Ecuador and Peru are joining forces to coordinate strategies to combat dengue and chikungunya.

Whether looking at failed attempts to entice Venezuela “to live up to the minimum standards of democracy” or the “legal battle between Bolivia and Chile in The Hague over Bolivia’s demand for sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean,” Latin Americans have shown little ability for collective action to solve their own problems. 

Bolivia and Chile respond to the ICJ under the expectant gaze of Peru, while Chile worries about the Pope’s impute. 

Former Colombian president and former secretary general of the OAS, César Gaviria, said that the participation of the international community is necessary because the current situation in Venezuela “seriously endangers the freedom of the press and expression and respect for human rights.” 

Peruvian President Ollanta Humala, satisfied with the Chilean response, has ordered the gradual restoration of relations with Chile.

They also discussed possible security cooperation for fighting crime and drug trafficking. 

Following the lead of Uruguay’s new government, Paraguay also wants MERCOSUR to go back to its original purpose of regional free trade.  The five countries in the group have been at odds over stalled negotiations for a comprehensive cooperation and trade agreement with the European Union. 

As the rate of intraregional migration increases in northwestern South America, rights and conditions for the migrants themselves continue to diminish. 

Four of Bolivia’s six international lawyers argued for its maritime claim against Chile at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. 

Guatemala is losing sovereignty in large chunks. Organized crime, corruption on the part of politicians, and International forcers have all begun to usurp and perverse the power in the nation to make it serve their own interests.