Explosion rattles Bogot , one policeman killed

An explosion in the center of Colombia’s capital killed a police officer and injured more than two dozen others, according to media reports and eyewitnesses. Andres Felipe Arias Leiva, Colombia’s former agriculture minister who faces possible extradition for alleged corruption, said Tuesday that the case is of a political nature because he opposed the strategy of the current Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos, to agree with the Forces Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia .

Venezuela leader says cash crackdown a victory over foes

Venezuela’s president said Sunday that the sudden decision to scrap the country’s most-used currency bill was an economic triumph over the country’s enemies even as the government sent troops and police to cities where riots and looting broke out over the measure. In a national radio and television broadcast, Nicolas Maduro said his abrupt action had flooded the country’s banks with currency deposited by Venezuelans racing to get rid of the paper bills while also devastating Colombian-border currency traders he blames for the bolivar’s precipitous plunge in value against “the criminal dollar.”