Orinoco Tribune | According to the electoral body, Gustavo Petro exceeded the established spending limits and utilized funding sources that were not declared. Condemning the accusations against him, the Colombian president stated that the charges brought by the CNE are unfounded, that the body is exceeding its legal capacities, and that his constitutional guarantees are not being respected. President Petro also denied the accusations against him, calling the investigation a “lawfare.”

W.T. Whitney | CounterPunch | A trial jury in the U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach, Florida, determined June 10 that Chiquita Brands, formerly the United Fruit Corporation (UFC), was guilty of financially supporting the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC). The paramilitary band has operated since the 1980s in Colombia’s northern banana-producing regions. The decision will be appealed.

After yesterday’s ruling declaring former Brazilian president Lula da Silva eligible to run in next year’s election, Brazil’s ruling class is panicking. But for Brazilian workers struggling with economic hardship and the COVID-19 pandemic, Lula’s return means there is finally some hope for change.

In article after article, the New York Times failed to share important information on the Lava Jato investigation. This helped normalize the 2016 coup and the removal of Lula from the 2018 presidential elections, which in turn opened the door for a neofascist/military takeover of Brazil.

Ecuador’s Confederation of Peoples of the Kichwa Nationality (Ecuarunari) called for a national strike to protest alleged electoral fraud committed against the presidential candidate Yaku Perez in the February 7 elections.

"Officials from some countries, including Argentina and Peru, have publicly complained that terms demanded by Western drugmakers were too tough, including liability waivers and long confidentiality clauses."

The first round result is an important blow against the machinations of imperialism in the region. It is likely to end the rule of the last four years of pro-business policies adopted by President Lenin Moreno, deputy to former leftist President Rafael Correa. Moreno reneged on Correa’s polices on taking office and instead locked up Correa supporters and imposed fiscal austerity, privatisations and other pro-business measures.

Vijay Prashad | In Ecuador, the oligarchy used the techniques of the guerra jurídica (‘legal war’) to delegitimise the entire left, especially former president Rafael Correa (2007-2017). Correa was accused of bribery – with the bizarre notion of ‘psychic influence’ (influjo psíquico) at the root of the case. He was handed down an eight-year sentence which prevented him from running for office in Ecuador.

On January 14, the US International Development Finance Corporation provided Ecuador with a loan of $2.8 billion. This move was part of the US strategy to remove Chinese businesses and political influence from Latin America | by Vijay Prashad

Although Canada is not as tactless as US politicians when they appeal to right-wing extremism in Florida, the Canadian government and its extensions of capital are deeply implicated in the Monroe Doctrine’s legacy of military and economic interventionism in Latin America, and their record in Colombia reveals this.

Forty-five years ago, under a cloak of secrecy, Operation Condor was officially launched: a global campaign of violent repression against the Latin American left by the region’s quasi-fascist military dictatorships. The US government not only knew about the program — it helped to engineer it.

"The document deals a blow to the credibility of opposition leader Juan Guaido, who has vehemently denied any links to Silvercorp or involvement in the attempt to remove Maduro by force."