Latest Brazil News

Brazil's federal police indict 20 in connection with salt mine catastrophe in country's northeast

Nov. 01, 2024 18:21 PM EDT

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil's federal police on Friday indicted 20 people for rock salt mining in the northeastern coastal city of Maceio that destroyed five urban neighborhoods and forced tens of thousands of people to leave their homes. The alleged crimes include damage to public...

Brazil criticizes Venezuela for escalating tensions and personal attacks

Nov. 01, 2024 16:54 PM EDT

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil's government broke its silence Friday over growing tensions with neighboring Venezuela, with the Foreign Ministry saying it was surprised by “the offensive tone” adopted by Venezuelan authorities toward Brazil. In recent days, Venezuela’s government...

‘Immediate threat’: Mussel invades California’s Delta, first time in North America

Nov. 01, 2024 12:11 PM EDT

From the glittery bling of its name, the golden mussel sounds like it could be California’s state bivalve. Unfortunately, the creature’s only connection to the Golden State is the fact that it is California’s most recently identified invasive species — and it’s a bad one,...

Brazil judge gives 2 former cops long sentences for the 2018 murder of leftist icon Marielle Franco

Oct. 31, 2024 20:34 PM EDT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A judge on Thursday handed down long sentences to two former police officers for the 2018 murder of Rio de Janeiro city councilwoman Marielle Franco, an icon of Brazil’ s political left whose killing sparked outrage. Ronnie Lessa and Élcio de Queiroz were...

Trial begins in the assassination of Rio de Janeiro councilwoman Marielle Franco

Oct. 30, 2024 22:37 PM EDT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A trial opened Wednesday against two former policemen accused in the 2018 killing of Rio de Janeiro councilwoman Marielle Franco, who was Black, bisexual and from humble roots and who has become a major icon of Brazil's political left. Franco, 38, and her...

Venezuela's rejection from developing economies alliance heightens tensions with member Brazil

Oct. 30, 2024 15:51 PM EDT

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s government on Wednesday doubled down on its attacks against Brazilian foreign relations officials, accusing them of jeopardizing diplomatic relations between the neighboring South American countries by acting on behalf of the interests of the United States....

Indigenous people march in Brazil's capital against bill limiting land rights

Oct. 30, 2024 15:35 PM EDT

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Bearing images of animals and covered in body paint, hundreds of Indigenous people marched Wednesday in Brazil's capital, urging Congress to drop a proposed constitutional amendment that has the potential to paralyze and even reverse land allocations. The...

Brazil fines meatpacking companies, including giant JBS, for buying illegally raised cattle

Oct. 28, 2024 20:28 PM EDT

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil's environmental agency has levied $64 million in fines against 23 meatpacking companies and their suppliers for buying and selling cattle raised illegally on deforested land in the Amazon. The operation, dubbed Cold Meat 2, launched last week. It...

Voters in Brazil's largest city reelect mayor, who detaches from Bolsonaro after tumultuous campaign

Oct. 28, 2024 00:12 AM EDT

SAO PAULO (AP) — Voters in Brazil’s biggest city, Sao Paulo, reelected Mayor Ricardo Nunes on Sunday following a tumultuous campaign that had pitted him against a leftist ally of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Nunes, who received lukewarm support from former President Jair...

Brazil reaches a $23 billion settlement with mining firms over a 2015 environmental disaster

Oct. 25, 2024 15:20 PM EDT

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil's federal government on Friday reached a multibillion-dollar settlement with the mining companies responsible for a 2015 dam collapse that the government said was the country's worst-ever environmental disaster. Under the agreement, Samarco — a joint...