MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, September 22nd 2026 - 00:46 UTC

Politics

  • Friday, June 12th 2026 - 06:17 UTC

    Uruguay takes over the Mercosur presidency this month, with EU quotas a top priority

    “Before the end of September that issue has to be closed,” Lubetkin said

    Uruguay will assume the pro tempore presidency of Mercosur on June 30, during a summit of the bloc in Paraguay, with the distribution of the quotas from the agreement with the European Union (EU) among the main items on its agenda. Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin said the country is already preparing to take on that role and that “the technical teams are already working.”

  • Friday, June 12th 2026 - 06:11 UTC

    Argentina's Adorni reports 944 million pesos in assets, including the homes from the probe

    The document reports assets of those 944.6 million pesos and debts of 317.3 million (about $219,000), with a net worth of close to 627 million (about $434,000)

    Argentina's Cabinet Chief, Manuel Adorni, declared assets of 944,575,052 pesos —about $653,000 at the 1,446-peso exchange rate he used— in the sworn declaration for 2025 he filed before the Anti-Corruption Office. The filing, now public, for the first time incorporates the properties that had surfaced in the judicial investigation for alleged illicit enrichment.

  • Thursday, June 11th 2026 - 23:03 UTC

    Amnesty International condemns police violence at World Cup opening protests in Mexico City

    Mexico City's government deployed more than 10,000 officers around the stadium and hotel corridors

    Amnesty International (AI) on Thursday condemned the violence by security forces during the large protests in southern Mexico City surrounding the opening of the 2026 World Cup, in which police used fire extinguishers to disperse demonstrators. The organization demanded respect for and protection of the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and protest.

  • Thursday, June 11th 2026 - 22:46 UTC

    Cuba accuses Rubio of tightening the US economic and energy blockade after Cupet sanction

    Rubio accused the Cuban government of using energy “as a weapon” and of diverting resources to enrich itself, a claim that, according to news agencies, he did not back with evidence.

    Cuba's government on Thursday accused US Secretary of State Marco Rubio of “further reinforcing” the economic and energy siege against the island, after Washington sanctioned the state company Unión Cuba-Petróleo (Cupet), which handles crude extraction, refining and production. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez charged that Rubio resorts to “usual vulgar lies” to justify the measure.

  • Thursday, June 11th 2026 - 09:04 UTC

    Fujimori edges ahead of Sánchez in Peru as expat ballots flip a razor-thin count

    Fujimori reappeared at the door of her home to ask Sánchez to keep his commitment to respect the final result

    Conservative Keiko Fujimori reclaimed first place on Wednesday night in Peru's presidential runoff, in a count being decided vote by vote that took a decisive turn with the arrival of ballots from Peruvians abroad. With 98.2% of the tally sheets processed by the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE), Fujimori reached 50.002% against 49.999% for leftist Roberto Sánchez, a difference of fewer than a thousand votes. If the trend holds, the Fuerza Popular leader could become the country's first woman elected president at the polls.

  • Thursday, June 11th 2026 - 08:32 UTC

    Brazil's lower-house committee approves lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 16

    The initiative resurfaces in an election year, with general elections in October. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva opposes the measure, while the right is championing it

    The Constitution, Justice and Citizenship Committee (CCJ) of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies approved on Wednesday, by 44 votes to 18, the constitutional amendment proposal seeking to reduce the age of criminal responsibility from 18 to 16. The approval, however, is only the first step in a long process before the measure could become law.

  • Thursday, June 11th 2026 - 08:13 UTC

    Argentina's Adorni declares $513,000 in Bitcoin to explain his wealth amid an enrichment case

    According to the reconstruction presented by the Cabinet Office, the cryptocurrency investments were made between 2013 and 2018 through eight virtual wallets

    Argentina's Cabinet Chief, Manuel Adorni, filed a series of rectified sworn declarations on Wednesday night before the Anti-Corruption Office and the Revenue and Customs Control Agency (ARCA) that substantially modify his assets and those of his wife, Bettina Angeletti. The main new element is the inclusion of about $513,000 attributed to Bitcoin investments, in a filing that comes as he faces a judicial investigation for alleged illicit enrichment.

  • Thursday, June 11th 2026 - 08:12 UTC

    US and Iran trade fire for a second night as Tehran says it has closed Hormuz

    Iran's General Staff declared Hormuz “closed” to all traffic and warned it would fire on any vessel, while the United States maintained that transit continues

    The United States and Iran traded fire for a second consecutive night, in what amounts to a more dangerous phase of the war in the Persian Gulf and raises the prospect of a return to open hostilities. As US forces again struck Iranian targets, the Revolutionary Guard said it had hit bases with a US presence in the region, and Iran's General Staff announced the “absolute” closure of the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump threatened new strikes on Thursday if Tehran does not accept his conditions for peace.

  • Wednesday, June 10th 2026 - 14:51 UTC

    Argentina: A year after Kirchner's final conviction, a possible pardon splits Peronism before 2027

    Part of Peronism considers a pardon for the leader who has most polarized Argentine society over the past two decades could mobilize anti-Kirchnerist voters

    A year has passed since Argentina's Supreme Court made final the corruption conviction against former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner —six years in prison and a lifetime political ban— and the possibility of pardoning her if Peronism returns to power is dividing the movement, as it searches for a candidate for the late-2027 presidential elections. Kirchner is under house arrest in a Buenos Aires apartment, in the Constitución neighborhood, where her supporters will again gather on Wednesday to demand her release.

  • Wednesday, June 10th 2026 - 13:52 UTC

    US launches strikes against Iran in retaliation for the downing of an Apache helicopter

    The strikes come amid a week of heightened regional tension

    The United States launched a series of strikes against Iran on Tuesday in retaliation for the downing of a US Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz, Central Command (Centcom) said. The action marks a sharp escalation that deepens doubts over the ceasefire in place since April 8 and over the peace negotiations that President Donald Trump says are within reach.