LATAM POLITICS TODAY-Colombian armed groups and gangs have 17,600 members

Taiwan to inject over $18 million in Saint Lucia's community development project The Taiwanese government will grant $18.5 million in extra support for Saint Lucia's community development program (CDP), the Caribbean nation's Prime Minister Phillip Pierre said on Thursday, as the Asian island attempts to strengthen relations.

The latest in Latin American politics today:

Colombian armed groups and gangs have 17,600 members, intelligence reports find BOGOTA - More than 17,600 people are members of Colombia's four major armed groups and 23 gangs with which the government hopes to reach peace or surrender deals with, two security agency reports seen by Reuters show.

The newly updated figures, which have not been reported before, are an effort to understand the current composition of the groups, security sources said. Brazil's Lula is listed among Time Magazine's 100 most influential people

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva made Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people of 2023, released on Thursday, the third time the leftist President has appeared on the annual list. Lula had been ranked in the magazine's list of the 100 most influential personalities back in 2004 and 2010.

Mexico's deadly fire a sign to rethink migrant detention centers, Red Cross says MEXICO CITY - The fire that led to the deaths of 40 people in a migrant detention center in northern Mexico marks a "good moment" to consider alternatives to depriving migrants of their freedom, a senior Red Cross regional officer said.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the detainees had been unable to escape because the person in charge of the key to the cell was not there when the fire began. The incident is one of the deadliest migrant tragedies in years. Taiwan to inject over $18 million in Saint Lucia's community development project

The Taiwanese government will grant $18.5 million in extra support for Saint Lucia's community development program (CDP), the Caribbean nation's Prime Minister Phillip Pierre said on Thursday, as the Asian island attempts to strengthen relations. The CDP projects have been set up to help empower community based socio-economic initiatives and development projects.

After Honduras cut ties with Taiwan last month, the island now has formal diplomatic relations with just 13 countries, amid pressure from China. (Compiled by Steven Grattan; Editing by Diane Craft)

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