Get our news on your inbox! x

Remember me Forgot password

MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, June 17th 2026 - 13:51 UTC

Politics

  • Sunday, April 12th 2026 - 13:18 UTC

    Adorni scandal drags down Milei's poll numbers as courts probe his assets

    Despite the numbers, President Javier Milei and his sister Karina, the presidency's secretary-general, have stood firmly behind the Cabinet chief

    Argentine Cabinet Chief Manuel Adorni has been formally charged with alleged illicit enrichment in a case investigating a reported 500% increase in his declared assets over a single fiscal period, according to a complaint filed by lawmaker Marcela Pagano. On April 9, federal judge Ariel Lijo ordered the lifting of banking and tax secrecy for Adorni and his wife, Bettina Angeletti, at the request of prosecutor Gerardo Pollicita.

  • Saturday, April 11th 2026 - 06:34 UTC

    Falklands Government denies MV Bandero access over “questionable actions” at sea

    The MV Bandero, a Captain Paul Watson Foundation vessel

    The Falkland Islands government has banned the MV Bandero, a Captain Paul Watson Foundation vessel, from entering its territorial waters following the ship's collision with a Norwegian industrial krill trawler in Antarctic waters on March 31. The order, signed on April 9 by the Acting Governor, took effect immediately.

  • Saturday, April 11th 2026 - 04:49 UTC

    Argentine court orders environmental studies over HIF plant in Uruguay

    HIF Global's project envisions the production of approximately 880,000 metric tons per year of synthetic fuels from green hydrogen about three kilometers from the Argentine shore at Colón

    A federal court in the Argentine city of Concepción del Uruguay on Friday ordered a series of environmental studies and requested information from Uruguayan agencies after accepting a lawsuit against the Uruguayan state and multinational HIF Global over a green hydrogen plant project in Paysandú, in a new source of bilateral tension that echoes the Botnia pulp mill conflict of the early 2000s.

  • Friday, April 10th 2026 - 02:18 UTC

    Venezuelan parliament passes law opening mining sector to private capital amid rapprochement with US

    The law repeals the Mining Law in force since 1999, enacted by decree under then-President Hugo Chávez using special powers

    Venezuela's National Assembly unanimously approved on Thursday a new 131-article Organic Mining Law that opens the door to private and foreign investment in the mining sector, on a day also marked by police repression of thousands of workers who marched to demand an increase in the minimum wage, frozen since 2022.

  • Thursday, April 9th 2026 - 23:57 UTC

    Argentina approves glacier law reform, opens previously protected areas to mining

    The new law amends Law 26,639, in force since 2010, and introduces a fundamental shift: only glaciers that serve a “proven hydrological function” will retain full protection

    Argentina's Chamber of Deputies passed a reform of the National Glacier Law in the early hours of Thursday, an initiative pushed by President Javier Milei's government that reduces the scope of environmental protections in the Andean cordillera and opens previously restricted areas to mining. The vote was 137 in favor, 111 against and 3 abstentions, after more than eleven hours of debate in a special session. The bill had already been approved by the Senate.

  • Thursday, April 9th 2026 - 21:36 UTC

    Chilean Air Force conducts first-ever aerial refueling of US F-35 fighters

    The maneuver was carried out on April 4 in international airspace, as the fifth-generation fighters were en route to Santiago to participate in FIDAE 2026

    The Chilean Air Force (FACh) completed for the first time an aerial refueling operation involving two U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II fighters, in a milestone that demonstrates growing interoperability between the two countries and the level of modernization achieved by Chile's military aviation.

  • Thursday, April 9th 2026 - 07:40 UTC

    Uruguay considers relocating HIF Global's green hydrogen megaplant to ease tensions with Argentina

    Government sources within the Orsi administration expressed confidence that a deal will be reached but rejected any suggestion of “giving away” energy or subsidizing the company's business model

    Uruguay's government is considering relocating within the department of Paysandú the synthetic fuels plant planned by multinational HIF Global, in an effort to simultaneously defuse diplomatic tensions with Argentina and advance what would be the largest private investment in the country's history, estimated at $5.385 billion in its final phase.

  • Thursday, April 9th 2026 - 07:31 UTC

    Falklands launches consultation on proposed National Nature Reserves

    The proposed reserves are located on land owned by the Falklands Islands Government (FIG), Falklands Conservation, or other private landowners.

    The Falkland Islands Government (FIG) has launched a public consultation to seek views on its proposal to designate or expand National Nature Reserves. The proposal seeks to designate 10 new National Nature Reserves and expand 5 existing National Nature Reserves.

  • Thursday, April 9th 2026 - 01:08 UTC

    Brazilian judge suspends 12% crude oil export tax for five international oil companies

    Judge Humberto de Vasconcelos Sampaio ruled that the sudden imposition of the 12% rate amounts in practice to the creation of a new tax burden with a “merely revenue-raising” purpose

    A federal judge in Rio de Janeiro issued a preliminary injunction suspending the 12% crude oil export tax for five international companies operating in Brazil: Shell, TotalEnergies, Equinor, Repsol Sinopec and Petrogal. The ruling represents an initial court victory for the oil companies in their dispute with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's government over a levy they consider unconstitutional.

  • Wednesday, April 8th 2026 - 20:55 UTC

    Iran re-closes Strait of Hormuz after Israeli strikes in Lebanon, putting ceasefire at risk

    Fars news agency, which is linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard, reported that tanker passage was halted following Israeli bombardments on Lebanese territory

    Iran suspended tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz just hours after its ceasefire with the United States took effect, in response to continued Israeli strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon. The move jeopardizes a truce that had barely begun to ease the worst global energy crisis in decades.