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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, April 4th 2025 - 13:47 UTC

Latin America

  • Thursday, February 20th 2025 - 18:03 UTC

    Bolivian official warns against disinformation regarding lithium contracts

    “There is disinformation with political intentions, without any doubt,” Alcón argued

    Bolivia's Vice Minister of Communication Gabriela Alcón said this week that spreading misinformation about lithium contracts would result in delays to the mineral's industrialization in her country. She also underlined the importance of transparent communication about the documents currently being negotiated, which are beneficial for the state and involve a small portion of the nation's salt flats. Contracts with Russia's Uranium One Group and China's CBC from Hong Kong are expected to yield significant amounts of lithium carbonate, with investments totaling over US$ 2 billion.

  • Thursday, February 20th 2025 - 09:33 UTC

    Nicaragua introduces constitutional reform granting Ortega additional powers

    Ortega and his wife have ruled Nicaragua for years through fudgy elections

    Nicaragua's Sandinista Government introduced a constitutional reform on Wednesday, granting the ruling couple of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo additional powers. For starters, Vice-President Murillo has been designated as “co-president” and extends presidential terms from five to six years, as Ortega becomes Supreme Chief of the Army, the National Police, and the Ministry of the Interior.

  • Wednesday, February 19th 2025 - 20:41 UTC

    Argentina hands over regional defense leadership to Peru

    Petri (L) passed on the symbolic baton to Peru's Astudillo

    Argentina's Defense Minister Luis Petri Tuesday handed over the pro tempore presidency of the XVII Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas (CMDA) to his Peruvian colleague Walter Astudillo during a ceremony at the Libertador Building (Army Headquarters) in Buenos Aires.

  • Monday, February 17th 2025 - 09:30 UTC

    Ecuadorean Anti-Drug Lieutenant Colonel slain

    Cedeño was in charge of military operations against drug trafficking and mafias hitting the city of Durán

    Ecuadorean Lieutenant Colonel Porfirio Cedeño was murdered by hitmen near a Guayaquil prison. The commanding officer of the Armed Forces' anti-drug trafficking Special Operations Group took at least 20 shots, according to local media.

  • Saturday, February 15th 2025 - 10:23 UTC

    Potential Argentine travelers advised not to pick Cancún as destination

    Border controls at the Mexican air terminal are getting particularly tough, two couples from Córdoba who were deported explained

    Right after US President Donald Trump upped his country's standards regarding border controls, two Argentine couples came forward this week to explain that they had been deported from Mexico after trying to spend some leisure time on the country's Caribbean beach. They also underlined they were subject to grossly harsh treatment despite having their travel papers in order.

  • Friday, February 14th 2025 - 11:54 UTC

    Uruguay’s outgoing President blocks invitations to Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba for Orsi’s inauguration

    The Frente Amplio argues that Uruguay should invite all countries with which it maintains diplomatic relations, regardless of the nature of their governments.

    Uruguay’s outgoing President Luis Lacalle Pou has refused to sign invitations for representatives from Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba to attend the inauguration of President-elect Yamandú Orsi on March 1. This decision, which follows Lacalle Pou’s longstanding stance against what he calls “dictatorial governments,” highlights a political divide between Uruguay’s current administration and the incoming leftist government.

  • Friday, February 14th 2025 - 10:13 UTC

    Uruguay tops Transparency International regional rankings

    Criminal organizations exploit the region's weak institutions, the 2024 report found. Photo: Sebastián Astorga

    With a score of 76 points, Uruguay topped Transparency International's latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for the Americas - 2024 issue - released earlier this week. Amid widespread regional declines, Uruguay outperformed Canada and Barbados thanks to robust democratic institutions, high transparency, strong citizen participation, and effective environmental governance. This achievement came during President Luis Lacalle Pou's last month in office. Starting March 1, he will be succeeded by Yamandú Orsi, of the opposition Broad Front (Frente Amplio - FA).

  • Thursday, February 13th 2025 - 13:20 UTC

    Cuba going through one of its worst electricity-generation crises

    The island is heavily dependent on imported oil, which has been arriving in smaller quantities due to economic hardships

    Cuba has been reported to be facing severe power outages after the unexpected breakdown of the Felton 1 Thermoelectric Power Plant, worsening the situation in Havana and other parts of the island. The State-run National Electric Union (UNE) said numerous generation plants were out of service due to fuel shortages, local authorities blaming the US economic blockade for their hardships, when in reality infrastructure failures and poor maintenance to already obsolete equipment were other contributing factors. A total of 57 generation plants in the country, in addition to two floating units, were affected by the lack of fuel.

  • Wednesday, February 12th 2025 - 09:48 UTC

    Bolivia's lithium company says deal with Chinese partners is risk-free

    The Chinese company has three years to start collecting top-quality lithium or leave Bolivia with no compensation after investing over US$ 1 billion

    Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB) Legal Manager Pablo Nina warned Tuesday that the Chinese company Hong Kong CBC has three years to extract a mineral with 99.5% purity and 80% recovery in the raw material processing or face the dismantling of its two battery-grade lithium carbonate production plants in the Uyuni salt flat and leave the country.

  • Tuesday, February 11th 2025 - 10:11 UTC

    PAHO warns of outbrreak of dengue DENV-3 serotype

    In the first weeks of 2025, 23 countries and territories in the region reported a total of 238,659 cases

    The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Monday issued an epidemiological alert given the growing circulation of a different of dengue in the region. Cases of the DENV-3 serotype have been repported to be on the rise in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru.