https://www.scmp.com/rss/325319/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Hundreds of alleged Mara Salvatrucha gang members sat chained, shaved and mute as they were accused of murder and torture during a mass trial at El Salvador’s notorious CECOT jail on Thursday. Seated in neat columns of plastic chairs in the prison’s main hall, some 220 defendants were accused of collectively carrying out more than 29,000 murders. “We burned her genitals and buttocks” one witness said over the loudspeaker, testifying in a mass trial El Salvador’s president has compared to those... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3351267/shackled-and-shaved-el-salvador-holds-mass-trial-hundreds-gang-members?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3351267/shackled-and-shaved-el-salvador-holds-mass-trial-hundreds-gang-members?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Apr 2026 06:07:36 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Peru’s foreign and defence ministers resigned on Wednesday in protest over the interim president’s decision to stall a US$3.5 billion deal for the purchase of 24 US F-16 fighter jets. The ministers said the deal had already been signed and that to cast doubt on it now jeopardised Peru’s reputation as a trading partner. Despite the president’s declared wish to suspend the purchase, the Ministry of Economy announced late Wednesday that it had transferred US$462 million as part of an initial... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3351057/top-peru-ministers-resign-protest-over-stalled-us-fighter-jet-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3351057/top-peru-ministers-resign-protest-over-stalled-us-fighter-jet-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Apr 2026 19:00:36 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A senior Cuban diplomat on Monday confirmed recent talks in Havana with US officials, as the communist-led island faces a deep crisis over President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign. “I can confirm that a meeting between delegations from Cuba and the United States was recently held here in Cuba,” Alejandro Garcia, the foreign ministry’s under-director of Cuba-US affairs, told the Communist Party newspaper Granma. Garcia said that the negotiators included assistant secretaries from the US State... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3350789/cuba-confirms-recent-respectful-talks-visiting-us-delegation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3350789/cuba-confirms-recent-respectful-talks-visiting-us-delegation?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Apr 2026 19:54:56 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Saturday she had “no regrets” about symbolically handing over her Nobel Peace Prize to US President Donald Trump in January. “There is a leader in the world, a head of state in the world who risked the lives of his country’s citizens for Venezuela’s freedom,” she told a news conference in Madrid. Machado presented her Nobel Prize to Trump when she met him in the White House just two weeks after he ordered US forces to attack Caracas and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3350601/venezuelas-machado-says-no-regrets-about-giving-her-nobel-prize-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3350601/venezuelas-machado-says-no-regrets-about-giving-her-nobel-prize-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Apr 2026 20:10:19 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Spain and Brazil signed a flurry of agreements at Pedro Sanchez and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s first bilateral summit, as the Spanish leader seeks to build an alliance to counter US President Donald Trump. “The relationship between Spain and Brazil goes far beyond the strictly bilateral,” Sanchez told reporters after signing 15 deals covering areas including critical minerals, telecommunications and artificial intelligence. “Peace and the values that sustain it are being attacked by a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3350545/spain-signs-deals-brazil-sanchez-builds-anti-trump-bloc?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3350545/spain-signs-deals-brazil-sanchez-builds-anti-trump-bloc?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Apr 2026 21:05:18 +0000 Reuters Reuters The International Monetary Fund and ⁠the World Bank said on ⁠Thursday they had resumed dealings with Venezuela, which had been paused since 2019. The move paves the way for a full IMF assessment of Venezuela’s economy for the first time in some 20 years and could eventually unlock billions of dollars in ‌funding via frozen special drawing rights. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement that the Fund, guided by the views of a majority of its members, was now dealing with... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3350384/imf-says-it-restoring-relations-venezuela?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3350384/imf-says-it-restoring-relations-venezuela?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Apr 2026 23:50:14 +0000 Reuters Reuters Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva delivered a blunt critique of US President Donald Trump in an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais published on Thursday, saying world leaders should seek respect rather than ‌rule by fear. “Trump has no right to wake up in the morning and threaten a country,” Lula told El Pais, referring to the president’s public threat on April 7 to wipe out Iranian civilisation as part of the US-Israeli war on Iran. “He wasn’t elected for that, and his... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3350342/brazils-lula-blasts-trumps-fear-based-rule-calls-great-maturity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3350342/brazils-lula-blasts-trumps-fear-based-rule-calls-great-maturity?