Chile

DOE Secretary Chu signs Memorandum of Cooperation with Chilean energy minister Tokman

June 23, 2009 -- Washington, DC – The Department of Energy announced today that U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Minister Marcelo Tokman of the Chilean National Energy Commission signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to further collaboration between the two nations on a series of energy issues. The Memorandum establishes an institutional framework between Chile and the United States that will facilitate a broader range of cooperation and exchange activities, including U.S. technical expertise to support operations for Chile’s new Renewable Energy Center.    » read more »

A glacial lake in southern Chile suddenly disappeared last week in a phenomenon that scientists are attributing to global warming.

Scientists say higher than normal temperatures caused the Colonia glacier to melt into nearby Cachet Lake.

The melting ice filled the lake and put tremendous pressure on it, causing the water to eventually burrow a tunnel through the glacier.

On April 6, the tunnel, which extended at least five kilometers, reached nearby Baker River and emptied the lake waters into it.

Glacier scientist Gino Casassa said global warming is responsible for the unusually warm weather that caused the glacial melting.

Source: VOA News

Aftershocks Continue

15 November 2007 -- Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has toured northern towns hit by a major earthquake that killed two people, injured more than 100 and left thousands without homes.

Major aftershocks hit the region again Thursday, as President Bachelet sought to reassure distraught citizens in the port city of Tocopilla on the Pacific Coast. She promised the government will provide financial aid to help rebuild damaged houses and infrastructure.    » read more »

14 November 2007 -- Authorities in Chile say at least two people have been killed and more than 100 injured after a powerful earthquake struck in the north, sending terrified residents into the streets and cutting power to some of the country's copper mines.

Officials said two women were killed Wednesday when their houses in the town of Tocopilla collapsed during the 7.7 magnitude earthquake. They also said another person may have died in a tunnel collapse there, which has trapped some 50 workers.    » read more »

Promotes Florida’s role as the “Gateway to the Americas”

November 10, 2007 -- SANTIAGO, CHILE – Florida Governor Charlie Crist yesterday arrived in Santiago, Chile, as part of Team Florida’s primary trade mission to São Paulo, Brazil. Chile is Florida’s sixth largest trading partner in the world, with bilateral trade exceeding $4.9 billion in 2006. Governor Crist met with Chilean government officials and business leaders with an interest in doing business with Florida.    » read more »

Oct. 21, 2007 -- Dover – Delaware Governor Ruth Ann Minner is leading a Delaware delegation on a trade mission to Chile, where the group will meet with Chilean government officials, key business partners and the board of directors from the American Chamber of Commerce Chile.

“This trip marks another strategic trade mission to enhance business opportunities and potentially generate new job growth in Delaware,” Gov. Minner said. “This trip is especially significant to the continued success of our Port of Wilmington as the key U.S. hub for the entry of Chilean fruit.”    » read more »

04 October 2007 -- Family members of the late Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet have been arrested on corruption charges.

Judge Carlos Cerda Thursday ordered the arrest of Pinochet's widow, Lucia Hiriart, as well as the couple's five adult sons and daughters. Arrest orders were also issued for 17 other people, including Pinochet's former secretary, retired military generals and other former associates.    » read more »

Former Peruvian President to Face Charges for Role in Massacres

(Santiago, September 21, 2007) – The Chilean Supreme Court’s decision to extradite former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori to Peru to face trial for human rights abuses is welcome and unprecedented, said Human Rights Watch today.

Human Rights Watch noted that this is the first time that a court has ordered the extradition of a former head of state to be tried for gross human rights violations in his home country.    » read more »

20 September 2007 -- The Chilean Supreme Court says it will announce Friday its decision in the extradition case of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori.

A spokesman for the court made the announcement Thursday.

The five-judge court is to announce whether it has upheld or reversed a July ruling by a Chilean judge who said Fujimori should not be sent back to Peru.

Prosecutors in Peru accuse the former president of corruption, and sanctioning the killing of 25 people by paramilitary squads during his decade-long presidency, which ended in 2000.    » read more »

30 August 2007 -- Chilean officials say at least 740 people have been arrested after clashing with police during mass protests in Santiago over the government's social and economic policies.

Authorities say demonstrators hurled objects at police and hid behind barricades Wednesday as officers used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowds. Some shops were looted as the violence erupted in the capital.

Dozens of people were injured, including a ruling coalition senator, Alejandro Navarro, who was seen bleeding from the head after he was clubbed by an officer.    » read more »

29 August 2007 -- Chile's Supreme Court has sentenced a former general to life in prison for human rights abuses during the Pinochet era.

The court issued the life sentence Tuesday for retired General Hugo Salas Wenzel for his role in the murder of 12 youths in mid-June of 1987. The case was known as "Operation Albania."

The court also handed down several other prison sentences in human rights cases from the Pinochet era.    » read more »

11 July 2007 -- Labor strikes at Chilean copper mines are driving up prices for copper worldwide.

Two days of strikes at the privately-held Collauhuasi mine and two weeks of labor unrest at state-owned Codelco mines have disrupted production in Chile, the world's leading copper producer.

On Monday, stone-throwing protesters wounded a miner at Codelco's Andina division, northeast of the capital, Santiago. The incident prompted Codelco to suspend operations there because of concerns for workers' safety.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, June 14, 2007 — The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors discussed today the new Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for Chile, which projects financial assistance of up to US$250 million between 2007 and 2010 to support the country’s development agenda. In addition, the Board of Directors approved two loans for a total of US$41.7 million to support the strengthening of the Ministry of Public Works.    » read more »

Presidents echo participants’ call for 'Santiago Consensus': Closer regional ties and a focus on education

Santiago de Chile, 26 April 2007 – Two Latin American presidents called for deeper regional integration and increased investment in education, two priorities that mirrored a consensus among the 400 business, government and civil society leaders from 28 countries participating in the World Economic Forum on Latin America. "It is important that you believe in the integration of Latin America," Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said.    » read more »

Region must break out of the boom-bust cycle, Chile’s Finance Minister says

Santiago de Chile, 25 April 2007 – Latin America must break out from the boom-bust commodity price cycle by finding new sources of growth, productivity and stability, Chilean Finance Minister Andrés Velasco told participants in the opening plenary session of the World Economic Forum on Latin America. "The challenge for us is to grow regardless of the cycles," he said. The key is innovation, he added. "You cannot achieve greater productivity without innovation. There is no magic recipe.    » read more »