South America news

A private pilot in Argentina made what appears to be the worst-advised prank ever when he set his walkie-talkie frequency to that used by the airport control tower and started giving instructions to an airliner.

The Venezuelan foreign minister has denounced a US coup bid against the Latin American nation, after reports of US officials holding numerous secret talks with rebel officers who planned to topple the government.

A series of powerful earthquakes has struck the South American east coast, with Panama, Chile and Ecuador all suffering jolts of between 5.6 and 6.2 magnitude within less than an hour of each other.

A new study has found that global gun deaths have passed 250,000 per year, with the US and five other countries in the Americas making up half the total fatalities. Its writers call it “a major public health problem for humanity.”

The Colombian president has said a letter has been sent to the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) announcing his country's withdrawal, meaning Bogota will officially cut loose from the bloc in six months.

Argentinian protesters and indigenous rights activists believe the US is secretly setting up a military base in the Neuquen province under the guise of an emergency relief center, and fear it’ll be used to influence local affairs.