Key Points —Colombia’s banana exports reached a record US$1.309 billion in 2025, up 21.6% from 2024, with 133 million 20-kilogram boxes shipped from 52,943 cultivated hectares. —The performance made Colombia the world’s fourth-largest banana exporter behind Ecuador, Guatemala and the Philippines, and the third-largest in Latin America — overtaking Costa Rica. —The European Union absorbed […]

The post Colombia’s Banana Exports Hit a Record US$1.3 Billion in 2025 — and Are Already Projected to Fall in 2026 appeared first on The Rio Times.

Key Points —Ecuador’s Corte Nacional de Justicia approved the Topo extradition on April 22 at 15:00, clearing Darío Javier Peñafiel Nieto — second-in-command of Los Choneros after Fito’s July 2025 transfer — for delivery to the Eastern District of New York on seven charges tied to large-scale narcotics trafficking and firearms offenses. —The decision was […]

The post Ecuador to Extradite Second-in-Command of Its Largest Drug Cartel to the U.S. appeared first on The Rio Times.

Key Points — The CB Global Data regional approval ranking for April 2026 placed Argentine President Javier Milei in 14th place out of 18 Latin American leaders, with a positive image of 36.2% and a negative reading of 59.7%. — Milei’s positive image fell 6.1 percentage points in a single month, from 42.3% in March, […]

The post From First Tier to Sixth-Worst: Milei’s Regional Fall appeared first on The Rio Times.

Key Points — Peru’s Interior Minister José Zapata ordered an immediate reinforcement of the southern border in Tacna after Chile launched its first deportation flight, deploying 135 police officers — 100 of them transferred from Cusco, Ica, Arequipa, and Puno — The deployment includes motorized patrols, ATVs, drones for real-time aerial surveillance, and 10 illumination […]

The post The Domino Effect: Chile’s Deportation Flight Triggers Peru’s Border Lockdown appeared first on The Rio Times.

Key Points — A Chilean Air Force Boeing 737 departed Thursday morning from Santiago with 40 irregular migrants aboard — 19 Colombians, 12 Bolivians, and 9 Ecuadorians — in the Kast government’s first deportation flight, five weeks after taking office — Of the 40 expelled, 25 were removed on administrative orders and 15 on judicial […]

The post Chile’s Kast Launches First Deportation Flight as 2,180 Venezuelans Self-Deport appeared first on The Rio Times.

Key Points — Lima’s former mayor Rafael López Aliaga formally petitioned Peru’s National Jury of Elections (JNE) on Wednesday to suspend the proclamation of second and third-place finishers in the April 12 presidential first round, alleging that logistical failures prevented roughly 608,000 Lima voters from casting ballots and cost him 120,000 votes. He has since […]

The post Peru Election Crisis: Markets Crash as López Aliaga Alleges Fraud appeared first on The Rio Times.

Key Points — President Rodrigo Paz signed Ley 157 on April 8 at a cattle genetics fair in Santa Cruz, allowing small-property holders to voluntarily reclassify their land as medium property through INRA in 10 days, at zero cost. The conversion is voluntary, free, and does not apply to indigenous communal territories. — The trade-off […]

The post Bolivia Passes Its Biggest Agrarian Shift in Decades — and the Fight Over What It Actually Does Has Begun appeared first on The Rio Times.

Key Points — With approximately 89% of actas counted, Keiko Fujimori leads at 16.8%, Rafael López Aliaga holds second at roughly 12%, but Roberto Sánchez of Juntos por el Perú has surged to 11.7% and overtaken Jorge Nieto for third place. — Sánchez gained more than 2 points as rural and southern actas were processed, […]

The post Peru’s Election Count Tightens as Left-Wing Sánchez Surges Toward Second Place and a Runoff Against Keiko appeared first on The Rio Times.

Rio Times Daily Market Brief • Mexico Wednesday, April 15, 2026 · Covering the session of Tuesday, April 14 The Big Three 1. The IPC fell 0.94% to 68,941 — a second consecutive loss that extends the slide below 70,000. The session opened at 69,813, briefly ticked to 69,957, then sold off steadily to a […]

The post Mexico’s IPC Falls 0.94% to 68,941 as Oil Drag and Global Bearishness Deepen appeared first on The Rio Times.

Rio Times Daily Market Brief • Colombia Wednesday, April 15, 2026 · Covering the session of Tuesday, April 14 The Big Three 1. The COLCAP rose 0.52% to 2,359.48 — a third consecutive gain and the highest close since mid-February. The index opened at 2,347.36 (Monday’s close), tested as low as 2,332.23, then rallied to […]

The post COLCAP Extends Rally to 2,359 as Petro Drops Ecuador Tariffs appeared first on The Rio Times.

Rio Times Daily Market Brief • Argentina Wednesday, April 15, 2026 · Covering the session of Tuesday, April 14 The Big Three 1. The Merval crashed 1.38% to 2,950,635 — its sharpest single-session decline in weeks, decisively breaking below the 3-million level. The index opened at 2,991,781, briefly touched 3,016,087, then collapsed through the session […]

The post Argentina’s Merval Breaks Below 3 Million With 1.38% Drop on Global Bearishness appeared first on The Rio Times.

Rio Times Daily Market Brief · Crypto Wednesday, April 15, 2026 · Covering the session of Tuesday, April 14 The Big Three 1. Bitcoin consolidated at $74,018 (−0.22%) after Monday’s $400M short squeeze, holding the gains at the Tenkan-sen with minimal giveback. BTC perpetuals touched $75,986 before settling at $73,845 (−0.87%), with $4.11 billion in […]

The post Bitcoin Holds $74K as Goldman Files Income ETF and Deutsche Börse Buys Into Kraken appeared first on The Rio Times.