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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, November 30th 2024 - 16:38 UTC

Latin America

  • Saturday, October 26th 2024 - 10:34 UTC

    Brazilian Police do it again: 20 Peñarol fans remanded in Rio

    “We were defending ourselves from an attack,” a Peñarol fan said about the clash with supporters of Rio teams Botafogo, Flamengo, and Fluminense

    A total of 21 supporters of Uruguayan football club Peñarol were arrested this week in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro before a match with Botafogo and charged with racism, damage, and criminal association. “Nobody justifies criminal behavior, but this was a scandal,” said Peñarol's lawyer and former President Jorge Barrera. Brazil's criminal procedural legislation contemplates “these regrettable but foreseeable results,” he added.

  • Saturday, October 26th 2024 - 10:28 UTC

    At least 44 arrested as Bolivian Police and Evistas clash

    One police officer lost part of his foot due to the dynamite used by supporters of the former head of State

    At least 44 people were arrested and dozens injured Friday as Bolivian Police clashed with supporters of former President Evo Morales who were staging road blockades in various parts of the country causing food and fuel shortages, endangering the livelihoods of numerous people, particularly the young and the elderly.

  • Friday, October 25th 2024 - 09:46 UTC

    Situation getting critical in parts of Bolivia due to Evistas' road blockades

    “The humble and indigenous peoples continue to be the vanguard of struggle,” argued Morales

    Road blockades by supporters of former President Evo Morales have caused food shortages in 32 hospitals, homes and shelters in 4 departments across Bolivia, it was reported Thursday. Ombudsman Pedro Callisaya Aro said the situation affecting at least 14 healthcare facilities as well as several shelters running out of supplies was “alarming,” particularly for children and adolescents, the elderly and hospitalized patients.

  • Thursday, October 24th 2024 - 19:07 UTC

    ECLAC foresees slight rebound in foreign trade

    Salazar-Xirinachs highlighted the importance of public-private cooperation

    The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) foresaw this week in its its annual Latin America and the Caribbean International Trade Outlook that regional exports of goods would bounce back in 2024 after last year's 1% contraction while service exports will complete their fourth consecutive year of double-digit growth.

  • 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.”