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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, April 24th 2019 - 02:09 UTC

Paraguay

  • Tuesday, April 25th 2017 - 07:10 UTC

    Paraguay and Brazil after a 60-member gang that robbed US$ 40 m and terrorized a city

    Paraguayan officials are calling it the robbery of the century. The impressive number of robbers and display of weapons terrorized Paraguay's Ciudad del Este

    Brazilian police near the border with Paraguay have exchanged gunfire with members of a gang who carried out what Paraguayan officials are calling the robbery of the century. So far three gang members were killed and two injured in the clash, police say. The number of robbers involved and display of weapons has led authorities to believe it is a one of Brazil largest criminal gangs.

  • Tuesday, April 4th 2017 - 07:13 UTC

    Paraguayan opposition conditions political dialogue to suspension of reelection amendment

    In a televised address, Cartes called on lawmakers and political leaders from across the political divide to join in a dialogue along with church leaders.

    Paraguay's conservative President Horacio Cartes reached out to his opponents Monday for talks after a bid to lift a ban on him seeking re-election sparked deadly riots. His opponents say the constitutional change would raise the risk of a return to dictatorship for a country that transitioned to democracy in 1989 after 35 years of military rule.

  • Monday, April 3rd 2017 - 09:02 UTC

    Paraguayan president sacks Interior minister and Chief of Police following torching of Congress

    “I submit to a self-criticism because we politicians have not been able to settle our differences with dialogue and peace,” Cartes said in a Facebook message

    President Horacio Cartes fired Paraguay’s interior minister and chief of police on Saturday following the death of a young opposition party leader and violent overnight clashes sparked by a secret Senate vote for a constitutional amendment to allow presidential re-election.

  • Saturday, April 1st 2017 - 19:34 UTC

    Paraguay officials pledge the reelection amendment will be submitted to binding referendum

    Rodrigo Quintana, 25, was killed by a rubber bullet fired by police at the headquarters of a liberal youth activist group, the Paraguayan opposition said. (Pic AP)

    A protester was killed in Paraguay after violent clashes overnight sparked by a secret Senate vote for a constitutional amendment that would allow conservative President Horacio Cartes to run for re-election. The political move also had the support and Senate votes from the left leaning former removed president Fernando Lugo, which polls show he has significant support ahead of the 2018 presidential election.

  • Saturday, April 1st 2017 - 09:43 UTC

    Paraguay: protestors set Congress on fire following secret vote allowing presidential reelection

    Television images showed protesters breaking windows of the Congress after several hours of escalating violence and confrontations with police.

    Protesters stormed and set fire to Paraguay's Congress on Friday after the Senate secretly voted for a constitutional amendment that would allow President Horacio Cartes to run for re-election, a change that will also require approval by the Lower House. The country's constitution has prohibited re-election since it was passed in 1992 after a brutal dictatorship fell in 1989.

  • Tuesday, February 28th 2017 - 18:18 UTC

    Brazil manufacturers set up “maquila” assembly plants in neighboring Paraguay

    Dark-blue electric scooters assembled by 20 workers at the Estrela factory, known as a “maquila”, will be shipped across the Paraguay border to Brazil

    When toymaker Estrela decided to move manufacturing capacity back to Latin America from China, it sank US$ 2 million into a new factory not in its native Brazil - the region's largest economy - but in its tiny southern neighbor Paraguay. The plant, which opened this month in the border town of Hernandarias, stands near a 4,500-hectare industrial park filled with Brazilian companies making everything from auto parts to clothing.

  • Sunday, February 26th 2017 - 13:50 UTC

    Paraguayan guerrillas free abducted teenager after ransom is paid

    Franz, who turned 18 while in captivity, is shown in an EPP video

    A Mennonite teenager, Franz Weiber who was abducted last July by Paraguayan Marxist inspired guerrillas in the north of the country was released on Saturday, safe and sound, after the family and friends collected the equivalent of US$ 25.000 in food to distribute among fourteen Indian communities in the area.

  • Friday, February 17th 2017 - 08:44 UTC

    Matthew Hedges new British Ambassador to Paraguay

    Ambassador Mathew James Hedges will take up his appointment in Asunción in August 2017

    Mr Matthew Hedges has been appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Paraguay in succession to Dr Jeremy Hobbs, who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment. Mr. Hedges will take up his appointment in August 2017.

  • Thursday, February 16th 2017 - 10:43 UTC

    Thirty tons of Venezuelan currency are seized in Paraguay; smuggled from Brazil

    Paraguayan officials said they are trying to determine whether the money was brought into the country legally. (pic EFE)

    Central Bank employees will count about 30 tons of Venezuelan currency seized in a private house in Paraguay, while officials try to figure out why the vast quantity of 50- and 100-bolivar bills was brought into the country. The cash was discovered in Salto del Guaira, a city about 370 kilometers northeast of the capital of Asuncion, on the border with Brazil in a region known for the contraband trade.

  • Monday, February 13th 2017 - 09:20 UTC

    Mercosur/EU technical discussions in Brussels ahead of Buenos Aires meeting

    Earlier this month in Brasilia, presidents Mauricio Macri and Michel Temer agreed to give a new thrust to Mercosur trade negotiations with the European Union

    Mercosur representatives will be meeting their European Union counterparts this week, beginning Monday, in Brussels in anticipation of another round of trade and cooperation discussions scheduled for March in Buenos Aires. Mercosur members, under the coordination of Argentina, which currently holds the group's chair are attending with a common position reached after several days of videoconferences.