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Apr 2026 10:38:32 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The US military said on Tuesday that four people had been killed in a strike on another alleged drug-trafficking boat, the fourth such deadly attack in as many days. US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said in a post on X that the strike – just as the previous three – occurred in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It posted aerial video on social media showing a vessel bobbing in the water before being struck by a projectile and exploding. The four new fatalities raise the total death toll of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3350107/us-military-says-4-killed-fourth-drug-boat-strike-week?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3350107/us-military-says-4-killed-fourth-drug-boat-strike-week?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Apr 2026 02:13:44 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Peru’s Keiko Fujimori looked set to face a run-off against a conservative rival after a troubled first-round presidential election on Sunday marred by logistics foul-ups, police raids and allegations of fraud. First counts and exit polls showed the 50-year-old daughter of disgraced former president Alberto Fujimori ahead in the 35-candidate race, but she was well short of the 50 per cent needed to win outright. Her nearest rival was far-right Rafael “Porky” Lopez Aliaga – who has vowed to “hunt”... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3349823/peru-extends-voting-president-and-congress-amid-delays-polling-sites?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3349823/peru-extends-voting-president-and-congress-amid-delays-polling-sites?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Apr 2026 21:56:40 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A stampede at a mountaintop fortress popular with tourists in northern Haiti has killed at least 25 people and injured dozens of others, authorities said, revising an earlier, higher number of fatalities. Municipal authorities in the city of Cap-Haitien in a statement said that Saturday’s stampede in Milot “resulted in numerous cases of asphyxiation, trampling and loss of consciousness”. Authorities said dozens of people who attended traditional festivities at the historical site were taken to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3349818/stampede-historical-fort-haiti-kills-least-30-culture-minister-confirms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3349818/stampede-historical-fort-haiti-kills-least-30-culture-minister-confirms?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Apr 2026 17:30:53 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said the United States has no valid reason to carry out a military attack against the island or to attempt to depose him. Speaking in an interview on NBC News’ Meet the Press programme, the president said an invasion of Cuba would be costly and affect regional security. But should it happen, Diaz-Canel said, Cubans would defend themselves. “If the time comes, I don’t think there would be any justification for the United States to launch a military aggression... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3349817/cubas-president-warns-us-against-attacking-island-or-trying-depose-him?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3349817/cubas-president-warns-us-against-attacking-island-or-trying-depose-him?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Apr 2026 16:47:00 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Peruvians will choose from a bewildering array of 35 presidential candidates this Sunday, electing the next leader of an Andean nation beset by crime and a string of short-lived, scandal-tainted presidencies. “Now any old person runs for office,” said 51-year-old teacher Jane Layza, pondering the plethora of presidential hopefuls, and how she will cast her ballot. A few in the field are well known – a popular male comic, the daughter of a brutal autocrat, and a former Lima mayor who likens... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3349325/peru-set-choose-bewildering-array-35-presidential-hopefuls?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3349325/peru-set-choose-bewildering-array-35-presidential-hopefuls?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Apr 2026 04:12:53 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press At least one person died and 60 others were injured in what seemed to be a crush of fans at a popular football team’s stadium in the Peruvian capital on Friday night, authorities reported. Police said officers rescued people trapped as a result of an influx of Alianza Lima fans in the south stands of the Alejandro Villanueva Stadium the night before their team’s scheduled game against their biggest rival, Universitario. Earlier, the Ministry of Health had reported the collapse of a wall inside... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3349046/1-dead-peru-football-stadium-tragedy-dozens-injured?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3349046/1-dead-peru-football-stadium-tragedy-dozens-injured?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Apr 2026 12:40:37 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald ⁠Trump signalled he was reversing course on blocking oil shipments to Cuba on Sunday, saying he had “no problem” with any country sending in crude as a Russian tanker neared a Cuban port with a badly needed shipment. A sanctioned Russian vessel, part of the country’s “shadow fleet”, was just off the coast of eastern Cuba on Sunday, according to ship tracking data, and was expected to reach port on Monday, ‌a lifeline for the country’s economy that has nearly ground to a halt... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3348329/us-allow-russian-oil-tanker-reach-cuba-possible-lifeline-caribbean-island?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3348329/us-allow-russian-oil-tanker-reach-cuba-possible-lifeline-caribbean-island?