Effective Jan. 1, 2024, South America's largest country will join the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Brazil's Minister of Mines and Energy Alexandre Silveira announced this week after participating virtually in a meeting with other colleagues from the bloc.
The Office of Argentina's President-Elect (@OPEArg) Friday confirmed Patricia Bullrich would return to her position as Security Minister once Javier Milei is sworn in on Dec. 10. The Chairwoman of former President Mauricio Macri's Propuesta Republicana party (PRO) held that job between 2015 and 2019. In the Oct. 22 elections, she failed to make it through to the Nov. 19 runoff so both she and Macri announced they would support Milei's candidacy against Economy Minister Sergio Massa.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) gave the Peruvian Government one week to explain the situation of former President Alberto Fujimori, who might be released from jail following a Constitutional Court ruling earlier this week, it was reported in Lima.
Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou said Thursday that this might change foreign relations with Javier Milei's government in Argentina: We have not been lucky in foreign relations but, with the Libertarian leader, the region is changing and we are going to take advantage of it, Lacalle stressed.
Brazil announced “intensified defensive actions” along its northern border fearing a possible invasion of Guyana by the dictatorial regime of President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. This Friday the UN International Court is expected to halt a referendum, on a disputed area between the two neighbors, which is seen as an exercise in forced annexation by Venezuela.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez held a telephone conversation this week with Paraguayan President Santiago Peña during which he insisted on his country's commitment to finalizing the trade deal between the European Union and Mercosur while he held the rotating presidency of the northern alliance. The deal would unite 800 million people and represent a quarter of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). If things go on as projected, Mercosur would obtain duty-free access for 93% of its exports to the EU, with a 10-year deadline to achieve this goal.
Uruguayan national Shani Goren Horovitz was among the eight hostages released by the terrorist group Hamas Thursday in exchange for yet another batch of 30 prison inmates from Israeli jails, Qatari government sources confirmed.
Argentina's Legislative Assembly (Lower and Upper House together) Wednesday proclaimed Javier Milei's victory with 55.65% (14,554,560) of the votes in the Nov. 19 runoff against Economy Minister Sergio Massa. Chairing the meeting, Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (CFK) also confirmed Victoria Villarruel would be her successor.
A high-ranking official within Paraguay's Agriculture Ministry was sacked from his post-Wednesday after signing cooperation agreements with the non-existent country of Kailasa, it was reported in Asunción.
Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) Wednesday issued a ruling opening the door to criminalizing journalistic work, it was reported in Brasilia. As per the new rationale, the media can be held legally responsible for the publication of interviews with people who falsely attribute crimes to third parties and such a doctrine is to be used by lower courts to hold news outlets accountable.