South America

21 Jan 2019; AFP: A group of 27 soldiers rose up against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro at a command post in Caracas on Monday, but they were quickly arrested after posting an appeal for public support in a video.

"We are the professional troop of the National Guard against the regime, which we completely repudiate. I need your help, take to the streets," a man who identified himself as the group's leader said in a video circulated on social media.

21 Jan 2019; AFP: Colombia's leftist ELN rebels claimed responsibility on Monday for the bombing of a police academy in Bogota that killed 20 people as well as the attacker, and derailed peace talks being held in Havana.

The National Liberation Army said Thursday's car bombing, which sparked nationwide protests, was a reprisal attack after the government of President Ivan Duque failed to respect a unilateral ceasefire declared by the rebels over Christmas.

SANTIAGO, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- A second batch of 100 Chinese-built electric buses joined the public transit fleet serving Chile's capital Santiago over the weekend.

Transport and Telecommunications Minister Gloria Hutt unveiled the new units on Saturday, saying the buses made by Chinese vehicle maker Yutong will serve alongside the first batch of 100 buses already in circulation.

19 Jan 2019; DW: Colombian President Ivan Duque announced on Friday that he was reinstating the arrest warrants of 10 National Liberation Army (ELN) members after his government accused the group of being responsible for a car bombing in a Bogota police academy.

The attack on Thursday, which left 21 people dead and dozens wounded, has been a major setback to two years of peace talk attempts between the Colombian government and the ELN.

BOGOTA, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a car bomb blast outside a police academy here on Thursday morning has climbed to 21, Colombian police said late Thursday.

The blast at the General Santander Police Academy in southern Bogota left 68 people wounded, 58 of whom had been discharged from the hospital, reported Agence France-Presse, citing a statement from the Colombian police.

BRASILIA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro signed a decree on Tuesday that makes it easier for people to own, register and sell guns in the South American country.

The major move since Bolsonaro took office on Jan. 1 honored one of his main campaign promises.

"As the people sovereignly decided, to safeguard the right of self-defense, today I am going to use this weapon," Bolsonaro said, holding up his pen before signing the document.

SANTIAGO, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- More people are living in extreme poverty in Latin America than at any time since 2008, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), which is based in Chile's capital of Santiago, said on Tuesday.

The region's overall poverty rate, as measured by income, remained steady in 2017, after rising in 2015 and 2016, but "the proportion of persons living in extreme poverty continued to rise," the agency said at a press conference on its latest report "Social Panorama of Latin America 2018."

CARACAS, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Ten member countries of the Lima Group have distanced themselves from interfering in Venezuela's internal affairs, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said Saturday.

Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru, Panama and Saint Lucia, once urging Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to cede power, have rectified their position, Arreaza said at a news conference at the headquarters of the ministry.

CARACAS, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was sworn in before the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) to begin a new six-year term on Thursday.

Maduro told the president of the TSJ, Maikel Moreno, that he swore on behalf of the people of Venezuela and that he would fulfill and enforce all constitutional mandates to "seek to defend the independence and absolute integrity of the country."

After the inauguration ceremony, the president said the ceremony "was a peace step for the country."

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s opposition-controlled congress opened its first session of the year Saturday, installing a fresh-faced leader who struck a defiant tone and vowed to take up the battle against socialist President Nicolas Maduro.

Juan Guaido, 35, assumes the presidency of a National Assembly stripped of power by Maduro, whose government is blamed for leading the once-wealthy oil nation into a historic political and humanitarian crisis.