Development: On 14 May Peru’s President Ollanta Humala swore in three new ministers to head up the defence, interior and production portfolios. Significance: Humala was forced to make this mini cabinet re-shuffle just five months after a major cabinet overhaul in December. The latest changes resulted from the resignation last week of Daniel Lozada and Alberto Otárola from the interior and defence ministries. Both men quit in order to avoid a move by congress to censure them, and their departure was widely interpreted as an effort to shield Prime Minister Oscar Valdés Dancuart, who had backed the two ministers. Yet…

FOREIGN RELATIONS | Maduro says US must hand over Aponte. On 14 May Venezuela’s foreign minister Nicolás Maduro stated that the US is obliged to comply with an Interpol red notice and deport a Venezuelan judge, Eladio Aponte Aponte, wanted in Caracas on suspicion of involvement with drug trafficking groups. Aponte Aponte is believed to be cooperating with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and recently gave a TV interview in which he accused the Venezuelan government of interfering in the justice system. He also suggested that senior Venezuelan officials have links to the drug trafficking business. “Once again the…