LATAM POLITICS TODAY-Mexico launches probe into Texas migrant tragedy

The latest in Latin American politics today:

Ministers vow to investigate migrant deaths MEXICO CITY - Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Twitter that the Mexican government will open an investigation over the death of at least 50 migrants inside a truck in Texas.

Some 22 Mexicans, seven Guatemalans and two Hondurans were identified among the dead, Ebrard said on Twitter, in what was one of the deadliest human trafficking incidents in recent history. Ebrard's Guatemalan counterpart, Mario Bucaro, said he asked the Mexico's top diplomat to organize a regional investigation into the tragedy.

Ecuadorian president: No more talks with indigenous leader QUITO - Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso said in a video that his government was open to further talks with protesters but will not return to negotiations with indigenous leader Leonidas Iza, the most visible community representative in protests that have lasted more than two weeks and resulted in at least eight deaths.

Iza's organization, CONAIE, tweeted that Lasso's cancellation of talks confirmed his "authoritarianism, lack of willingness and incapacity." Lawmakers were set to continue debate Tuesday in an effort to remove Lasso from office, though it appeared opposition groups lack the necessary support for the measure to succeed.

Mexican president will meet with Biden on July 12 MEXICO CITY - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he will meet with his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden in Washington on July 12.

Speaking at a news conference, Lopez Obrador said migration would be at the center of their discussions. He announced the meeting's date after expressing his condolences over the deaths of dozens of migrants found in a truck in Texas. A White House statement confirmed the meeting, adding that the two will discuss "their visions for North America, cooperation on migration, joint development efforts in Central America, security, climate and energy, and global issues."

Commission weighs in on decades of bloody Colombian conflict BOGOTA - A truth commission in Colombia published its long-awaited report into the Andean country's internal armed conflict, shedding light on atrocities committed during almost 60 years of fighting.

The commission was established as part of a 2016 peace agreement with the now-demobilized rebel group the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which ended the group's role in the conflict. Despite the FARC deal, the conflict - which has left some 260,000 dead and millions of displaced - continues across much of Colombia between the ELN rebel group, FARC fighters who reject the accord, crime gangs and the military.

Mexican president to formally launch unfinished oil refinery MEXICO CITY - Mexico's president will inaugurate on Friday a new oil refinery at the heart of his plan to wean the country off of a longstanding dependence on gasoline and diesel imports even though it is unfinished. Two people familiar with the matter told Reuters the facility will only be running near capacity in 2025.

In 2019, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Energy Minister Rocio Nahle said the refinery in the southern port of Dos Bocas would be ready in 2022 and could cost around $8 billion, in defiance of oil industry predictions that both goals were not feasible. Lopez Obrador, a left-leaning energy nationalist, last week conceded the refinery would cost more, putting the price tag at some $12 billion. But he emphasized the refinery would be producing gasoline "at full capacity" next year. (Compiled by Steven Grattan and Brendan O'Boyle; Editing by David Alire Garcia and Lisa Shumaker)

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