics

The State Department has cancelled the visa of Brazil's ambassador to the United States, in what the Guardian describes as retaliation for the Lula government's refusal to approve Donald Trump's nominee as ambassador in Brasília. An official indicated the revocation does not mean the ambassador will be expelled, Al Jazeera reported.

Geopolitics

Argentine grain exports came to a halt as maritime pilots struck in protest against a decree by President Javier Milei, Al Jazeera reported on Tuesday. More than 45 vessels have been affected at Argentinian ports.

Economy

Venezuela's National Assembly put the confirmed death toll from the June earthquakes at 6,125 in a bulletin published on Monday. Criticism of the government's relief effort is growing.

Geopolitics

Representatives of Venezuela's government and part of the opposition are due to meet in the coming week for talks on a transition, backed by Washington. In a message from prison in New York published on Sunday, deposed former leader Nicolás Maduro welcomed 'any path to dialogue'.

Geopolitics

Brazil's Workers' Party nominated President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, 80, for October's election at its convention, with Vice President Geraldo Alckmin again as running mate. Lula said on Sunday he was 'in great shape' and cast the race against Flávio Bolsonaro as a fight for national sovereignty against foreign interests, pointing to the Bolsonaro family's ties to US President Donald Trump.

Geopolitics

Daniel Ortega has announced the eradication of electoral processes in Nicaragua, El País reported on Sunday. The paper writes that the step seals the country's autocratic drift, establishing what it calls Latin America's last dictatorship, and paves the way for a family dynasty.

Geopolitics

A storm in Chile killed two people, left thousands isolated and cut electricity to 180,000, Telesur reported on Sunday. Authorities ordered evacuations and braced for more rain.

Geopolitics

A truck packed with explosives detonated on Saturday outside a police station in the Colombian border city of Cúcuta, wounding at least 11 people according to Daily Sabah and Politika, and 14 according to the South China Morning Post, Le Monde and The Hindu. Politika reported that those hurt were police officers, and Le Monde said the blast, days before the inauguration of far-right president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella, revived concerns about security.

Geopolitics

Police in Peru said 13 people, among them foreign tourists, were killed when a sightseeing aircraft crashed into a field after departing from the city of Pisco, The Guardian reported. The crash on the flight over the Nazca Lines was first reported on Saturday.

Geopolitics

Democracy talks backed by the United States have sidelined Venezuela's opposition leader, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. No details on the format of the talks or the participants were given in the report.

Geopolitics

Nicaragua's constitutional reform aims to extend presidential terms and restrict the opposition, reshaping elections and the country's handling of sovereignty, Telesur reported on Saturday. The outlet said the changes have drawn criticism in the region.

Geopolitics

La Guaira's governor said on Friday that 1,338 people remain missing after the earthquake that hit Venezuela in June. The count is based on a housing census of 95,080 people and on requests from residents.

Geopolitics

Cuba's parliament approved a list of 176 measures on 18 June that opens almost every sector of the economy, including agriculture and banking, to private actors, according to Le Monde. It is the island's furthest move away from a state-run economy so far.

Economy

Researchers found that Caribbean nations suffered $53.2 billion in damage from climate-fuelled disasters, the Guardian reports, the heaviest share of the losses borne by developing island states. The researchers say their findings can inform debates about global climate reparations and financing for mitigation.

Economy

A Bolivian court issued an arrest warrant against former president Evo Morales over his role in anti-government protests, Le Monde reports; the government accuses him of armed uprising and of what it calls terrorism. Morales has withdrawn to his stronghold in the Chapare, a poor rural region in the centre of the country.

Geopolitics

Nayib Bukele has formalised his candidacy for a third term as president of El Salvador while the constitution is being rewritten to suit him, El País reports. According to the paper, the promise of alternation in office is thereby disappearing.