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Mar 2026 23:29:59 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Two aid boats bound for Cuba that were feared missing after they set sail from Mexico have “safely transited” to the island, the US coastguard said on Friday. The Mexican Navy had reported on Thursday that it launched a search and rescue mission after losing communication with the vessels, which had left from Isla Mujeres in southeast Mexico on March 20 with nine people aboard. The US coastguard, which was not involved in the search efforts, said on Friday it had received a report at 10.36am... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3348215/missing-aid-boats-safely-crossed-cuba-us-coastguard-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3348215/missing-aid-boats-safely-crossed-cuba-us-coastguard-says?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 17:32:55 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro cut a relaxed figure Thursday as he returned to a federal court in New York for his second appearance since his capture by US forces in an extraordinary nighttime raid. During the one-hour hearing, the judge indicated he would not dismiss the case over Maduro and his wife’s apparent inability to afford their legal bill without aid from the Venezuelan government. The former leader, 63, and wife Cilia Flores have been held in a Brooklyn jail for almost... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3348055/venezuelas-maduro-back-court-after-shock-capture-us-forces?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3348055/venezuelas-maduro-back-court-after-shock-capture-us-forces?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Mar 2026 19:26:45 +0000 Reuters Reuters The United States on Wednesday offered ⁠a reward of up to US$3 million and possible relocation in exchange for information on the financial activities of Haiti’s Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif criminal groups. Washington has designated both groups, which bring together hundreds of gangs in the capital Port-au-Prince, agricultural Artibonite ‌region and central Haiti, as terrorist organisations. The US announcement marks a shift in tactics as previous bounties have been focused on individual gang... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3347917/us-offers-us3-million-bounty-information-finances-powerful-haiti-gangs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3347917/us-offers-us3-million-bounty-information-finances-powerful-haiti-gangs?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Mar 2026 20:14:00 +0000 dpa dpa Cuba has refused to allow the US embassy in Havana to import diesel to power its generators during the island’s ongoing energy crisis, according to a media report. The Cuban foreign ministry denied the request, The Washington Post reported on Friday, citing a protest note in which Havana described the embassy’s claim to such privileges as “shameless” and unavailable to the Cuban people. The move comes as the Caribbean island grapples with severe fuel shortages and widespread power outages. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3347453/cuba-rejects-shameless-us-request-diesel-amid-trump-oil-blockade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3347453/cuba-rejects-shameless-us-request-diesel-amid-trump-oil-blockade?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Mar 2026 23:39:39 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Spain’s King Felipe VI has been invited to the 2026 World Cup in Mexico by President Claudia Sheinbaum, the royal palace said on Wednesday, signalling a thaw in relations between the two countries. Diplomatic relations have been strained since 2019, when the Mexican government demanded that the Spanish crown apologise for the abuses committed during the conquest and subsequent colonisation of the Americas in the 16th century. Sheinbaum excluded the king from her inauguration in October 2024... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3347089/mexico-invites-spains-king-world-cup-sign-thaw?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3347089/mexico-invites-spains-king-world-cup-sign-thaw?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 23:34:04 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Cuba’s leader on Tuesday said the US would face “unbreakable resistance” if it tries to take over the impoverished island nation, as communist authorities scrambled to fix a nationwide electricity blackout. Cuba’s government has been under increasingly crushing pressure, with Washington enforcing an oil blockade and openly stating it wants to end the nearly seven-decade-old US stand-off with the one-party communist state. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Cuba’s decision announced this week... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346971/cubas-leader-vows-unbreakable-resistance-if-us-tries-take-over-island?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346971/cubas-leader-vows-unbreakable-resistance-if-us-tries-take-over-island?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 05:01:17 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Spain’s monarch said on Monday the Spanish conquest of the Americas included “much abuse” and “ethical controversies”, striking a conciliatory tone amid a years-long row between Spain and Mexico over colonial-era abuses committed by the Spanish crown centuries ago. King Felipe made the remarks while speaking with Mexico’s ambassador to Spain, Quirino Ordaz, during a visit to a museum exhibition in Madrid about the role of women in pre-Columbian Mexico. About the centuries-old Spanish conquest,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346823/spains-king-acknowledges-much-abuse-conquest-americas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346823/spains-king-acknowledges-much-abuse-conquest-americas?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Mar 2026 02:53:11 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast wasted no time. Less than a week after his inauguration, Chile’s arch-conservative president on Monday began overseeing preparations to build a border barrier - part of his flagship campaign promise to block immigrants from crossing illegally. From Chile’s northern frontier area of Chacalluta, where legions of immigrants have slipped across the Peruvian border into one of the region’s most prosperous nations, Kast vowed to implement what he calls his “Border... