Daily Headlines: August 1, 2012

* Venezuela: Will Venezuela’s official entry yesterday as a full member of the Mercosur bloc help or hurt the country’s economy?

* Latin America: Spanish imports of oil from Latin America have doubled this year partly due to a European Union ban on Iranian oil that started exactly one month ago.

* Costa Rica: Fired Deputy Minister for Youth Karina Bolanos apologized but defended herself after a racy personal video made in 2007 was stolen and released on YouTube.

* Nicaragua: The criminal gang linked to the murder last year of Argentine folk singer Facundo Cabral has been accused of laundering over $1 billion.

Video Source – YouTube via Cosa Rosada (In this video from the Argentine government the leaders of Brazil, Venezuela, Uruguay and Argentina posed for a photo at the Mercosur conference yesterday).

Online Sources- Bloomberg, Reuters, InSight Crime, CNN