Geopolitics

Keiko Fujimori took office after a narrow election win, becoming the first woman elected by popular vote to lead Peru and marking the return of Fujimorism after almost 30 years, El País reports. Demonstrators protested in Lima as she promised an iron-fisted crackdown on crime, and the presidents of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile attended the inauguration.

Geopolitics

Six months after the Trump administration imposed its oil blockade, Cubans are living through prolonged power cuts with no electricity for fans or air conditioning, the New York Times reported. Its correspondent Jack Nicas described residents unable to sleep in the heat.

Geopolitics

Negotiations between Chavismo and the opposition are due to start on 1 August under Washington's supervision, with the aim of establishing a path toward new elections, El País reports. The talks come two years after the disputed 2024 presidential vote.

Geopolitics

Abelardo de la Espriella announced that his government, which takes office on 7 August, will break diplomatic relations with Cuba and Nicaragua and close at least 14 embassies, including missions in Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua, according to Telesur and Le Monde. Le Monde notes that de la Espriella won the presidential election narrowly and was backed during the campaign by US President Donald Trump.

Geopolitics

Brazil recalled its ambassador to Buenos Aires for consultations after Argentine President Javier Milei made fresh verbal attacks on President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and a Brazilian judge, according to Reuters, Bloomberg and Daily Sabah. Le Monde reported that Brasília also summoned Argentina's ambassador, and that Milei's remarks targeted Mexico and the US Democratic Party as well.

Geopolitics

Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado said on Sunday she will not take part in US-backed talks with the de facto government of Delcy Rodríguez, the South China Morning Post reports. The negotiations had been scheduled to go ahead despite her refusal.

Geopolitics

A storm that caused deaths in Chile has disrupted operations at copper mines, the Financial Times reports. The interruption raises concerns about supplies of material needed for AI-related semiconductor production.

Economy

Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, was set to be confirmed on Saturday as the Liberal Party's presidential candidate, Daily Sabah reports. Separately, Brazilian authorities refused visas to two senior US officials out of concern they planned to sow doubt about the security of the country's electronic voting systems, according to the New York Times.

Geopolitics

Thirty days after the double earthquake of 24 June, reconstruction plans cover more than 128,000 affected people, Telesur reports, while the College of Engineers of Venezuela has inspected over 8,000 structures in Caracas to determine their habitability. Folha de S.Paulo describes teenagers breaking concrete and sawing through rebar in the rubble as they search on their own for their mother's body.

Geopolitics

One month after the 24 June earthquakes, the death toll has passed 5,300 with no official count of the missing, and residents have taken the search for victims into their own hands as government machinery threatens to clear the ruins, El País reports. Carabobo governor Rafael Lacava told Folha de S.Paulo he had "never cried so much in his life", while El País notes that thousands of Venezuelans in the United States remain at risk of deportation to a devastated country amid calls to redesignate Temporary Protected Status.

Geopolitics

Venezuela announced on Friday its definitive withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, which has investigated possible crimes against humanity in the country since 2017, Folha de S.Paulo reports. The same day, Trump said Venezuela is not yet ready for elections, nearly seven months after the capture of Nicolás Maduro, dampening expectations of a return to democratic normality.

Geopolitics

Guyanese authorities confirmed 72 deaths in the capsizing of a state coastal ferry off the country's coast, The Guardian reports. Of an estimated 179 people aboard, 76 were rescued, and efforts continue to salvage the ship and recover all bodies.

Geopolitics

Brazil signed on to the artificial intelligence alliance launched last week by China with 29 founding countries, the Shanghai-based World AI Cooperation Organization, Folha de S.Paulo reports. The move comes as Brazil's Congress postpones its own domestic legal framework for artificial intelligence.

Technology

Indigenous leaders on the Brazilian-Peruvian border told the Guardian that masked gunmen from an organised crime group have entered homes and are taking their communities hostage. A delegation was sent to Brasília in response; the accounts are based on local leaders' statements and are not independently confirmed.

Geopolitics