South America

Argentina: Farmers Suspend Road Blockades for 30 Days

Date: April 2nd, 2008 |

Farmers suspended a three-week-long protest that has created food shortages around the country, keeping meat and grain from reaching supermarkets and prompting demonstrations of support in Buenos Aires and other cities. The original protest began March 11 when the government imposed a 44 percent export tax on their crops. The farmers suspended the protests March [read more]

Bolivia: Yellow Fever Vaccinations Required

Date: March 20th, 2008 |

No Comments

The U.S. Embassy in La Paz reported March 14 that airlines flying to Bolivia have recently been refusing to accept passengers who do not have valid yellow fever vaccinations. Because of recent heavy rains the government has decreed that arriving travelers must be vaccinated for the disease. The Embassy said it is seeking further clarification [read more]

Paraguay: Yellow Fever and Dengue Fever Threats

Date: February 20th, 2008 |

No Comments

Some 4,000 people demanding vaccinations against yellow fever blocked a highway near the capital Asuncion a week after confirmation of the first incidence of the disease in 34 years. Health authorities announced that the five cases originated in a remote farm community and none of the victims had died. The blockade snarled traffic for hours [read more]

Colombia: Tourism Rebounds as Violence Diminishes, but Threats Remain

Date: February 7th, 2008 |

No Comments

Colombia has been experiencing a tourism renaissance in recent years as security has improved significantly, with violence down dramatically in many cities including Bogota, Cartagena, Medellin and Barranquilla. Kidnapping has diminished but not disappeared, with a recent case of six Colombian tourists being kidnapped from a Pacific coast beach in Choco Department. Narco-terrorist groups remain [read more]

Ecuador: Armed Robberies on Pichincha Volcano Hiking Trails Outside Quito

Date: December 19th, 2007 |

No Comments

The U.S. Embassy in Quito reported that violent crime on Pichincha volcano on the outskirts of Quito has been increasing and recommends that visitors do not hike to the summit even if in groups or beginning at the top of the Teleferico cable car. Several armed assaults have occurred in recent months with groups as [read more]

Brazil: Dengue Fever Crisis in Rio de Janeiro

Date: March 26th, 2008 |

No Comments

Some 33,000 people have contracted dengue fever and 48 have died in Rio de Janeiro state this year in what appears to be an epidemic of the disease. Already more people have died this year than in all of 2002, the last year Rio had a dengue epidemic, and the vast majority have been in [read more]

Argentina: Yellow Fever Case near Paraguay Border

Date: March 6th, 2008 |

No Comments

A yellow fever outbreak in Paraguay that killed eight people has spread to Argentina, where a farm worker in Misiones province that borders Paraguay contracted the disease. The cases in Paraguay were the first incidences of the mosquito-borne illness since 1974. A vaccination campaign is under way in the Argentine provinces that border [read more]

Peru: More Protests Possible in Cuzco

Date: February 14th, 2008 |

No Comments

Protesters burned tires and blocked roads around Cuzco in a 24-hour strike Feb. 7 that also shut down rail transport to Machu Picchu. The demonstrators were protesting two laws that would expand private development around Cuzco and the Sacred Valley of the Incas and make it easier to build hotels near archaeological sites. One law [read more]

Brazil: Possible Yellow Fever Deaths

Date: January 17th, 2008 |

No Comments

The U.S. Embassy in Brasilia reported that recent fatal cases of possible yellow fever have occurred in Goias and Brazil’s Federal District (including Brasilia). Tests could take weeks to confirm that yellow fever was the culprit, but meanwhile travelers should be aware that vaccination for yellow fever is recommended for all rural areas of the [read more]

Colombia: Armed Robberies on Hiking Trails around Bogota

Date: December 13th, 2007 |

No Comments

The U.S. Embassy in Bogota reported that wooded hiking trails in and around the city have been the scene of violent armed robberies of U.S. citizens in the past two months. Embassy officials have restricted American employees and their families from hiking on trails above Avenida Circunvalar in Bogota or at Rocas de Suesca in [read more]