LATAM POLITICS TODAY-Lawyer for Ecuador's Lasso calls for impeachment hearing to be struck down

* Caracas lauds Colombia for Venezuela politics conference * Russia thanks Brazil for efforts to resolve Ukraine war * Cuban President Diaz-Canel expected to win second term * State migration head arrested over fire in Mexico (.) April 17 (Reuters) - The latest in Latin American politics today: Lawyer for Ecuador's Lasso calls for impeachment hearing to be struck down QUITO - The defense representing Ecuador President Guillermo Lasso has asked lawmakers to declare impeachment hearings against him inadmissible, the president's lawyer said, denying the accusations of embezzlement against him.

* Caracas lauds Colombia for Venezuela politics conference

* Russia thanks Brazil for efforts to resolve Ukraine war

* Cuban President Diaz-Canel expected to win second term

* State migration head arrested over fire in Mexico

(.) April 17 (Reuters) -

The latest in Latin American politics today: Lawyer for Ecuador's Lasso calls for impeachment hearing to be struck down

QUITO - The defense representing Ecuador President Guillermo Lasso has asked lawmakers to declare impeachment hearings against him inadmissible, the president's lawyer said, denying the accusations of embezzlement against him. Opposition lawmakers in Ecuador's National Assembly have pushed for impeachment hearings since last month. The country's top court gave the green light for hearings to proceed, which could end in Lasso being censured or dismissed.

Caracas lauds Colombia for Venezuela politics conference CARACAS - Venezuela's government thanked Colombian President Gustavo Petro for hosting a conference, scheduled for April 25 in Bogota, to foster political dialogue.

The statement added that dialogue would only be possible with the removal of international sanctions against Venezuela. The conference is meant to provide a way forward for talks between Venezuela's opposition and its government, Colombia has said, after efforts to solve Venezuela's long political crisis ground to a halt.

Diplomatic ties between Colombia and Venezuela, which were severed in 2019, were restored after Petro's inauguration last year. Russia's Lavrov thanks Brazil for efforts to resolve Ukraine war

BRASILIA - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday thanked Brazil for its efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine ahead of a visit with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose comments on the war have unnerved the U.S. Lavrov and Brazilian Foreign Relations Minister Mauro Vieira addressed journalists after a meeting in Brasilia, discussing plans to boost meat exports to Russia and secure fertilizer imports for Brazilian farmers.

The Russian foreign minister will meet later on Monday with Lula, who has proposed forming a group of nations not involved in the Russia-Ukraine war to broker peace. Cuban President Diaz-Canel expected to win second term despite crises

HAVANA - Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel is widely expected to be chosen this week by assembly lawmakers to lead the country for another five years, despite a rocky first term marked by the coronavirus pandemic and a near-unprecedented economic crisis. Diaz-Canel, 62, heads the Communist Party, to which all 470-members of the legislature elected by Cubans last month either belong or are sympathetic to. Cuba says its one-party system promotes unity and limits financial interference in the assembly elections.

Mexico arrests state migration head for alleged role in deadly migrant fire MEXICO CITY - Mexican authorities have arrested the head of migration for the state of Chihuahua in connection with a fire last month at a migrant detention center which killed 40 people, according to the federal arrest database.

Salvador Gonzalez is the highest-ranking official to have been detained in relation to the incident so far. He was arrested on Sunday in Ciudad Juarez, the northern border town where the detention center is located. (Compiled by Steven Grattan and Brendan O'Boyle; Editing by Paul Simao and Sonali Paul)

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