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346819/channeling-trump-chiles-new-president-launches-work-border-barrier?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346819/channeling-trump-chiles-new-president-launches-work-border-barrier?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Mar 2026 02:32:31 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US President Donald Trump vowed on Monday to “take” Cuba as the communist island plunged into darkness under a total power blackout linked to a crippling oil embargo imposed by Washington. After nearly seven decades defying the United States, Havana’s communist authorities are under massive pressure from a Trump administration determined to make history. “You know, all my life I’ve been hearing about the United States and Cuba. When will the United States do it?” Trump told reporters at the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346808/cubas-national-electric-grid-collapses-leaving-millions-without-power?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346808/cubas-national-electric-grid-collapses-leaving-millions-without-power?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Mar 2026 21:40:03 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The American flag was raised on Saturday over the US embassy in Venezuela for the first time since 2019, a move that highlighted the recent shift in relations between the two countries since then President Nicolas Maduro was captured by American troops in January. Though the flag is now waving, the building is undergoing renovations and it remains unclear when it will fully reopen. The move comes after several statements from US President Donald Trump in support of Maduro’s successor, acting... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346631/american-flag-raised-us-embassy-venezuela-first-time-2019?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346631/american-flag-raised-us-embassy-venezuela-first-time-2019?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2026 20:43:46 +0000 Reuters Reuters Anti-government protesters attacked a ⁠Communist party office in northern Cuba early on Saturday, a ⁠state-run newspaper reported, in a rare outburst of public dissent triggered by worsening blackouts that have been exacerbated by a US oil blockade. A rally against power cuts and food shortages appeared to begin peacefully in the city of Moron late on Friday then turned violent in the early hours of Saturday morning, Invasor newspaper said. Videos on social media showed a large fire and ‌people... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346624/protesters-cuba-attack-communist-party-office-amid-blackout-fury?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346624/protesters-cuba-attack-communist-party-office-amid-blackout-fury?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2026 14:52:55 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg An alleged cocaine boss with a US$2 million bounty on his head was captured by Bolivian forces as the Andean nation renews cooperation with the US after decades of hostility. Dozens of antinarcotics police raided two houses in Santa Cruz in the early hours of Friday, with snipers positioned on nearby rooftops. Their target, Uruguayan citizen Sebastian Enrique Marset Cabrera, was immediately put on a plane to be transferred to the US by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Bolivia’s President... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346567/cartel-boss-us-most-wanted-list-captured-bolivia-raid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346567/cartel-boss-us-most-wanted-list-captured-bolivia-raid?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 19:43:26 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro has pneumonia and is receiving treatment in an intensive care unit, a hospital in the capital, Brasilia, said on Friday. Earlier in the day, Bolsonaro’s eldest son, Flavio, said on social media that his father was being transferred from prison to the hospital after waking up with chills and vomiting. “I ask for prayers that it not be anything serious,” Flavio wrote. He has said he would run for president this year, and recent polls show him and President... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346564/brazils-jair-bolsonaro-icu-pneumonia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346564/brazils-jair-bolsonaro-icu-pneumonia?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 17:09:34 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on Friday that his government has held recent talks with the US, marking the first time the Caribbean country confirms such speculation. He said the talks “were aimed at finding solutions through dialogue to the bilateral differences between our two nations. International factors facilitated these exchanges”. He did not elaborate on those factors. Diaz-Canel said no petroleum shipments have arrived on the island in the past three months, which he blamed on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346541/cuba-confirms-talks-us-island-gasps-under-trumps-energy-blockade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346541/cuba-confirms-talks-us-island-gasps-under-trumps-energy-blockade?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 12:43:41 +0000 Igor Patrick Igor Patrick Chilean President Gabriel Boric left La Moneda presidential palace for the last time on Wednesday, ending a four-year term with a call for national unity that most observers took as a reference to the Chinese undersea cable dispute that defined his final weeks in office. “I wish success to the incoming government, success for Chile, and may our homeland always come first, above any interest, above any disagreement,” Boric said from the palace courtyard, where he arrived with his partner, Paula... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3346275/chiles-boric-leaves-office-calls-unity-after-split-successor-over-china-cable?