LatinNews Daily - 12 June 2018

Development: On 11 June a 24-hour general strike took place in León, Nicaragua’s second city (and capital of the eponymous department).... Read More

Development: On 11 June Venezuela’s attorney general, Tarek William Saab, announced that the government will soon release a third batch of individuals whom the political opposition describe as ‘political prisoners’.... Read More

Peru: Peru’s Energy & Mining Minister Francisco Ísmodes has announced that the ministry has a project portfolio for the hydrocarbons sector of US$12.79bn for the 2018-2022 period, including exploration, exploitation, and natural gas.... Read More

Development: On 11 June Brazil’s President Michel Temer signed into law the creation of the single system of public security (Susp).... Read More

*Workers from Brazil’s state-run electricity firm, Eletrobras, began a 72-hour national strike on 11 June to protest against the Brazilian government’s plans to privatise parts of the company, Latin America’s largest electricity generation and distribution firm.... Read More

Panama: The US has extradited Panama’s former president Ricardo Martinelli (2009 to 2014) back to Panama to face charges of illegal wiretapping and embezzlement.... Read More

Development: On 11 June Senator Ernesto Cordero formally accused Ricardo Anaya, the presidential candidate of Mexico’s Right-Left Por México al Frente opposition coalition, of money laundering.... Read More

* Mexico’s Grupo GEPP, the distributor of the beverage Pepsi, has announced the temporary closure of its distribution centre in Ciudad Altamirano, Guerrero state, for security reasons.... Read More

Development: On 11 June a local court in Temuco, the capital of Chile's southern Araucanía Region where the indigenous Mapuche lay claim to ancestral lands, sentenced two Mapuche activists, Luis Tralcal Quidel and José Tralcal, to life imprisonment, while a third, Peralino Huinca, received a five-year prison sentence.... Read More

Argentina: Argentina’s agriculture ministry has issued a statement regarding China’s decision to temporarily reduce tariffs on 1,449 consumer products, of which 387 are agricultural.... Read More