
Paraguay’s government has activated intelligence, prevention and financial-control measures in the Tri-Border Area it shares with Argentina and Brazil amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, according to Internal Security Vice Minister Óscar Pereira.

Argentine President Javier Milei opened Congress’ 144th regular legislative session with an address focused on foreign policy, security and a broad reform agenda. He called for a “lasting strategic alliance” with the United States and said “it is time to turn this into a state policy,” while laying out a plan to send reforms to lawmakers in staggered packages.

Argentina’s Senate passed a law on Friday lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 14, a flagship “tough on crime” initiative backed by President Javier Milei. The bill cleared the upper house with 44 votes in favor, 27 against and one abstention, after it had already been approved by the Chamber of Deputies the previous week.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday announced the provisional application of the trade part of the EU-Mercosur association agreement, following parliamentary ratification in Argentina and Uruguay. The move activates trade commitments ahead of full conclusion of the treaty, which still requires the European Parliament’s consent.

Uruguay and Argentina ratified on Thursday the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, becoming the first founding members of the South American bloc to complete parliamentary approval. Whether the treaty begins to apply now hinges on decisions inside the EU, as a separate legal review process continues following moves in the European Parliament.º

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele tops a February 2026 regional ranking of Latin American leaders’ public approval, according to a survey by Argentina-based CB Consultora Opinión Pública. Bukele posts 72.6% approval and 24.8% disapproval.

Argentina’s federal courts have begun closing hundreds of tax-evasion in bulk following the rollout of the so-called Fiscal Innocence framework, a reform that sharply raised the monetary thresholds required for tax evasion to qualify as a criminal offense and that is being applied retroactively under the “more benign criminal law” principle.

Argentine authorities are investigating an alleged plot to kill Entre Ríos’ Security and Justice Minister Néstor Roncaglia and two federal justice officials — Judge Leandro Ríos and prosecutor José Ignacio Candiotti — in attacks that case files described as planned for Punta del Este, using Uruguayan hitmen for about US$40,000.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is urging countries to modernize how they measure inflation and other key indicators, integrating point-of-sale and online data to reduce “blind spots” that, the institution argues, are widening as the economy becomes more digital and traditional surveys lose accuracy.

Argentina’s government said on Sunday it had reported a theft of IT equipment and other items from offices linked to the Labour Secretariat in central Buenos Aires, launching both a federal court case and an internal probe.