Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro landed late Friday in Kazan, Russia, for a guest appearance at the BRICS Summit as he intends to have his country join the bloc shortly. Upon arriving alongside First Lady and Congresswoman Cilia Flores, he was welcomed by local authorities. Also at the airport were Venezuela's Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez and Foreign Minister Yván Gil, who got to Kazan the day before.
According to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) World Economic Outlook report released Tuesday in Washington DC, Paraguay is the country in the region that will grow the most this year with a projected Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 3.8%, way above South America's 1.8% average. Following Paraguay is Uruguay's 3.2% GDP, with Brazil, Peru, and Venezuela tied at 3%. Argentina ranks at the bottom of the list (-3.5%).
Argentine and Paraguayan authorities are planning to fully reopen for all type of vehicles the border crossing between Ituzaingó (Corrientes) and Ayolas on the Yacyretá dam, which is expected to boost the local economy, it was announced this week.
Former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo was sentenced Monday to over 20 years in jail for his involvement in the Odebrecht corruption scandal in which he was found to have received US$ 35 million in bribes for the construction by the Brazilian company of a road linking the two countries. The 78-year-old Toledo was deemed guilty of money laundering as well and disenfranchised for three years.
Weather forecasters in Uruguay and Argentina foresee unusually bad conditions for the coming days in the River Plate area, it was reported in Buenos Aires and Montevideo, where concerns were higher given next Sunday's presidential Elections coupled with two simultaneous plebiscites that might shape up the South American country's near future.
The Argentine Government of President Javier Milei announced Monday that it was dissolving the Federal Administration of Public Revenues (AFIP), which is to be replaced by a simplified agency known as ARCA which will also assume Customs functions.
In addition to the current electricity supply crisis, Cuba's eastern province of Guantanamo, near Baracoa, was hit by Category I Hurricane Oscar late Sunday with maximum sustained winds of nearly 80 mph (130km/h). Oscar later waned to a tropical storm with 70 mph winds, the US National Hurricane Center said but it could still cause significant flash flooding and mudslides.