A severe aftershock from last month’s earthquake shook Chile yesterday, as the new president, Sebastián Piñera, was inaugurated. The epicentre of the quake, which reached 6.9 on the Richter scale, was in central Chile in the region of O’Higgins, but strong tremors were also felt in Valparaíso, where the inauguration ceremony took place.

Brazil announced trade sanctions worth up to $294.7m against the United States, in a move supported by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The sanctions, which were publicised on Monday, are a response to billions of dollars worth of illegal subsidies to the US cotton industry, which have allowed the US to undersell foreign competitors and drive down world cotton prices. Sanctions will affect up to 100 American goods, from fresh fruit to automobiles.

Meeting in Washington, the president of El Salvador, Mauricio Funes, and the US president, Barack Obama, have promised to create a “firm alliance” between the two countries. The leaders discussed increasing trade links and working together on security issues, such as combating drugs trafficking.

Talks led by President Leonel Fernández of the Dominican Republic, aimed at reducing aggression between Colombia and Venezuela, have not yet been successful. Fernández met with the Colombian president Álvaro Uribe last Friday to initiate talks aimed at easing relations between the two countries, which have been frozen since July 2007.

US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton announced on Thursday that the United States would be restoring financial aid to Honduras, which was suspended after the former president Manuel Zalaya was toppled by a military coup on 28th June 2009. Under the program, Honduras is set to receive over $30m.

Just before midnight on Wednesday, the central zone of Chile suffered an aftershock registering 6.1 on the Richter scale, following Saturday’s devastating earthquake. This is the second time that the country has suffered tremors registering over 6 points on the Richter scale after the original quake on 27th February, which was recorded at 8.8.

Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez rejected a Spanish judge’s allegations that he collaborated with the Basque separatist organisation ETA and the Colombian guerrilla group FARC, saying that the accusations were “sad remnants” of Spanish colonialism.

After his inauguration on Monday as Uruguay’s 52nd president, José ‘Pepe’ Mujica has served his first full day as head of state. The 74-year-old ex-guerrilla leader took office yesterday in Montevideo, and the 13 members of his new cabinet were sworn in today. Mujica, the country’s second consecutive president from the left-wing party Frente Amplio, has promised to work towards integration and social progress.

An 8.8 magnitude earthquake has hit Chile killing at least 82 people. Buildings collapsed, two-level car parks were flattened and cars were smashed. The earthquake is the biggest to have hit Chile for 50 years. The epicentre of the earthquake was in Copquecura, 500 kilometres from Santiago de Chile.

Colombia’s Constitutional Court will vote today on whether to allow the current president, Álvaro Uribe, to run for a third term. In 2005 Uribe secured an amendment which allowed him to run for a second term in 2006. The judges are expected to make a decision at a press conference later today. The Colombian newspaper El Tiempo said today that they believe Uribe will publically respond to the outcome of the vote.