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3346275/chiles-boric-leaves-office-calls-unity-after-split-successor-over-china-cable?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 18:30:28 +0000 Igor Patrick Igor Patrick The Chilean capital Santiago awoke on Wednesday to a mixture of celebration and tension. As the city prepared for the inauguration of its centre-right president, the new government’s first crisis was already unfolding behind the scenes: an undersea fibre-optic cable linking the South American country to Hong Kong that had enraged Washington and may prove a watershed moment in how Latin America handles critical infrastructure projects and its partnership with Beijing. Jose Antonio Kast was... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3346261/inauguration-day-chiles-new-president-inherits-chinese-cable-scandal-and-us-threats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3346261/inauguration-day-chiles-new-president-inherits-chinese-cable-scandal-and-us-threats?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 13:44:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters Explosive drone strikes by Haitian security forces targeting gangs have killed over 1,200 people, including 43 adult civilians and 17 children, Human Rights Watch said in a report on Tuesday, adding that operations have ramped up in recent months. Since last March, Haitian security forces, with support from Vectus Global, have carried out ‌anti-gang operations using quadcopter drones strapped with explosives, often in densely populated parts of the capital Port-au-Prince. Vectus Global is a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346052/explosive-drones-have-killed-hundreds-haiti-including-civilians-report?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346052/explosive-drones-have-killed-hundreds-haiti-including-civilians-report?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2026 04:33:45 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Authorities in Peru on Sunday said they have arrested three people following the bombing of a nightclub as the number of those injured rose to 44. The explosion happened early on Saturday at the Dali nightclub in the city of Trujillo in La Libertad region, which has the largest gold-producing area in Peru and is rife with extortion and illegal mining. La Libertad Regional Health Management confirmed that those injured rose from 33 to 44, including three minors between the ages of 16 and 17. At... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3345908/3-people-arrested-after-44-injured-peru-nightclub-bombing-officials?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3345908/3-people-arrested-after-44-injured-peru-nightclub-bombing-officials?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Mar 2026 20:05:01 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US President Donald Trump on Saturday urged Latin American nations to use military power against the “cancer” of drug cartels and offered to support them with US missile strikes targeting narco kingpins. Trump, currently waging a war with Iran, laid out a muscular position for advancing Washington’s interests in the western hemisphere, pronouncing that communist-led Cuba was “in its last moments of life” and advocating tough action by allies against organised crime blighting the region. He... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345839/trump-offers-latin-american-leaders-us-missile-strikes-hit-drug-cartels?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345839/trump-offers-latin-american-leaders-us-missile-strikes-hit-drug-cartels?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Mar 2026 17:46:34 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US President Donald Trump said Friday Cuba was next on his agenda after Iran, predicting that the communist-run island, crippled by a US energy blockade, is “gonna fall pretty soon”. “They want to make a deal so badly,” Trump told CNN in a phone interview, a day after suggesting that he would turn to an unspecified project for Cuba after the war against Iran. “We’re really focused on this one right now. We’ve got plenty of time, but Cuba’s ready – after 50 years,” he added, explaining that... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3345780/trump-says-cuba-going-fall-pretty-soon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3345780/trump-says-cuba-going-fall-pretty-soon?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Mar 2026 17:22:01 +0000 Kandy Wong Kandy Wong China could potentially face shortages of methanol – a vital input for several industries – if the Iran war drags on and causes lengthy disruptions to shipping traffic along the Strait of Hormuz, analysts said. Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, is a chemical compound that is widely used by Chinese producers. It is both a biofuel and a key raw material for a range of products – from paint and formaldehyde to plastics and synthetic fabrics. The growing conflict in the Middle East could be a... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3345276/iran-war-could-significantly-disrupt-chinas-methanol-imports-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3345276/iran-war-could-significantly-disrupt-chinas-methanol-imports-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Mar 2026 14:00:09 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Venezuelan opposition leader and winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize Maria Corina Machado said on Sunday that she will return to Venezuela in the coming weeks and that elections will be held in the South American country. Machado did not set a date for her return but said one of the objectives will be to prepare “for a new and gigantic electoral victory”. In a message shared on social media, the politician called on her supporters to “strengthen the unity of Venezuelans that began with the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3345059/venezuelas-opposition-leader-machado-will-return-country-coming-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3345059/venezuelas-opposition-leader-machado-will-return-country-coming-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Mar 2026 22:44:21 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg US President Donald Trump suggested a possible “friendly takeover of Cuba” as the White House looks to leverage the Communist-run island’s energy crisis to exert greater influence. “They’re in big trouble, and we could very well do something good, I think, very positive for the people that were expelled, or worse, from Cuba that live here,” Trump told reporters on Friday as he departed the White House for Texas. “You know, we have people living here that want to go back to Cuba.” “We could very... