Key Points — Colombia’s Banco de la República (BanRep) is expected to deliver its third Colombia rate hike of 2026 on Thursday April 30, raising the benchmark policy rate by 50 basis points from 11.25 percent to 11.75 percent. The cycle began in late January with a 100bp hike to 10.25 percent, followed by a […]

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Key Points — Colombia recorded 48 massacres by the end of April 2026 according to Indepaz tracking data — already exceeding more than half the 54-massacre total Indepaz documented for all of 2025. The Colombia massacres 2026 trajectory marks the worst decade-start since systematic tracking began. Average pace: one massacre every three days. Total victims […]

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Key Points — US oil cargoes transiting the Panama Canal exceeded 200,000 barrels per day in April 2026 — close to the highest level since July 2022, according to maritime intelligence firm Kpler. The Panama Canal oil traffic surge reflects Asian refineries’ rapid pivot to American crude as Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of […]

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Key Points — Ecuador signed a US$1.7 billion mining contract Monday April 27 with ODIN Mining del Ecuador, the local subsidiary of China’s CMOC Group, for the Los Cangrejos gold-copper project in El Oro province. The Ecuador China gold mine deal projects total state revenue of US$4.39 billion over the project’s 26-year mine life through […]

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Key Points — The Chile Codelco debt situation has reached a structural inflection point under President José Antonio Kast’s new government. The state-owned copper giant — the world’s largest copper producer with 1.332 million tonnes in 2025 (29.6% of national output, 6.1% of world supply) — carries debt above US$20 billion as of late 2025, […]

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Sugar cane, bananas, African palm, and pineapple are among the most widespread monocultures in Central America.

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Key Points — The First International Conference for the Transition Beyond Fossil Fuels opened April 24 and runs through April 29 in Santa Marta, Colombia — co-hosted by Colombia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Santa Marta conference brings together 56 confirmed countries and over 2,600 organizations representing approximately one-fifth of global fossil-fuel production […]

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Key Points — Mexican Navy Special Forces (SEMAR) captured Audias Flores Silva, alias “El Jardinero,” in Nayarit Monday April 27 — confirmed by Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch on social media. The Mexico CJNG capture was the result of 19 months of surveillance and a coordinated operation involving SEMAR Special Forces, the SSPC, and the […]

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Key Points — The US Embassy in Bogotá Monday April 27 issued a travel advisory for Colombia’s southwestern departments of Cauca and Valle del Cauca, declaring them “unsafe for travelers” and prohibiting US government employees from any travel to the region. The Colombia Cauca attacks of the past 72 hours have killed at least 21 […]

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Key Points — Chihuahua Governor María Eugenia “Maru” Campos appears before Mexico’s Senate Tuesday April 28 at 10am to explain her state’s collaboration with US intelligence agents on a April 17-19 antinarco operation that killed four people, including two confirmed CIA officers. The Mexico CIA Chihuahua crisis has escalated into a direct confrontation between President […]

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Key Points — Argentina’s official dollar exchange rate jumped 22.16 pesos Monday April 27 to close at 1,440.61 pesos per dollar — a level last seen February 9, 2026. The Argentina country risk spread, measured by JP Morgan’s EMBI, rose 24 basis points to 582 — the highest since April 7. April marks the first […]

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Key Points — Foreign Minister Arnoldo André Monday April 27 confirmed that delegations from 71 countries and 18 international organizations will attend Costa Rica’s May 8 presidential inauguration of Laura Fernández, succeeding Rodrigo Chaves. The Costa Rica inauguration takes place at the 27,000-capacity Estadio Nacional in San José at 11:00am local time (17:00 GMT). Fernández […]

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