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Bolivia protesters clash with police after governor arrest
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Venezuela opposition removes interim President Guaido
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U.S. judge says cruise line to pay $110 mln for use of Cuba port
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Brazil lifts ban that stopped Venezuela’s Maduro entering
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Next Petrobras CEO says will change company’s fuel price policy
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Panama: Rejects First Quantum legal bid to avoid operations halt
Dec 30 (Reuters) – The latest in Latin American politics today:
Bolivia protesters burn cars, clash with police after governor arrested
SANTA CRUZ/LA PAZ – Protesters in Bolivia’s Santa Cruz, a relatively wealthy farming region, attacked buildings, burned cars and blocked highways as part of a 24-hour strike following the arrest of the regional governor, a right-wing opposition leader.
As night fell, protesters in parts of the provincial capital torched cars and tires and hurled fireworks toward police forces, who used tear gas to try to disperse the crowds, after largely peaceful road blockades during the day.
The protests are the latest face-off between Santa Cruz, led by the arrested right-wing Governor Luis Fernando Camacho, and leftist President Luis Arce’s government. Camacho was sentenced to four months of pre-trial detention late Thursday and was transferred to a maximum security prison early on Friday.
Venezuela opposition removes interim President Guaido
CARACAS – Venezuela’s opposition national assembly voted to remove interim President Juan Guaido, dissolve his government and appoint a commission to govern the country’s foreign assets, as lawmakers seek unity ahead of elections slated for 2024.
Three of four major opposition groups backed the bill to oust Guaido and create the five-member commission to manage foreign assets, especially U.S.-based refiner Citgo, a subsidiary of state-owned oil company PDVSA.
Guaido’s interim government, which has control over some foreign assets and runs embassies, has seen its support wane while President Nicolas Maduro retains control of nearly all Venezuela’s institutions, including its security forces.
U.S. judge orders Norwegian Cruise Line to pay $110 mln for use of Cuba port
MIAMI – Norwegian Cruise Line must pay $110 million in damages for use of a port that Cuba’s government confiscated in 1960, a U.S. judge ruled, a milestone for Cuban-Americans seeking compensation for Cold-War era asset seizures.
The decision by a Miami judge follows her March ruling that the use of the Havana Cruise Port Terminal constituted trafficking in confiscated property owned by the plaintiff, Delaware-registered Havana Docks Corp.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has harshly criticized the Helms-Burton Act, which allows U.S. nationals to sue over use of property seized in Cuba after 1959, describing it as an extra-territorial violation of international law.
U.S. cruise ships in 2016 began traveling to Cuba for the first time in decades following a pre-Trump administration detente negotiated by former President Barack Obama that eased some provisions of a U.S. embargo in place since the Cold War.
Brazil lifts ban that stopped Venezuela’s Maduro entering country, according to official gazette
BRASILIA – The outgoing government of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has lifted a ban on senior Venezuelan officials entering the country, according to the official gazette.
The ban prevented Venezuelan leftist President Nicolas Maduro from accepting an invitation to attend the inauguration on Sunday of President-elect Luis Inacio Lula da Silva that will be attended by 19 heads of state, including the King of Spain.
Next Petrobras CEO says he will change company’s fuel price policy
BRASILIA – Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras’ incoming CEO said he planned to tweak the country’s fuel pricing policy, but emphasized this does not mean prices will be completely unlinked to international markets.
President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday named Senator Jean Paul Prates, a prominent voice on energy policy within Lula’s leftist Workers Party (PT), as the next CEO.
The company’s pricing policy was at the center of turmoil during President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration. Three Petrobras CEOs were ousted during his term, as fuel-price hikes stoked inflation and hurt his popularity.
Panama says it rejects First Quantum’s legal bid to avoid halting operations
PANAMA CITY – The Panamanian government said in a statement it rejected Canada-based miner First Quantum’s legal proceedings to avoid halting operations at the Cobre Panama mine, after it missed a deadline for a deal on higher royalties.
First Quantum was notified on Dec. 21 of a government order for it to create a plan to halt operations within 10 working days. Days later, First Quantum notified the country about two arbitration proceedings.
The two parties are at odds over issues such as contract stability, terminations and the government’s plan to raise annual royalties to $375 million, which has been at the forefront of talks. (Compiled by Sarah Morland; Editing by Neil Fullick)
