Get our news on your inbox! x

Remember me Forgot password

MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, April 10th 2025 - 16:17 UTC

Latin America

  • Wednesday, October 23rd 2024 - 09:45 UTC

    Citizens of Ecuador, Costa Rica, Chile, and Uruguay turn to 'iron fist' policies to fight insecurity

    The study identifies politicians, weak judicial systems, and media sensationalism as key drivers of public fear.

    A recent study conducted by the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO) and the University of Santiago de Chile (USACH) reveals that citizens in Ecuador, Costa Rica, Chile, and Uruguay are increasingly open to harsh punitive measures, or mano dura, as a response to rising insecurity.

  • Wednesday, October 23rd 2024 - 09:41 UTC

    Bolivia denies having Iranian and Hezbollah bases

    Israel's Ambassador to Costa Rica Mijal Gur Aryeh had made the “unfounded” allegations

    Bolivia's Foreign Ministry Tuesday denied allegations by Israel's Ambassador to Costa Rica Mijal Gur Aryeh that the South American country had Iranian and Hezbollah military bases. “There are also other countries in the region that have Iranian and Hezbollah bases, particularly Venezuela and Bolivia,” the diplomat was quoted as saying by EFE.

  • Wednesday, October 23rd 2024 - 08:11 UTC

    Gang violence taking turn for the worse in Haiti

    Gangs control about 80% of Port-au-Price

    The already critical situation in Haiti has been reported to have taken a turn for the worse this week as gangs up their grip in the Caribbean country, threatening government officials and seeking to expand their influence to the areas they still do not control, the United Nation’s Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) warned Tuesday. “The situation in Haiti has regrettably worsened,” BINUH Chief Maria Isabel Salvador said in a briefing to the UN Security Council in which she mentioned mounting attacks over the past week. Over 5 million people are estimated to be going hungry, with thousands already facing famine.

  • Tuesday, October 22nd 2024 - 10:32 UTC

    Former Peruvian President Toledo gets 20 years in prison for corruption

    If Monday's conviction is upheld, Toledo, 78, would not be eligible to leave jail until the early 2040s

    Former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo was sentenced Monday to over 20 years in jail for his involvement in the Odebrecht corruption scandal in which he was found to have received US$ 35 million in bribes for the construction by the Brazilian company of a road linking the two countries. The 78-year-old Toledo was deemed guilty of money laundering as well and disenfranchised for three years.

  • Tuesday, October 22nd 2024 - 08:35 UTC

    Cuba lives through Hurricane Oscar amid power shortages

    Díaz-Canel had to cancel his trip to the BRICS Summit due to the power shortage coupled with the weather crisis

    In addition to the current electricity supply crisis, Cuba's eastern province of Guantanamo, near Baracoa, was hit by Category I Hurricane Oscar late Sunday with maximum sustained winds of nearly 80 mph (130km/h). Oscar later waned to a tropical storm with 70 mph winds, the US National Hurricane Center said but it could still cause significant flash flooding and mudslides.

  • Monday, October 21st 2024 - 09:01 UTC

    Petro lashes out at 21st Century “slavers” who cry “freedom”

    “It is fundamental today to change debt for climate action,” Petro insisted

    Colombian President Gustavo Petro Sunday lashed out at those he dubbed “slavers” who cry “freedom” but “take human beings and living beings to the market for sale.” The leftwing leader also pointed out during the opening ceremony of the 16th United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP-16) in Cali that “the buyer is a specter of death.”

  • Saturday, October 19th 2024 - 10:49 UTC

    Holsey to take over from Richardson as SOUTHCOM Chief

    Holsey will be the first African-American SOUTHCOM Chief

    US Army four-star General Laura J. Richardson is to be replaced as Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) Chief by her current second-in-command US Navy Vice Admiral Alvin Holsey, who is to be promoted to full Admiral for his new role, it was announced this week.

  • Saturday, October 19th 2024 - 10:10 UTC

    Bolivia's economy seriously hit by Evistas blockading roads

    “The only thing they are doing is harming the distribution and logistics of products,” Siles also pointed out

    Four days into the road-blockading protests staged nationwide by followers of former President Evo Morales, Government sources said Friday that up to US$ 1.5 billion worth of exports had been affected by the move. In addition, private entrepreneurs have also complained about the damages caused to them by the populist defense of the former head of state under prosecution for rape and human trafficking.

  • Saturday, October 19th 2024 - 09:58 UTC

    Cuba slowly recovering from mass blackout

    Díaz-Canel blamed the US blockade for Cuba's poor maintenance of its electricity-generating equipment

    Cuba was gradually and slowly returning to normalcy late Friday after a power outage that hit most of the country, the National Electroenergetic System (SEN) pointed out in its latest update.

  • Thursday, October 17th 2024 - 06:13 UTC

    Panama Canal posts significant setback in FY2024

    The number of crossing vessels was cut down from 38 to 22 on average between July 2023 and May 2024

    The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) reported this week a 29.3% drop in passing ships during Fiscal Year 2024 as a result of the severe drought affecting the interoceanic crossing. A total of 9,944 transits were recorded this year, a significant setback from 14,080 crossings in 2023. A fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30 of the following year.