LATAM POLITICS TODAY-Brazil's Petrobras names interim head after CEO departs

It comes amid growing migration from Cuba to the United States. Colombia suspends brief ceasefire with ELN after rebels reject effort BOGOTA- Colombia has called off a ceasefire with the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels, in an about-face after the left-wing guerrilla group said it had not agreed to halt fighting. The reversal - less than four days after a 6-month ceasefire was announced - is a setback for plans by President Gustavo Petro to bring peace to the Andean country after nearly sixty years of conflict which has killed more than 450,000 people.

The latest in Latin American politics today: Brazil's Petrobras CEO departs, new interim chief named

SAO PAULO- Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras has approved the early departure of its chief executive officer, Caio Paes de Andrade, with immediate effect, ahead of the end of his term in April. Petrobras' production head, Joao Henrique Rittershaussen, has been named as interim CEO, the firm said in a securities filing.

Senator Jean Paul Prates, who was appointed by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to head the company, is expected to take over from the interim CEO, although he will require approval from internal Petrobras committees. US reopens consulate in Havana after 5 years

The United States will reopen its embassy in Cuba on Wednesday for visa and consulate services for the first time since 2017, per a press statement from the embassy last week. It comes amid growing migration from Cuba to the United States.

Colombia suspends brief ceasefire with ELN after rebels reject effort BOGOTA- Colombia has called off a ceasefire with the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels, in an about-face after the left-wing guerrilla group said it had not agreed to halt fighting.

The reversal - less than four days after a 6-month ceasefire was announced - is a setback for plans by President Gustavo Petro to bring peace to the Andean country after nearly sixty years of conflict which has killed more than 450,000 people. The government called on the ELN to declare a verifiable truce while the issue is discussed at negotiations, the next round of which are set to take place in Mexico.

Bolivia farm region blockades hit business PAILON, Bolivia- Hundreds of trucks lined highways in Bolivia's farming region of Santa Cruz, as protesters blockaded routes out of the region following the arrest of the local governor, and hard-hit local businesses urged a return to order. Protesters demanding the governor's release have blocked highways out of the region with tires, branches and stones, leaving long lines of standstill traffic. The blockades threaten domestic deliveries of grains and food.

"I've been stuck here since Sunday night," haulage driver Alexander Cejas, 40, told Reuters. Mexico sends armed forces to border state after prison break

MEXICO CITY/CIUDAD JUAREZ- Mexico's defense ministry said it had flown 200 military personnel to the northern border city of Juarez to fight organized crime there, days after a deadly prison riot led to a manhunt for escaped convicts. State prosecutors in the border state of Chihuahua also said the head of the Juarez prison had been dismissed, and is under investigation for his possible role in the jailbreak, alongside others. (Compiled by Natalia Siniawski and Isabel Woodford Editing by Peter Graff)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)