MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, October 27th 2026 - 21:19 UTC

Latin America

  • Tuesday, July 14th 2026 - 07:33 UTC

    Colombia: Petro bars military sites for inauguration; De la Espriella says he will go ahead

    The president-elect, who adopted a military salute and the slogan “Firm for the homeland” during his campaign, has expressed his intention to hold the ceremony in Popayán

    Colombia's outgoing president, Gustavo Petro, has ordered that no military facility be used for the inauguration of his successor, Abelardo de la Espriella, scheduled for August 7. The president-elect responded that he will maintain his intention to be sworn in at a garrison in the south of the country, deepening the standoff between the two men less than a month before the handover.

  • Tuesday, July 14th 2026 - 07:24 UTC

    Trump says US is investigating whether Iran stores drones in Cuba

    “If they do have that, and they might very well have that, we'll take care of it in short order. We're not going to allow that to happen,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office

    US President Donald Trump said on Monday that his government is investigating whether Iran is storing drones in Cuba and warned that Washington would act if their presence on the island is confirmed, though he framed the matter as a hypothesis that has not been verified.

  • Tuesday, July 14th 2026 - 07:00 UTC

    Uruguay postpones second aid flight to Venezuela over changed entry conditions

    Uruguayan authorities stressed that this is a postponement, not a cancellation of the mission

    Uruguay has postponed the second shipment of humanitarian aid to Venezuela, scheduled for Tuesday, after a change in the conditions set by Venezuelan authorities for the entry of cargo, Defense Minister Sandra Lazo said. The Air Force's KC-130H Hercules remains loaded with some 15 tons of supplies intended for victims of the June 24 twin earthquakes.

  • Saturday, July 11th 2026 - 07:00 UTC

    Four held in Ecuador over migrant-smuggling network to the United States

    Ecuador has stepped up cooperation with US agencies on security and migration control in recent months

    Ecuador's police arrested four people, including a serving officer and a former immigration-control official, accused of belonging to an alleged network dedicated to smuggling migrants to the United States, the institution said. The arrests were made in simultaneous operations in the provinces of Pichincha, Tungurahua, Carchi and Santa Elena.

  • Friday, July 10th 2026 - 18:37 UTC

    Colombia's president-elect asks Congress to be sworn in at a military base

    Article 192 of the Constitution states that the president must take office before Congress, though it does not specify that this must be at the National Capitol

    Colombia's president-elect, Abelardo de la Espriella, has asked Congress to assess the legal feasibility of moving his inauguration ceremony, set for August 7, from Bogotá to a military garrison, in a proposal without recent precedent that will be left to the incoming legislature to decide.

  • Friday, July 10th 2026 - 18:27 UTC

    Milei plans regional tour seeking investment, with a Bolsonaro visit that irks Lula

    Milei said he would travel on July 25 to São Paulo to take part in the event at which, he said, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro — son of former President Jair — will be proclaimed a presidential candidate

    Argentine President Javier Milei announced a busy international schedule for the coming weeks, with trips to Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador, which he presented as part of an outward-looking strategy aimed at attracting trade and investment. The itinerary includes a gesture toward the Brazilian opposition that is likely to cause discomfort for the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

  • Thursday, July 9th 2026 - 04:13 UTC

    Cuba details business reforms opening private firms to foreign investment

    Among the changes, authorities will allow the creation of larger private firms, with no size limit, and let a single person own more than one company

    The Cuban government on Wednesday set out the scope of measures on the management model for its state and private economic actors, part of a package of 176 reforms approved in June by the National Assembly with the stated aim of liberalizing and decentralizing the island's economy.

  • Tuesday, July 7th 2026 - 23:00 UTC

    Colombia's president-elect suspends transition, accuses Petro of attempting a coup

    De la Espriella, a right-wing lawyer who won the June 21 runoff, ordered his vice president-elect, José Manuel Restrepo, to suspend transition meetings “immediately” on Tuesday

    Colombia's president-elect, Abelardo de la Espriella, froze the transition process with the outgoing government of Gustavo Petro on Tuesday and accused the president of attempting a coup, in a sharp escalation exactly one month before the handover of power, set for August 7.

  • Monday, July 6th 2026 - 20:14 UTC

    Petro rejects Colombia election result, backs legal bid to annul De la Espriella win

    Petro claimed that algorithms were run from a server with an IP address in Los Angeles to alter the count in De la Espriella's favor

    Colombia's outgoing president, Gustavo Petro, reiterated on Sunday that he does not recognize the legitimacy of the incoming government of Abelardo de la Espriella, insisting that the June 21 presidential runoff was marked by fraud — an accusation he has not backed with public evidence and which is contradicted by international observers and the official vote count itself.

  • Monday, July 6th 2026 - 02:08 UTC

    Orsi praises Fujimori's 'exemplary perseverance' in a cross-ideological call

    “Congratulations on two things: first on the win, and on your perseverance, which is exemplary,” Orsi said, referring to Fujimori's path to power on her fourth attempt after three lost runoffs

    Uruguay's left-wing President Yamandú Orsi congratulated Peru's right-wing president-elect, Keiko Fujimori, by phone on her runoff victory, in a contact that bridged the ideological divide in a region where most governments have shifted to the right. The conversation, released by the Office of Peru's President-Elect, came amid the government transition in the Andean country, with the handover set for July 28.