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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, April 27th 2026 - 12:48 UTC

Latin America

  • Tuesday, March 17th 2026 - 03:19 UTC

    Trump says it would be “a great honor” to “take Cuba” as Washington presses Havana in talks

    The energy crisis has worsened since Cuba went three months without fuel imports, according to Díaz-Canel’s remarks

    U.S. President Donald Trump sharply escalated his rhetoric toward Cuba on Monday, saying it would be “a great honor” for him to “take Cuba in some form” and that he can “do anything” he wants with the island. The comments came as Cuba was enduring a nationwide blackout and while bilateral contacts acknowledged by both governments since last week continued in the background.

  • Tuesday, March 17th 2026 - 03:00 UTC

    Noboa imposes curfew in four provinces of Ecuador deploys 75,000 personnel in new anti-crime offensive

    The new phase of Noboa’s plan also rests on emergency powers

    Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa has launched a new security offensive with a nightly curfew in four violence-hit provinces and the deployment of 75,000 soldiers and police officers. The restriction runs from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. in Guayas, El Oro, Los Ríos and Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, began on Sunday night and is expected to remain in force for two weeks. In the first hours of the operation, authorities reported 253 arrests for violating the measure.

  • Monday, March 16th 2026 - 21:08 UTC

    Cuba suffers nationwide blackout after total collapse of national power grid

    The blackout follows months of accelerating deterioration in Cuba’s power system

    Cuba suffered a nationwide blackout on Monday after the Ministry of Energy and Mines reported a “complete disconnection” of the National Electric System, leaving virtually the entire island without power. The collapse hit a country of roughly 10 to 11 million people and came amid an energy crisis that had already been causing prolonged outages and severe generation deficits.

  • Monday, March 16th 2026 - 05:17 UTC

    Colombia and Venezuela will seek full Mercosur membership, Petro says

    From a formal standpoint, the status of the two countries within the bloc differs. Colombia is currently an associate member of Mercosur, while Venezuela remains suspended

    Colombian President Gustavo Petro said his country and Venezuela will seek admission to Mercosur as full members, one day after a ministerial meeting in Caracas that he described as “extremely successful,” according to EFE. In a message posted on X, Petro said: “We will ask for the moratorium to be lifted so Venezuela can enter Mercosur as a full member, and Colombia will submit its own request to join as a full member.”

  • Monday, March 16th 2026 - 00:46 UTC

    Protest in Morón turns into attack on Communist Party office amid Cuba blackouts

    Videos and witness accounts from the night also included sounds resembling gunfire and reports of possible injuries during the later security operation

    A protest over blackouts and shortages in the Cuban city of Morón turned into a partial attack on the local Communist Party headquarters early on Saturday, in one of the most unusual recent expressions of public unrest on the island. Authorities reported at least five arrests and said an investigation had been opened into the incident.

  • Friday, March 13th 2026 - 16:26 UTC

    Cuba confirms talks with the United States amid its deepest energy crisis in years

    The confirmation marks a shift from Havana’s previous public stance

    Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said on Friday that his government has recently held talks with U.S. officials, the first public acknowledgment of such bilateral contacts in more than a decade, as the island faces a severe fuel and electricity crisis. He said the exchanges were aimed at seeking solutions to bilateral differences and exploring areas of cooperation based on equality, sovereignty and mutual respect.

  • Friday, March 13th 2026 - 16:03 UTC

    Uruguayan fugitive Sebastián Marset captured in Bolivia and placed in U.S. custody

    Marset was also listed among the DEA’s most wanted fugitives and was regarded as one of the agency’s five highest-priority drug trafficking targets

    Suspected Uruguayan drug trafficker Sebastián Marset was captured on Friday in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, in an operation that ends one of the Southern Cone’s longest and most visible manhunts. Paraguayan authorities confirmed the arrest and said Marset had been secured after a raid carried out by Bolivian forces.

  • Friday, March 13th 2026 - 03:12 UTC

    Petro sends ministers to Caracas after meeting with Delcy Rodríguez is called off

    The failed meeting carried particular political significance because it would have been Rodríguez’s first international engagement as Venezuela’s acting president

    Colombia and Venezuela shifted their planned bilateral contact to the ministerial level on Friday after a presidential meeting announced for the border was abruptly canceled under the formula of “force majeure.” Instead of the face-to-face encounter scheduled between Gustavo Petro and Delcy Rodríguez at the Atanasio Girardot bridge, Bogotá sent a delegation to Caracas led by Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio and including the ministers of defense, trade, and mines and energy.

  • Wednesday, March 11th 2026 - 03:55 UTC

    Lula withdraws from Kast inauguration amid presence of Flávio Bolsonaro

    The reversal came hours after it emerged that Flávio Bolsonaro, a likely challenger to Lula in October’s presidential election, would attend the event as a guest

    Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has canceled a planned trip to Chile to attend José Antonio Kast’s inauguration on Wednesday and will instead be represented at the ceremony by Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira. Brazilian officials said the change was due to “scheduling reasons.”

  • Wednesday, March 11th 2026 - 03:49 UTC

    María Corina Machado arrives in Chile for Kast’s inauguration and meeting with Venezuelan migrants

    Beyond attending the inauguration, Machado has called Venezuelans in Chile to a Thursday afternoon gathering at Paseo Bulnes in downtown Santiago

    Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has arrived in Chile to attend Wednesday’s ceremony in which Gabriel Boric will hand over the presidency to José Antonio Kast, in a visit that also includes an event with Venezuelan residents in Santiago and several public appearances in the capital. She is among the international guests invited to the transfer of power, where Kast will formally take office at Congress in Valparaíso.