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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, August 5th 2026 - 12:36 UTC

Politics

  • Thursday, June 25th 2026 - 09:04 UTC

    Venezuela's earthquake toll rises to at least 164 dead and nearly 1,000 injured

    Rodríguez said that La Guaira, a coastal state north of Caracas, is the hardest hit and described it as a “disaster zone,” with a high number of collapsed buildings

    The number of victims from the twin earthquake that struck north-central Venezuela rose to at least 164 dead and 971 injured, acting President Delcy Rodríguez reported on Thursday, warning that the figure would keep rising as rescue work progressed. The quakes, of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, hit on Wednesday afternoon and left dozens of buildings collapsed across several regions of the country.

  • Thursday, June 25th 2026 - 06:41 UTC

    Offers of aid pour in for Venezuela from across the Americas and beyond after its earthquake

    Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed his “concern and dismay” and instructed his Foreign Ministry and the embassy in Caracas to assess assistance measures

    Governments from across the Americas and other regions of the world expressed solidarity with Venezuela and offered assistance after the twin earthquake of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 that struck the north-central part of the country on Wednesday and that, according to the first official toll, left at least 32 dead and more than 700 injured. Several countries announced the dispatch of rescue teams, while acting President Delcy Rodríguez thanked them for the shows of support.

  • Thursday, June 25th 2026 - 05:59 UTC

    Venezuela's earthquake tests US assistance to the interim government it helped install

    Donald Trump offered help in a message on his social network in which he said his country stands “ready, willing, and able,” and instructed “all agencies” of the government to act quickly

    The twin earthquake that struck north-central Venezuela has become the first major test of US assistance to the interim government of Delcy Rodríguez, installed after the capture of former president Nicolás Maduro in a US military operation in January. Washington mobilized rescue teams and supplies for a country with which, until half a year ago, it maintained no cooperative relations.

  • Thursday, June 25th 2026 - 05:19 UTC

    Peru's electoral board rejects 23 more appeals by Sánchez's party as Fujimori's win holds

    With 99.88% of the tally sheets processed, Fujimori obtains 50.12% of valid votes against Sánchez's 49.88%, a difference of some 44,453 ballots, the largest recorded during the count

    The plenary of Peru's National Jury of Elections (JNE) declared unfounded 23 appeals filed by Juntos por el Perú, the party of left-wing candidate Roberto Sánchez, against tally sheets from the presidential runoff, in which right-wing Keiko Fujimori is set to emerge as the winner. The decision shores up a result that, with the count almost complete, can no longer be reversed.

  • Wednesday, June 24th 2026 - 09:54 UTC

    Uruguay to deploy army armored vehicles to patrol high-crime Montevideo neighborhoods

    The initiative drew controversy and reopened the discussion about the role of the Armed Forces in internal security

    Uruguay's government announced that twelve Mamba MK-7 armored vehicles from the National Army will begin to patrol, under police command, the Montevideo neighborhoods with the highest crime rates, a measure to reinforce the fight against organized crime that has opened debate in the political system. Interior Minister Carlos Negro confirmed that his ministry is working on a “very advanced” agreement with the Defense Ministry to carry out the deployment in the coming days.

  • Wednesday, June 24th 2026 - 09:36 UTC

    “Evidence” on Iranian nuclear weapons is about as reliable as Trump himself

    Tulsi Gabbard, former U.S. Director of National Intelligence told Congress just two months ago that U.S. intelligence agencies had concluded Iran was not building nuclear weapons.

    By Gwynne Dyer - Tulsi Gabbard, the recently resigned, retired or fired U.S. Director of National Intelligence told Congress just two months ago that U.S. intelligence agencies had concluded Iran was not building nuclear weapons. Indeed, she said, experts also determined Iran had not resumed its suspended 2003 nuclear weapons program.

  • Tuesday, June 23rd 2026 - 18:15 UTC

    Early escrutinio stages confirm Colombia's preliminary result with 99.997% coincidence

    Those figures must be confirmed or adjusted by the count process

    Colombia's National Registry reported on Tuesday that there is a 99.997% coincidence between the preliminary results of Sunday's presidential runoff, which gave the victory to Abelardo de la Espriella, and the municipal counts, one of the stages of the process that will lead to the official declaration of the new president. “The preliminary count coincides with the judges' tally by 99.997%,” the body said in a statement.

  • Tuesday, June 23rd 2026 - 18:02 UTC

    De la Espriella says Colombia will join the US-led 'Shield of the Americas' on August 7

    De la Espriella, who received Trump's electoral backing, will come to power with rhetoric aligned with the White House on an iron-fist approach to organized crime and immigration

    Colombia's president-elect, Abelardo de la Espriella, said on Tuesday that the country will join the “Shield of the Americas,” the US initiative against drug cartels, on August 7, when he takes office in place of Gustavo Petro. “From August 7, Colombia will be part of the Shield of the Americas. Colombia will no longer be governed by a government complacent toward narcoterrorism; we will move to combat it as it deserves,” he wrote on the social network X, in response to a congratulation from US War Secretary Pete Hegseth.

  • Tuesday, June 23rd 2026 - 17:26 UTC

    Peru's Sánchez alleges fraud and says he won't recognize a Fujimori government

    Until a few days ago, Sánchez had avoided using the word fraud. This time he held that there are reasons to question the validity of the votes cast abroad

    The presidential candidate of Juntos por el Perú, Roberto Sánchez, hardened his rhetoric on the runoff on Tuesday, alleging an alleged “fraud in progress” and announcing that he will not recognize a possible government of right-wing Keiko Fujimori. At a press conference in Lima, the left-wing candidate also called a protest for Saturday in defense of what he considers the popular will expressed at the ballot box.

  • Tuesday, June 23rd 2026 - 05:45 UTC

    What to expect from the UK’s likely next prime minister Andy Burnham

    Two distinct levels to Project Andy: Manchesterism and Burnhamism. The former encompasses his policy vision, revolving around the notion of “business friendly socialism” and place-based politics

    By Matthew Flinders, University of Sheffield (*)

    Resigning as UK prime minister and leader of the Labour party, Keir Starmer said he accepted, “with good grace”, that the party does not think he is best placed to lead them into the next general election.