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3344941/trump-says-us-discussing-friendly-takeover-cuba-theyre-big-trouble?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3344941/trump-says-us-discussing-friendly-takeover-cuba-theyre-big-trouble?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Feb 2026 18:52:28 +0000 Lucy Quaggin Lucy Quaggin United States first lady Melania Trump is set to chair a meeting of the United Nations Security Council in New York on Monday, the White House announced, marking the first time a spouse of a serving world leader has done so. “First lady Melania Trump is set to make history at the United Nations, taking the gavel as the United States assumes the Security Council Presidency to emphasise education’s role in advancing tolerance and world peace,” the White House said. The US assumes a monthly... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3344794/melania-trump-preside-over-un-security-council-meeting-white-house-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3344794/melania-trump-preside-over-un-security-council-meeting-white-house-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Feb 2026 23:34:42 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Cuba’s coastguard shot dead four people and injured six others travelling in a US-registered speedboat in an exchange of fire off the Cuban coast on Wednesday, the interior ministry in Havana said. The “illegal” Florida-registered boat was detected one nautical mile from Falcones Cay in Villa Clara province, the ministry said in a brief statement. As a coastguard vessel approached to identify the boat “shots were fired from the boat”, injuring the commander of the Cuban vessel, the ministry... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3344655/cuba-coastguard-kills-4-firefight-us-registered-speedboat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3344655/cuba-coastguard-kills-4-firefight-us-registered-speedboat?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Feb 2026 20:08:14 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US military forces boarded a third sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking it from the Caribbean Sea in an effort to target illicit oil connected to Venezuela, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. An organisation that tracks ship movements said the vessel was the only tanker left to pursue after more than a dozen fled the coast of Venezuela following the capture of the South American country’s authoritarian then-president, Nicolas Maduro. The boarding is the 10th interdiction of an oil... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3344520/us-boards-third-venezuela-linked-oil-tanker-indian-ocean?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3344520/us-boards-third-venezuela-linked-oil-tanker-indian-ocean?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Feb 2026 21:46:22 +0000 Genevieve Donnellon-May Genevieve Donnellon-May A single policy could redraw global food supply lines and scramble markets from the Americas to Southeast Asia. In early February, the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee and State Council released the annual “No 1 document”, the country’s first policy statement of 2026 and its blueprint for agriculture, farmers and rural areas. As one of the world’s largest agricultural producers, importers and exporters, any shift in Beijing’s food strategy carries global repercussions. Covering... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3344152/china-seeks-cultivate-food-supply-immune-geopolitical-shocks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3344152/china-seeks-cultivate-food-supply-immune-geopolitical-shocks?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Feb 2026 12:30:09 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Venezuela’s National Assembly on Thursday unanimously approved a long-awaited amnesty law that could free hundreds of political prisoners jailed for being government detractors. But the law excludes those who have been prosecuted or convicted of promoting military action against the country - which could include opposition leaders like Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, who has been accused by the ruling party of calling for international intervention like the one that ousted former... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3344082/venezuela-approves-amnesty-law-could-free-hundreds-political-prisoners?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3344082/venezuela-approves-amnesty-law-could-free-hundreds-political-prisoners?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Feb 2026 04:48:47 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Peruvian lawmakers picked Jose Maria Balcazar as the country’s new interim president on Wednesday, making him the country’s eighth leader in a decade after Jose Jeri was impeached on corruption allegations. The left-wing lawmaker was elected head of Peru’s Congress after a vote broadcast live on TV, meaning the 83-year-old lawyer and former judge will become Peru’s eighth head of state since 2016. The vote brought to an end a power vacuum of more than 24 hours, unprecedented in the country’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3343987/peru-congress-picks-countrys-eighth-president-decade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3343987/peru-congress-picks-countrys-eighth-president-decade?