On his first trip to Central America in the 1980s, the now sainted Pope John Paul II blithely disregarded the bloody deeds of his hosts in Guatemala and El Salvador as well as those of the U.S. supported Contras attacking Nicaragua. 

The government of President José Mujica in Uruguay offered his country as a refuge for Syrian child victims of war in that country, shortly after becoming the first South American nation to accept a U.S. proposal to host Guantanamo detainees. 

Iran’s influence in the Triple Border Area (TBA) of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay has raised security concerns for the U.S. government. 

During the one-hour oral argument concerning hedge fund NML Capital Ltd’s efforts to seek payment of court judgments it says are worth around $1.7 billion, several U.S. Supreme Court justices suggested that military and diplomatic assets should be off-limits, which would narrow the scope of the ruling. 

Ecuador’s government asked the U.S. embassy in Quito for withdrawal of the so-called “military group” of 50 military personnel because the “bilateral security relationship should be governed by mutual respect.” 

With car production down 16% in Argentina and 8.4% in the first quarter of 2014 compared to the same three months last year, both Argentina and Brazil are keen to extend their existing agreement. 

Drought in the coffee-growing areas of Brazil is likely to lead to losses both for the 2014 and 2015 seasons, though consumers are less pessimistic about unemployment and inflation. 

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) expects that Bolivia, along with Peru, will lead economic growth in South America during 2014. 

Productive development in Peru needs to rely more on competitiveness and diversification, the country needs 5.5% growth to continue reducing poverty, and Peruvian publishers expect to do good business in Colombia. 

The Venezuelan government extended the decree annulling or simplifying procedures for the importation of basic consumer goods in short supply.