LATAM POLITICS TODAY-Mexico asks China for help to control fentanyl shipments
Top Mexico cartel member extradited to U.S. to face drug charges
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Cuba wins ruling in UK court battle with creditors
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Colombia to evacuate those closest to Nevado del Ruiz volcano
April 4 (Reuters) - The latest in Latin American politics today:
Mexico asks China for help to control fentanyl shipments
MEXICO CITY - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Tuesday he had sent a letter to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping urging him to help control shipments of the synthetic opioid fentanyl sent across the Pacific.
Lopez Obrador read out the letter during a news conference in which he defended his country's efforts to curb trafficking of the lethal drug in the face of U.S. criticism.
Top Mexico cartel member extradited to U.S. to face drug charges - Justice Dept
WASHINGTON - A top member of Mexico's powerful Sinaloa drug cartel has been extradited to the United States and appeared in court in Washington to face international drug trafficking and firearms charges, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday.
Jorge Ivan Gastelum Avila, also known as Cholo Ivan, is accused of being an assassin for the cartel, the department said in a statement. He was extradited on April 1 and appeared in court on April 3, it added.
Cuba wins ruling in UK court battle with creditors over unpaid loans
LONDON - The Cuban government won a ruling on Tuesday that London's High Court has no jurisdiction to hear a lawsuit brought by a creditor over unpaid loans, though the case can continue against Cuba's former central bank.
Investment firm CRF I Ltd filed a lawsuit against Cuba and its former central bank Banco Nacional de Cuba (BNC) in 2020, over two loans of 72 million euros ($78 million) that were originally granted to Cuba by European banks in the 1980s.
Colombia to evacuate those closest to Nevado del Ruiz volcano
BOGOTA - Colombian authorities plan to evacuate people living within 15 km (9.3 miles) of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano, which is being monitored for a possible eruption, with more evacuations possible in the coming days.
The government raised the volcano's alert level to orange last week, following a surge in seismic activity that suggested a heightened chance of an eruption in the coming days or weeks. (Compiled by Steven Grattan; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
