Ecuador

(Newser) - The massive Tungurahua volcano in the Ecuadoran Andes erupted in smoke and fire yesterday, forcing thousands of villagers to flee. Eleven families who refused to leave the area were removed by force as the volcano shot columns of ash six miles into the air, AP reports. Tungurahua—meaning "throat...

(Newser) - Hugo Chavez's regional popularity is largely hot air, a Pew survey shows, concluding that the Venezuelan president is “widely mistrusted.” In large numbers, Latin Americans also agree that “most people are better off in a free market economy”—including 72% of Chavez’s countrymen, Weekly Standard’...

(Newser) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is spreading hundreds of millions of oil dollars around South America in an effort to limit the influence of the International Monetary Fund and forge a strong alliance. Chavez began a four-nation tour in Argentina referring to the IMF as "Dracula" and called for a...