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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, December 27th 2025 - 07:38 UTC

Latin America

  • Friday, February 9th 2018 - 10:12 UTC

    Colombia and Brazil tighten controls along Venezuelan border: thousands pouring in

    Speaking in Cucuta Santos warned that his government would strictly prosecute any unlawful behavior by Venezuelans, amid concerns over rising crime.

    Colombia and Brazil tightened border controls with Venezuela on Thursday as both nations grapple with a mounting influx of hundreds of thousands of desperate migrants fleeing a worsening economic crisis In a visit to the border region, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said he would impose stricter migratory controls, suspend new daily entry cards for Venezuelans and deploy 3,000 new security personnel along the frontier, including 2,120 more soldiers.

  • Thursday, February 8th 2018 - 09:11 UTC

    With NAFTA on the cliff, Mexico betting strongly to update free trade agreement with Europe

    Mexican negotiators are in Brussels this week, with the two sides due to reconvene next week in Mexico.

    Mexico believes it can conclude a new free-trade agreement with the European Union before the end of February, Mexican officials have said. The EU and Mexico intend to update a trade deal agreed 21 years ago that largely covers industrial goods. They want to add farm products, more services, investment and government procurement, and include provisions on labor standards and environmental protection.

  • Wednesday, February 7th 2018 - 21:55 UTC

    Colombian government refuses to close its border with Venezuela

    There are at least 600,000 Venezuelans on Colombian ground. Many of whom are in transit to Chile, Ecuador or Peru

    At least 8,000 Venezuelans cross the border between Colombia and Venezuela daily to the department of Arauca, southeast of Colombia. Although the migratory flow at this point does not compare with the thirty or forty thousand Venezuelans who cross the Simón Bolívar bridge between Santander and Táchira every day, in Arauca the majority of migrants arrive in conditions of extreme vulnerability.

  • Tuesday, February 6th 2018 - 09:17 UTC

    Ecuadorean president wins referendum, barring Correa's hopes of reelection

    “The victory of the ‘yes’ vote opens the path for us to work together, confrontation is a thing of the past,” Moreno said in a televised broadcast

    Ecuadoreans on Sunday voted to prevent presidents from holding more than two terms in office, according to the elections council, a win for President Lenin Moreno that blocks his mentor-turned-adversary Rafael Correa from returning to power. The results from the referendum, called by Moreno, roll back a measure Correa pushed through Congress in 2015 to allow unlimited presidential re-election.

  • Tuesday, February 6th 2018 - 08:01 UTC

    Costa Rica presidential runoff between evangelical preacher and ex minister

    While both have a common background in music: Alvarado is Pentacostal singer and Alvarado Quesada sang in a rock band — their politics are very different.

    Costa Rica’s presidential election is headed to a runoff after no candidates secured enough votes to win outright. The top vote-getter, evangelical preacher Fabricio Alvarado, is expected to face his closest opponent, Carlos Alvarado Quesada, a former labor minister, April 1. Alvarado won nearly 25% of votes on Sunday to Alvarado Quesada’s 22%.

  • Monday, February 5th 2018 - 09:02 UTC

    Scotiabank takes over Citi´s consumer and small business operations in Colombia

    Citigroup, which has operated in Colombia for more than a century, began looking to sell its consumer business in Colombia two years ago.

    Citibank has sold its Colombian consumer and small business operations to Banco Colpatria Multibanca Colpatria S.A, the Colombian subsidiary of leading Canadian financial institution Scotiabank. Citibank operations in Colombia include 500,000 customers, 47 branches, and 424 self-service access points in Colombia. The deal also includes “assumption by Banco Colpatria of Citibank’s workforce,” according to Scotiabank.

  • Monday, February 5th 2018 - 05:02 UTC

    Argentine officials and Malvinas relatives preparing trip to the Falklands

    Minister Faurie gives the welcome to the group of Malvinas fallen relatives that attended the meeting

    Argentine officials and representatives from the Relatives of the Malvinas fallen committee met last Friday to consider details of the trip to the Falklands, which is being organized for the next of kin of the 88 recently identified Argentine combatants remains buried at the Darwin cemetery.

  • Saturday, February 3rd 2018 - 10:42 UTC

    US warns Mexico to pay attention to Russian meddling in the July elections

    Speaking in Mexico City, Tillerson said European counterparts had noticed that Russia had had its fingerprints on a number of elections.

    US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned Mexico on Friday to pay attention to Russian meddling in elections around the world, following comments from another US official that there were signs of such interference in the country's presidential race.

  • Saturday, February 3rd 2018 - 10:22 UTC

    Costa Rica wins coastal border dispute with Nicaragua at UN Court of Justice

    The court’s panel of 15 international judges also found that Costa Rica has sovereignty over the “whole northern part of Isla Portillos, including the coast”

    Costa Rica claimed victory over Nicaragua on Friday, after the United Nations’ highest court awarded Costa Rica disputed territory along the coastal border shared by the two Central American countries. Nicaragua was ordered by the International Court of Justice in The Hague to remove a military base from a contested coastal area near the San Juan river, which the judges said violated Costa Rican sovereignty.

  • Saturday, February 3rd 2018 - 10:12 UTC

    Gay marriage at the center of Costa Rica's Sunday presidential election

    Evangelical Christian and congressman Fabricio Alvarado, has pitted himself against an international ruling urging Costa Rica to legalize same-sex marriage.

    A debate over gay marriage has upturned Costa Rica's presidential race, giving ammunition to conservative frontrunners ahead of Sunday's vote and challenging the Central American country's image as a progressive bastion. Evangelical Christian singer and congressman Fabricio Alvarado, who leads recent polls, has pitted himself against a January ruling from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights that urges Costa Rica to legalize same-sex marriage.