Venezuela is engulfed in a political crisis with two rival politicians claiming to be the country’s legitimate leader. How did this happen? Venezuela has been governed for the past 20 years by the socialist PSUV party. From 1999 to his death in 2013, Hugo Chávez was president. He was succeeded by Nicolás Maduro, who narrowly […]

Mexico has sent 80 soldiers and an army helicopter to the western Michoacán state after a shooting in which at least 13 police officers were killed. The police were carrying out a court order in the town of El Aguaje when their convoy was ambushed by unidentified gunmen on Monday. A powerful criminal group, the […]

Mexico has sent 80 soldiers and an army helicopter to the western Michoacán state after a shooting in which at least 13 police officers were killed. The police were carrying out a court order in the town of El Aguaje when their convoy was ambushed by unidentified gunmen on Monday. A powerful criminal group, the […]

More than 200,000 people have been killed or have disappeared since Mexico’s government declared war on organised crime in December 2006. The military offensive has led to the destruction of some drug gangs, splits within others and the emergence of new groups. With widespread corruption and impunity exacerbating Mexico’s problems, there is no end in […]

Thousands of fires are ravaging the Amazon rainforest in Brazil – the most intense blazes for almost a decade. The northern states of Roraima, Acre, Rondônia and Amazonas have been particularly badly affected. Huge fires have also been burning across the border in Bolivia, devastating swaths of the country’s tropical forest and savannah. So what’s […]

The UN says representatives of Ecuador’s government and the country’s indigenous groups will hold their first direct talks later on Sunday in a bid to end days of violent protests. Protesters are demanding the return of fuel subsidies which the government scrapped as part of austerity measures. Reports say President Lenín Moreno has agreed to […]

Thousands of protesters in Ecuador have clashed with security forces in the capital, Quito. The protests are led by indigenous groups demanding the end of austerity and the return of fuel subsidies. Demonstrators have been throwing homemade firebombs at riot police, who have responded with tear gas. They are demanding the resignation of President Lenín […]

Protesters have clashed with security forces inside Ecuador’s heavily guarded parliament after days of unrest forced President Lenin Moreno to move the government out of the capital. Demonstrators briefly burst through a police cordon before being driven back with tear gas, witnesses said. Mr Moreno declared a state of emergency last week but has failed […]

Ecuador’s president has temporarily moved government operations from the capital Quito to the port city of Guayaquil amid protests sparked by the end of fuel subsidies. In a television address, President Lenin Moreno said he would not back down on the fuel price hike and accused his opponents of attempting a coup. It came after […]

Indigenous groups in Ecuador have taken the lead in protests against the end of fuel subsidies, blocking roads and highways in the country. About 50 police officers have been taken hostage in various locations. President Lenin Moreno says he will not bring back subsidies and has declared a two-month national emergency. The protests were originally […]