Peruvian and Honduran officials envision a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two nations to improve their respective trade balances. 

MercoPress of Montevideo noted that Brazil’s private sector is concerned about difficult times ahead, particularly regarding exports to Argentina and Venezuela, and is proposing that Mercosur trade should be done with local currencies instead of the U.S. dollar.  

Carolina Enríquez noted in El Comercio of Quito that Ecuador sees Mexico as an investment destination.  At the moment Mexico gains more from trade and investments in Ecuador, but the latter seeks to refurbish this relationship through a new agreement that will open its larger regional neighbor to more of their products and companies. 

La Nación of Buenos Aires noted that on a short trip to São Paulo the Argentine economy minister, Axel Kicillof spoke to his counterpart, Guido Mantega, about the decreased purchases of Argentine cars by Brazil. 

El Nuevo Siglo of Bogotá reported that the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against Colombian Fernaín Rodríguez Vásquez and seven partners for collaboration with elements of the Mexican drug cartels, with the help of the FARC. 

La Razón of La Paz tells that at the fortieth session of the Andean Parliament the body voted to support democracy in Venezuela and declared coca a product of the cultural and ancestral heritage of the peoples of the Andes. 

The Buenos Aires Herald recalled the old quip attributed to Mexican writer Octavio Paz: “Mexicans descended from the Aztecs, Peruvians from the Incans, and Argentines, from the boats.”  Paz sought to illustrate how Argentina is a country largely built by immigrants following the genocide of native populations by the descendants of Spanish colonialists. 

MercoPress of Montevideo reported that Uruguay will renew the contract for the purchase of Venezuela oil and accept the stake increase of that country in a local bio-fuels corporation during the scheduled visit of President Nicolás Maduro to Montevideo next month, as was announced by the Uruguayan Foreign affairs ministry. 

Eugene Malthouse wrote in The Santiago Times that Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru aim to eventually phase out all tariffs, while Costa Rica wants in on the deal.  President Sebastián Piñera met with heads of state from Colombia, Mexico and Peru for the eighth Pacific Alliance summit in the Colombian city of Cartagena on Monday,

Charlotte Karrlsson-Willis wrote in The Santiago Times that official bilateral relations between Chile and Peru were “stronger than ever,” ahead of the ruling over the maritime dispute, but Peruvians held a solidarity event in Chile to ease tensions.  The Hague ruling to determine sovereignty of fertile fishing waters between Chile and Peru was expected to