
Venezuela's disenfranchised opposition leader María Corina Machado, who endorses Edmundo González Urrutia's candidacy for the July 28 elections, said early Wednesday that the Nicolás Maduro regime had abducted her security team chief Milcíades Ávila and his whereabouts were unknown.

Presidents Santiago Peña of Paraguay and Luis Lacalle Pou of Uruguay are to convene in Buenos Aires Wednesday to participate alongside Javier Milei in a conference on anti-terrorism which will be their first encounter after the July 8 Mercosur Summit in Asunción Milei skipped to avoid rubbing eyes with Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whom he dubbed a “corrupt communist” during the 2023 campaign and never apologized. The following day they will join again for the event marking the 30th anniversary of the bombing of the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA).

Brazil's Ambassador to Buenos Aires Julio Bitelli Tuesday downplayed the importance of the not-so-good relationship between Presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Javier Milei and insisted he would be returning to his post in the Argentine capital next week after being summoned during the weekend for consultations with Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira.

French authorities said Tuesday they would be seeking a reponse from football's governing body FIFA after a video of Argentine international Enzo Fernández went viral. The Chelsea midfielder filmed himself chanting offensive remarks about the ethnicity of France's players in addition to other comments concerning star Kylian Mbappé's sexual preferences.

Argentine President Javier Milei's attitude of speaking his truth at any cost is about to take its toll on the diplomatic front, as confrontations with Brazil and Bolivia flare up with a possible reshaping of the current scenario in the near future.
![A patriotic sign in Guyana advertises the region of Essequibo as the country's own [Nazima Raghubir/Al Jazeera]](/data/cache/noticias/100522/260x165/essequibo.jpg)
The delivery to Brazil of Israeli-built missiles has been linked to fears that the dispute between Venezuela and Guyana over the oil-rich Essequibo region might escalate in the wake of the fudgy July 28 elections. With the most prominent opposition politicians disenfranchised, Caracas might fuel an international conflict to cover up for the domestic unrest expected to unfold, it was hinted.

Argentina's Libertarian regime of President Javier announced it would be dissolving the Federal Intelligence Agency (AFI) and reinstating the State's Intelligence Secretariat (SIDE) which will comprise four departments, all of them reporting directly to the head of state, the Office of the President (OPRA) posted on social media.

Uruguayan Presidential hopeful Yamandú Orsi met Monday with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez at the Spanish Worker Socialist Party (PSOE) headquarters in Madrid to discuss matters concerning the global left in a move to promote the exchange of experiences and strategies, according to Montevideo outlets.

Former US President Donald J. Trump Monday announced he was picking Ohio Senator James David Vance as his running mate for the Nov. 5 elections where he would be seeking his return ticket to the White House. Just a few days after an assassination attempt on his life, Trump conveyed his decisions to his followers through social media before accepting the Republican nomination at the Party Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

French international rugby players Hugo Auradou, 20, and Oscar Jegou, 21, who have been arrested in the Argentine province of Mendoza to face rape charges, spent the weekend separated from each other incommunicado before being transferred to another detention facility. For the time being, visitors are not allowed except for their legal teams after being formally charged Friday with the crime of sexual assault with penetration, aggravated by the participation of two people. A 39-year-old woman accused them of raping her multiple times and beating her in a Mendoza hotel room after a rugby match on July 7. The defendants claim it was consensual sex. If found guilty, they face between eight and 20 years in prison.