Maduro Madness
The United States Department of Justice has announced that it has indicted Venezuela's socialist leader Nicolas Maduro and several key aides on charges of narco-terrorism. The department accused them on Thursday of conspiring with Colombian rebels "to flood the United States with cocaine" and currently the US is offering a $15m reward for information leading to the arrest of Nicolas Maduro. "We estimate that somewhere between 200 and 250 metric tonnes of cocaine are shipped out of Venezuela by these routes. Those 250 metric tonnes equates to 30 million lethal doses"
Indigenous Groups Don't Want a Repeat of History
Fearing repeat of history, Indigenous groups in Ecuador have rushed back to their territories in an attempt to escape COVID-19. In Quito, indigenous Waorani tribes from the Amazon's rainforest have travelled by car or bus, while others flew by charter plane or travelled by boat upriver, deep into the rainforest where there are no roads in a bid to isolate themselves and stop the devastating impact the virus could have.
El Trumpo
Stephen Colbert has trolled ‘El Trumpo’ over what he descirbes as a desperate plan to woo Hispanic voters. Recent polls suggest that the Hispanics voters ratings for the president have taken a further slump. The president claims he's going to "go for the Hispanics" during next year's election, but "The Late Show" host isn't buying it. Trump this week went to New Mexico, where he claimed he would “go for the Hispanics” during next year’s election and claimed, “We got a lot of Hispanics,” he said. “We love our Hispanics! Get out and vote”. However, Colbert responded by saying Trump “must really need los hombres Hispanico because he laid it on muy thick,” as he broke out an impression of the president.
Britons on virus-hit ship wait for Panama Canal green light
Hundreds of passengers, many of them British, on a coronavirus-stricken cruise trip where four people have died are confined to their cabins awaiting the go-ahead to pass through the Panama Canal. Dozens have fallen ill on the Zaandam cruise ship, which was stranded off the Pacific coast of Panama after several Latin American countries refused to let it into port. Some passengers were transferred to a second ship – the Rotterdam – on Saturday night.
La Linea – The London Latin Music Festival - Reschedules To The Autumn
La Linea – London's Latin Music Festival – announces today that this year's event, originally scheduled to run throughout April and May, will now take place in September and October.
Festival Director Andy Wood said,"We have built La Linea on a sense of celebrating the community in music and dance. With London in lockdown it is important to be able to look forward to a time when we can come together again and so we're really happy to have been able to reschedule the entire La Linea 20 event for later on in the year".
La Linea celebrates the very best of the Latin music world and this year's 20th anniversary event will host an array of world exclusive commissions, one-off UK concerts and specially curated shows across the capital. The festival is also today releasing details of a series of new support acts for the rearranged shows alongside a special opening night event featuring two of the great Latin music big bands on September 4th. The full list of rescheduled dates is below. Tickets already purchased for existing dates remain valid for new dates. www.lalineafestival.co.uk
F.C. Barcelona agrees to pay cuts
Barcelona players will take a 70% pay cut during the coronavirus pandemic and make additional contributions to ensure non-sporting staff receive full wages. Captain Lionel Messi said the move was delayed as the players were "looking for a formula to help the club". This news comes as Spain's national death toll now stands at 7,340, making it the worst-affected country in the world behind Italy.
Netflix Moving Latin American Base to Mexico
Netflix Inc. is establishing its Latin American headquarters in Mexico City and staffing up in the office, a sign of the streaming service’s growing ambitions in the region. Netflix will consolidate executives who work on programming, marketing and publicity across Latin America in the Mexico City office, the company said.
Latin America is a growing priority for Netflix as the streaming service looks outside the U.S. for new customers. The company’s customer base in the region reached 31.4 million at the end of 2019, more than doubling in the past three years.
