LatinNews Daily - 17 May 2019

On 16 May the US government led by President Donald Trump condemned “the use of lethal force” against US citizen Eddy Montes, a 'political prisoner' detained in La Modelo prison, outside Nicaragua’s capital, who was shot dead by a prison guard.... Read More

On 16 May Colombia’s President Iván Duque revealed that he had accepted the resignation of his justice minister, Gloria María Borrero.... Read More

* A Bolivian private sector lobby group IBCE has released new figures which show that Bolivia’s exports of gas & hydrocarbons contracted by 10% in the first quarter of 2019 compared with the same period in 2018, totalling US$669m.... Read More

On 16 May, various members of President Jair Bolsonaro’s government in Brazil minimised the significance of mass protests held the previous day, saying that demonstrations are a natural part of a democracy.... Read More

* The index for Brazil’s São Paulo stock exchange (Ibovespa) has reached its lowest point since the start of the year, falling 1.75% and closing the day on 16 May at 90,024 points.... Read More

* The Dominican Republic's (DR's) central bank (BCRD) has released new figures which show that monthly inflation in April 2019 was 0.53% compared with the previous month, bringing the year-on-year rate to 1.61%.... Read More

On 16 May, Francisco Romero Díaz, a crime reporter for local dailies and director of local news website Ocurrió Aquí, was murdered in the beach resort of Playa del Carmen, in the Solidaridad municipality of Mexico’s Quintana Roo state.... Read More

* Mexico’s national statistics institute (Inegi) has released new figures which show the national unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2019 was 3.5%, up 0.1 percentage points on the previous quarter and up 0.2 percentage points on the same quarter in 2018.... Read More

On 16 May Argentina’s supreme court (SCJN) confirmed that the first corruption trial against former president Cristina Fernández (2007-2015) will begin on 21 May.... Read More

* Chile’s finance ministry has issued US$1.5bn in bonds to local and international investors.... Read More