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Feb 2026 06:21:12 +0000 Reuters Reuters The top commander overseeing US forces in Latin America, General Francis Donovan, and senior Pentagon official Joseph Humire made a surprise visit to Venezuela on Wednesday for security talks, US officials said. The trip is the first by a US military delegation since US ‌forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in an audacious raid last month and whisked him to New York to face drug-trafficking charges. The visit was first reported by Reuters. Venezuela’s government said the US military... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3343955/top-us-commander-makes-surprise-visit-venezuela-weeks-after-maduro-capture?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3343955/top-us-commander-makes-surprise-visit-venezuela-weeks-after-maduro-capture?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Feb 2026 02:37:23 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The US military said Tuesday that it carried out strikes on three boats accused of smuggling drugs in Latin American waters, killing 11 people in one of the deadliest days of the Trump administration’s months-long campaign against alleged traffickers. The series of strikes conducted Monday brought the death toll to at least 145 people since the administration began targeting those it calls “narcoterrorists” in small vessels since early September. Like most of the military’s statements on the 42... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3343855/11-killed-us-strikes-3-more-alleged-drug-boats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3343855/11-killed-us-strikes-3-more-alleged-drug-boats?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Feb 2026 23:32:54 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse President Donald Trump boasted on Friday about a secret US “discombobulator” weapon that can block Russian and Chinese defence systems, as he met the elite troops who captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Trump’s comments at the Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina marked the first time he has talked about the mysterious device at a public event, after previously letting some details slip in interviews. “They even talk about the discombobulator, because they never got a shot off,”... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3343546/trump-hails-us-discombobulator-weapon-he-meets-maduro-op-troops?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3343546/trump-hails-us-discombobulator-weapon-he-meets-maduro-op-troops?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Feb 2026 20:57:22 +0000 Reuters Reuters Two of China’s leading carmakers, BYD and ⁠Geely, are among the finalists vying to purchase a Nissan–Mercedes-Benz plant in Mexico, according to a ⁠person familiar with the matter, as China seeks a manufacturing foothold in a country where US tariffs are fuelling factory closures and lay-offs. The finalists emerged from nine companies expressing interest in acquiring the factory, including at least two other major Chinese manufacturers: Chery and Great Wall Motor, according to two sources... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3343369/chinas-byd-and-geely-bid-nissan-mercedes-mexico-plant-dodge-trump-tariffs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3343369/chinas-byd-and-geely-bid-nissan-mercedes-mexico-plant-dodge-trump-tariffs?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Feb 2026 14:30:30 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Tuesday he had escaped an assassination attempt hours earlier, after months of warnings about an alleged plot by drug traffickers to target him. On Monday night, Petro’s helicopter was unable to land at his destination on the Caribbean coast because of fears that unspecified people “were going to shoot” at it, he said. “We headed out to open sea for four hours and I arrived somewhere we weren’t supposed to go, escaping from being killed,” Petro said in a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3343152/colombias-president-says-he-escaped-assassination-attempt-while-helicopter?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3343152/colombias-president-says-he-escaped-assassination-attempt-while-helicopter?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Feb 2026 05:13:35 +0000 Mark Magnier Mark Magnier Beijing came under sharp criticism on Tuesday at a highly contentious US Congressional hearing on the influence of foreign funds in US politics – but so did US President Donald Trump. The hearing by the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which shapes tax and tariff legislation, comes amid deep partisanship and Trump’s declining popularity ahead of a November midterm election. “Tax-exempt organisations funded by foreign donors are exploiting very lucrative US tax benefits to incite violence... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3343119/china-and-trump-targeted-house-hearing-foreign-influence-us-non-profits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3343119/china-and-trump-targeted-house-hearing-foreign-influence-us-non-profits?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Feb 2026 22:31:04 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Cuban aviation officials have warned airlines that there is not enough fuel for planes to refuel on the island, the latest step in its moves to ration energy as the Trump administration cuts the Caribbean nation off from its fuel resources. The government of Cuba published the notices to airlines and pilots on Sunday night, warning that jet fuel would not be available at nine airports across the island, including Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, starting on Tuesday and continuing... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3343015/cuba-warns-airlines-its-almost-out-fuel-us-blockade-deepens-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3343015/cuba-warns-airlines-its-almost-out-fuel-us-blockade-deepens-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Feb 2026 05:20:50 +0000