Daily Headlines: September 12, 2014

* Argentina: Argentine legislators approved a debt restructuring plan that could be at odds with a U.S. court ruling that led the country into default.

* Venezuela: President Nicolás Maduro announced a three-month extension to the closing of traffic across the Venezuelan border into Colombia during the late night hours.

* U.S.: A Floridian man was charged with allegedly helping to smuggle Yasiel Puig from Cuba in exchange of a percentage of the superstar ballplayer's Major League contract.

* Ecuador: “People are dying from bad food, not a lack of food,” said President Rafael Correa who proposed a new tax against fast food with the aim of lowering Ecuador's growing obesity rates.

Video Source - YouTube via AFP

Online Sources - Reuters; The Latin Americanist; The Globe and Mail; The Independent

Daily Headlines: August 20, 2013

* Peru: Local environmental groups released video purportedly showing members of the heavily isolated Mashco-Piro indigenous tribe emerging from their jungle area and attempting to seek food.

* Mexico: Mexican politicians continue to debate a major energy reform proposal made by President Enrique Peña Nieto, while plans are reportedly in the works for state-run oil giant Pemex to expand further into the U.S.
  
* Cuba: Major League ballplayer Yasiel Puig said that he would be willing to play for the Cuban national team if the government were to allow defectors to participate.

* Guatemala: The Guatemalan Interior Minister rejected the possibility that journalists are under attack in response to the murder on Monday of the fourth member of the media so far this year.

Image Source – YouTube via user Leandro Cabrera

Online Sources- LAHT; ESPN Los Angeles; Businessweek; Reuters; BBC News