LATAM POLITICS TODAY-Brazilian gangster likely ordered Amazon murders

The latest in Latin American politics today:

Brazil's police finger gang leader in Amazon murder case Brazil's federal police said they have a "strong conviction" a gang leader known as "Colombia" ordered the brutal murders of British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira, killed in the Amazon rainforest last June.

The gang leader, Ruben Dario da Silva Villar, is already in police detention after being charged along with three other people for double homicide and concealment of corpses. Villar allegedly planned the killings because Pereira, a former head of isolated and recently contacted tribes at indigenous affairs agency Funai, was carrying out inspections of illegal fishing operations, causing major losses to Villar's criminal group, the police said in a statement.

Brazil's Lula floats shared 'trading currency' in Argentina BUENOS AIRES - Brazil and Argentina are in early talks to establish a shared unit of value for bilateral trade to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said, though the move is not aimed at replacing existing currencies.

In Buenos Aires on his first international visit since taking office, Lula made the comments alongside Argentine President Alberto Fernandez, a leftist ally, who said there was little decided about what would be involved in such a proposal. The discussions surfaced as part of an agreement to boost bilateral trade with more Brazilian export financing backed by Argentina's international collateral.

U.S. raises concerns over Mexico's anti-GMO farm policies WASHINGTON - U.S. farm and trade officials raised "grave concerns" over Mexico's anti-GMO biotechnology policies in meetings with their Mexican counterparts, as lingering disagreements threaten decades of booming corn trade between the neighbors.

Washington's concerns center on the Mexican president's push to ban so-called biotech corn, or varieties developed with genetically modified organisms (GMOs), from entering Mexico if it is destined for human consumption. U.S. farmers supply the vast majority of corn that Mexican buyers import.

"We made it clear today that if this issue is not resolved, we will consider all options, including taking formal steps to enforce our rights under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement," the office of U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a statement. Cuba begins London court battle over unpaid Castro-era debt

LONDON - Cuba began a high-stakes legal battle in London's High Court over unpaid Fidel Castro-era government debt now held by one of the communist-run country's creditors. The eight-day case will be closely watched by other creditors who between them have struggled to recoup an estimated $7 billion in defaulted loans from Havana.

CRF I Ltd, the investment firm that brought the case, says it is owed $78 million on two loans originally granted to Cuba by European banks in the 1980s. Cuban authorities have labeled CRF a "vulture fund" and said that the English court had "no jurisdiction" to try CRF's claims. Venezuela calls off Maduro meeting with Brazil's Lula

BUENOS AIRES - Venezuela decided to call off a previously arranged meeting between President Nicolas Maduro and his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Lula's press office said. The Brazilian government announced earlier in the day the two leaders were set to meet in Buenos Aires Monday afternoon as they attend a summit of Latin American and Caribbean countries in Buenos Aires.

Later, however, Lula's team released an update of his agenda, saying the meeting would no longer take place since Venezuela's government canceled it. Mexico metro exposes 'Achilles heel' of presidential hopeful

MEXICO CITY - The second major accident in the Mexico City metro in as many years and a series of recent mishaps in the transport system have piled pressure on Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, one of the favorites to become the country's next president. The Jan. 7 train collision that killed one person and injured 57 and other glitches have shone a harsh light on Sheinbaum's administration just as she bids for the candidacy of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) for the 2024 presidential elections.

Reports of cut cables, objects thrown onto tracks and other damage prompted MORENA's secretary general to call out "sabotage," and Sheinbaum called in 6,000 National Guard members to police metro stations, saying they will guarantee security after "intentional incidents" that are under investigation. Critics, however, have questioned that move as a bid to distract from a lack of investment and maintenance in the network that carries millions of people daily. (Compiled by Steven Grattan and Sarah Morland; Editing by Paul Simao and Leslie Adler)

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