MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguayan troops in DRC to return home starting late this month

Lubetkin met with António Guterres, who committed to investigating the death of the Uruguayan soldier in the DRC

Uruguay's Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin confirmed that his country's military mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of a UN peacekeeping force will return home between late March and early April 2025. Lubetkin made the announcement after meetings in New York with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix. The relief of Uruguayan troops will be carried out in stages, it was also explained.

Lubetkin said his gathering with Guterres was “to evaluate the possible role of Uruguay in the regional and global context”, while the Portuguese diplomat valued “the role that our country can have in peace processes and multilateral action.”

Additionally, an international investigation into the death of a Uruguayan soldier, Rodolfo Álvarez, killed in a January 25 attack by the M23 rebel group, was agreed upon with the UN. Lubetkin also discussed Uruguay's broader role in global peace processes and multilateral actions, emphasizing the country's commitment to international cooperation.

Lubetkin's tour included engagements with other regional leaders and witnessing the election of the new OAS secretary general, Albert Ramdin, to whom he pledged Uruguay's support.

“I met with UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix to discuss next steps regarding multinational peacekeepers in Congo,” the Uruguayann official posted on social networks.

“We have agreed, hopefully before the end of March or in April, the possibility of restarting the rotations of our troops,” he also told Uruguayan media, while pledging tho dig deeper so as “to understand and search for those responsible” for the death of Rodolfo Álvarez, who was killed on January 25 after an attack by rebel forces in the African country.

Lubetkin also held meetings with his colleagues from Belize, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Bahamas, and Trinidad and Tobago, setting the tone for what is expected to be an intense diplomatic agenda for the next five years.