Venezuelans went to the polls yesterday. The opposition won in a landslide . More on that later today.

Elsewhere, Middle Eastern Men Arrested Near Mexican Border with Steel Cylinders.

ARGENTINA
Macri v. Cristina In The Presidential Staff And Sash Hand-Off Clash. Mauricio Macri and Cristina Kirchner throw hissy fits over what are essentially beauty pageant paraphernalia.

BOLIVIA
Bolivia to send attorneys to Paraguay and US over FIFA scandal. General attorney Ramiro Guerrero said on Friday that next week a group of attorneys would meet in Asuncion (Paraguay).

BRAZIL
Battle Lines Form on Impeachment of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff. Showdown in Congress spreads to public as presidents’ supporters and detractors make plans to marshal public protests

In the Amazon, the ‘world’s most endangered tribe’ has few options. Brazil’s ‘isolated’ indigenous communities don’t typically leave the forest. But it’s happening more often.

CHILE
Macri Meets With Chilean President Michelle Bachelet. [Argentina’s] President-elect Mauricio Macri ends his “express tour” with a meeting with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.

COLOMBIA

Colombia finds galleon ‘holy grail’. Undated handout from Colombia culture ministry showing remains of San Jose galleon. The wreck of the San Jose, a treasure-laden Spanish galleon sunk by the British 300 years ago, has been found off the Colombian city of Cartagena, President Juan Manuel Santos announces.

CUBA
Cuba’s “Democratic” Transition to the Perfect Dictatorship.Castros Set the Stage for Single-Party Hegemony to Live On

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel Plans Cuba Vacation

ECUADOR
Dollarization Is Hurting Ecuador? Don’t Believe It

President for Life? It Will Be Possible in Ecuador in 2021

JAMAICA
Jamaican accountant jailed in US$3.6M tax refund fraud in Florida

LATIN AMERICA
From his mouth to God’s ears: Latin America Says ‘Adiós’ to the Populist Left

MEXICO
Mexico arrests ‘gang members’ over Australian surfers murders

Police in Mexico say they have arrested three men for the murder of two Australian surfers.

The three belong to a criminal gang in the north-western state of Sinaloa, police said.

They confessed to killing the two tourists when the pair fought back during an attempted robbery.

PANAMA
Panama Disease could wipe out most bananas. The one strain of bananas that accounts for 99 per cent of the market faces a disease that could decimate crops.

PARAGUAY
Inside Paraguay’s War Over Soy. Soy’s popularity in Paraguay is fueling a feud between landowners and farmers

PERU
Lori Berenson Heading Home to the U.S. From Peru

Lori Berenson Leaves Peru for Good

U.S. citizen Lori Berenson, who spent 15 years in a Peruvian prison for aiding leftist rebels, was expelled from the Andean nation after completing a five-year parole.
. . .
Amid a crush of reporters, some in the airport shouted “terruca” (terrorist) at the American woman as she carried her son to the gate.

Berenson was arrested in December 1995 as she was leaving the Peruvian Congress.

Prosecutors said she entered the premises with false press credentials to obtain information on the building’s security systems for use in planning an attack by the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, or MRTA, guerrilla group.

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico fundraiser, officials indicted on corruption charges

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has charged 10 Puerto Rico officials and businessmen, including a leading fundraiser for the governing party, with corruption, extortion, bribery, and wire fraud.

Puerto Rico’s U.S. Attorney, Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez, said on Thursday in a statement that the 25 count indictment exposes the “underhanded dealings” and cronyism within the island’s cash-strapped government.
. . .
A full list of the indicted individuals can be found here ((1.usa.gov/1MYLLDJ))

More are expected.

In other news, The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide whether Puerto Rico, which is in the midst of a financial crisis, may allow public utilities there to restructure $20 billion in debt.

Wal-Mart Sues Puerto Rico Over ‘Astonishing’ Tax Increases

TRINIDAD
Trinidad to Seize Assets of Terrorist Jailed in U.S.

Ibrahim, 70, was sentenced to life in prison in the United States after he was found guilty of conspiring with others to detonate fuel tanks and a pipeline at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.

URUGUAY
Uruguay makes dramatic shift to nearly 95% electricity from clean energy.In less than 10 years the country has slashed its carbon footprint and lowered electricity costs, without government subsidies. Delegates at the Paris summit can learn much from its success

VENEZUELA
The Die Is Cast on Venezuela’s Congressional Elections.How Will Chavismo Respond to Its Inevitable Defeat?