LATAM POLITICS TODAY-Ecuador declares Argentine ambassador persona non grata

The latest in Latin American politics today:

Ecuador declares Argentine ambassador persona non grata QUITO - Ecuador's government said it has declared Argentine ambassador Gabriel Fuks a persona non grata for a violation of mutual trust and good faith between both countries.

Ecuador's foreign minister, Juan Carlos Holguin, said Argentina's embassy had shown "inconsistencies" regarding information about the escape of Ecuador's former transport minister, Maria Duarte, from its embassy. Duarte had taken refuge for more than two and a half years at the Argentine Embassy to avoid prison for a 2020 corruption conviction, and was supposed to have left the embassy this week.

Peru's Boluarte sets measures after floods Peruvian President Dina Boluarte declared the South American country in alert mode after heavy rains left at least six people dead and hundreds without their homes.

Areas close to rivers will be in constant alert, she said in a broadcasted announcement, adding that school and college classes are suspended for 24 hours and that metro operations in the capital, Lima, will have "preventive measures." At least six people have died in Peru over the last few days as a powerful cyclone unleashed torrential rains, battering hundreds of homes and causing major disruptions in northern parts of the country.

Brazil sends national forces to northern state to stop violence BRASILIA - Brazilian Justice Minister Flavio Dino said the federal government has authorized the deployment of the National Force to northern state Rio Grande do Norte after attacks by criminals that included shootings and burning vehicles.

The decision comes after a request by local governor, Fatima Bezerra, who met Dino Tuesday afternoon in capital Brasilia. The first agents, out of a total of 100, should arrive in the state this Tuesday, the ministry said. The first attacks took place between midnight and 2 a.m. on Tuesday, and new incidents were recorded during the afternoon, with cases of violence in at least 14 cities, the ministry added in a statement.

According to the country's justice ministry, one person died and nine were arrested. Despite constitutional ban, Salvadoran leader heavily favored for reelection, poll shows

SAN SALVADOR - Nearly 70% of Salvadorans favor President Nayib Bukele's bid for a second term, a local newspaper poll showed on Tuesday, despite an explicit constitutional prohibition against serving consecutive terms. In September, Bukele announced he would run for reelection, defying the longstanding ban of the Central American country's constitution. The Supreme Court, filled with recently installed Bukele-backed judges, ruled in 2021 that a consecutive term was allowed, citing Bukele's human right to run.

US, Mexico officials speak ahead of meeting on drugs, arms trafficking MEXICO CITY - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard spoke over the phone ahead of an upcoming meeting in Washington to tackle drug and arms trafficking, Ebrard said on Tuesday.

The so-called Bicentennial Framework will address the production of synthetic drugs, particularly fentanyl, as well as the smuggling of weapons, both countries have said. Brazilian former minister Eliseu Padilha dies

SAO PAULO - Brazilian former minister Eliseu Padilha died from stomach cancer on Monday at the age of 77, according to a statement released by his family. Padilha had been hospitalized in Brazil's southern city of Porto Alegre in Rio Grande do Sul. The local governor expressed his condolences on Twitter.

Padilha had served as transport minister under former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, civil aviation minister under former President Dilma Rousseff, and was former President Michel Temer's chief of staff. (Compiled by Steven Grattan and Carolina Pulice; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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