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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, May 4th 2026 - 14:29 UTC

Politics

  • Wednesday, April 15th 2026 - 10:20 UTC

    Uruguay bets on international integration to attract investment amid global uncertainty

    The IMF cut its growth forecast for Uruguay from 2.4% to 1.8% for 2026, matching the 2025 rate, as part of a global revision triggered by the conflict in Iran

    Uruguay's government responded on Tuesday to the International Monetary Fund's latest projections with a strategy centered on trade openness and investment attraction. Deputy Economy and Finance Minister Martín Vallcorba acknowledged the world is going through “a moment of great uncertainty” driven by the Middle East war, but said the country is working to create “positive and favorable conditions for investment and growth.”

  • Wednesday, April 15th 2026 - 10:00 UTC

    Bukele bets on Google to build “world's best health system” as medical sector decries layoffs

    “The 30,000 daily appointments are human doctors treating patients with AI support. But AI agents will be doing this separately and in parallel,” he specified.

    El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele announced on Tuesday in a national broadcast the launch of the second phase of Dr. SV, a public health application developed with Google Cloud that incorporates artificial intelligence based on the Gemini model to detect, diagnose and monitor patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and kidney conditions.

  • Wednesday, April 15th 2026 - 02:30 UTC

    Orsi to meet Sanchez, Sheinbaum and Ramaphosa in Barcelona at multilateralism summit

    The summit is the fourth edition of a process that began in New York in 2024 and continued in Santiago de Chile in July 2025, when Orsi participated alongside Sánchez

    Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi will travel to Barcelona on Friday to attend the fourth “Democracy Always” summit, a gathering of 19 heads of state convened by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, where the Uruguayan leader will focus his remarks on “the value of multilateralism,” according to Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin.

  • Wednesday, April 15th 2026 - 01:06 UTC

    Trump turns on Meloni, his top European ally, as Italy suspends defense deal with Israel

    On the same day, Meloni announced that Italy would suspend the automatic renewal of its defense cooperation agreement with Israel

    US President Donald Trump on Tuesday turned on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, until recently his closest ally in Europe, in a phone interview with the Italian daily Il Corriere della Sera. “I thought she had courage, but I was wrong,” Trump said, criticizing Meloni for refusing to involve Italy in the war against Iran and for calling his attacks on Pope Leo XIV “unacceptable.”

  • Wednesday, April 15th 2026 - 00:59 UTC

    US lifts sanctions on Venezuela's Central Bank and backs its return to the IMF

    The move responds to persistent demands by acting President Delcy Rodríguez, whose individual sanctions OFAC had already lifted on April 1

    The US Treasury Department on Tuesday lifted financial sanctions on Venezuela's Central Bank and three other state-owned banking institutions, in the most significant easing of the punitive regime in place since 2017. On the same day, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly endorsed efforts by the International Monetary Fund to reintegrate Venezuela into the international financial system.

  • Tuesday, April 14th 2026 - 10:28 UTC

    Peru reaches 72% of vote count with Fujimori ahead and second place disputed among three candidates

    The quick count, based on 95.7% of the vote tallies, revealed an even closer race: Fujimori with 17.1% and a three-way tie between Sánchez (12.4%), López Aliaga (11.3%), and Nieto (10.7%)

    The count in Peru's presidential election is advancing slowly and without resolution. With 72% of ballots processed by the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) early Tuesday morning, Keiko Fujimori (Fuerza Popular) holds first place with 16.94% of the vote. Second place, which grants entry to the June 7 runoff, remains open: Rafael López Aliaga (Renovación Popular) stands at 13.0%, Jorge Nieto (Buen Gobierno) at 12.0% and leftist Roberto Sánchez (Juntos por el Perú) at 9.73%, with the gap narrowing as ballots from the country's interior are added.

  • Monday, April 13th 2026 - 21:55 UTC

    Adorni case: two police officers confirm US$100,000 cash loan before court

    The investigation is focused on tracing the money trail

    Graciela Molina and Victoria Cancio, mother and daughter, testified for nearly three hours on Monday before federal prosecutor Gerardo Pollicita at the Comodoro Py courthouse as witnesses in the alleged illicit enrichment case against Argentine Cabinet Chief Manuel Adorni. Both confirmed they provided a US$100,000 cash loan to the official and that he still owes US$70,000, due in November 2026, according to judicial sources cited by Infobae.

  • Monday, April 13th 2026 - 21:52 UTC

    Tankers turn back at Hormuz as crude jumps over 4% on US blockade

    The Malawi-flagged tanker Rich Starry, 188 meters in length, turned around “within minutes of approaching the strait,” MarineTraffic reported

    Two oil tankers reversed course as they approached the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, just hours after the US naval blockade against Iranian ports took effect, according to maritime tracking platform MarineTraffic. Brent crude for June delivery closed up 4.4% at $99.36 per barrel, while US benchmark WTI rose 2.6% to $99.08, according to Bloomberg.

  • Monday, April 13th 2026 - 21:37 UTC

    Venezuela expands Chevron operations in Orinoco Belt following hydrocarbon reform

    The agreement is part of an asset restructuring in which Chevron is prioritizing its presence in extra-heavy crude while returning a marine gas field to the Venezuelan state

    Venezuela's government on Monday signed an agreement expanding US oil company Chevron's operations in the country, weeks after a hydrocarbon reform opened the sector to private and foreign investment. The signing ceremony took place at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas.

  • Monday, April 13th 2026 - 21:33 UTC

    Trump deletes image of himself as Jesus Christ amid backlash as clash with Pope escalates

    The image came in the midst of an unprecedented confrontation between the president and Pope Leo XIV over the war in Iran

    US President Donald Trump on Monday deleted from his Truth Social account an AI-generated image depicting himself as Jesus Christ healing a sick person. The post, which remained visible for more than 12 hours, drew sharp criticism from Catholic organizations, conservative figures and members of his own party, who called it blasphemous.