MercoPress https://en.mercopress.com/ South Atlantic News Agency en Copyright 2026, MercoPress. https://en.mercopress.com/web/img/en/mercopress-logo.gif MercoPress http://en.mercopress.com/ <![CDATA[A multinational rescue frees Hernán, trapped eight days under Venezuela's quake rubble]]> Gil, who worked as a guard in the underground parking garage of a shopping mall, survived by sheltering under the desk of his booth when the building collapsed A 43-year-old Venezuelan security guard, Hernán Gil, was rescued alive on Thursday after eight days trapped under the rubble of a building that collapsed in Catia La Mar, in La Guaira state, during the twin earthquake that struck the country on June 24. The Costa Rican Red Cross, which took part in the operation, confirmed the rescue, considered one of the most complex and prolonged of the disaster, which has left at least 2,295 dead and more than 11,000 injured, according to the official toll.

]]> Thu, 02 Jul 2026 15:32:00 GMT <![CDATA[Cepeda threatens 'civil disobedience' unless Colombia's president-elect renounces US citizenship]]> Colombian Constitution does not prohibit dual nationality for the presidency: it requires being born in the country and being over 30, requirements that De la Espriella, born in Bogotá, meets Left-wing senator Iván Cepeda, who lost Colombia's presidential runoff, announced on Tuesday that he will resort to "peaceful civil disobedience" against the incoming government of Abelardo de la Espriella if the president-elect does not renounce his US citizenship and clarify a series of questions before taking office on August 7. The Pacto Histórico leader, from the party of outgoing President Gustavo Petro, urged his voters to join the measure, which he described as not recognizing the new president's authority.

]]> Tue, 30 Jun 2026 22:19:00 GMT <![CDATA[Keiko Fujimori wins Peru's presidency as the full count confirms her by 49,641 votes]]> With the count closed, Fujimori is the president-elect, though the official proclamation falls to the National Jury of Elections (JNE), scheduled for Friday, July 3 Peru's National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) on Monday closed the count of the presidential runoff at 100% of the tally sheets and confirmed the victory of right-wing Keiko Fujimori over left-wing Roberto Sánchez, 22 days after the June 7 vote. The Fuerza Popular leader obtained 50.14% of valid votes against her rival's 49.87%, a difference of 49,641 ballots, in one of the closest elections in the country's recent history.

]]> Tue, 30 Jun 2026 09:39:00 GMT <![CDATA[A regional shift to the right frames the wave of congratulations to Fujimori]]> Argentine President Javier Milei was among the most emphatic. “I congratulate Keiko Fujimori on her historic victory in Peru. The Peruvian people join Colombia and have sent a clear message” The confirmation of right-wing Keiko Fujimori's victory in Peru's presidential runoff drew a wave of congratulations from leaders across the region, who framed the result within the shift to the right underway in several Latin American countries. With Fujimori's arrival in power, the right will add a new government, alongside those of Argentina, Ecuador, Chile, Paraguay and El Salvador, and the recent victory of Abelardo de la Espriella in Colombia.

]]> Tue, 30 Jun 2026 08:32:00 GMT <![CDATA[Mexican rescuers in Venezuela call it one of the largest tragedies they have faced]]> The Mexican detachment numbers some 280 soldiers, plus close to 300 members of the Red Cross, firefighters and civil protection, deployed as part of the DN-III civilian-assistance plan Rescuers from the Mexican Army's Emergency Response Battalion (BAE), considered among the most experienced in the world in natural disasters, say the earthquake that devastated north-central Venezuela is "one of the largest tragedies" they have attended, above all because of the scale of the damage. The team is working in the coastal state of La Guaira, the hardest-hit area, where the official toll exceeded 1,700 dead on Monday.

]]> Tue, 30 Jun 2026 07:35:00 GMT <![CDATA[Repsol, Ecopetrol and 17 other oil firms cleared for Brazil's next pre-salt auction]]> The ANP clarified that inclusion on the list does not mean the companies will submit bids Nineteen oil companies, among them Spain's Repsol and Colombia's Ecopetrol, have been cleared to bid in the upcoming auction of licenses to partner with the Brazilian State in the exploitation of hydrocarbons in the pre-salt, the country's main crude reserve. The list was released on Friday by the National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), following its publication in the Official Gazette.

]]> Sat, 27 Jun 2026 09:43:00 GMT <![CDATA[Public meetings will feature presentations from Hatch and MEP, the authors of the socio-economic, environmental and legislative reports]]> Authorities have not described the event as intentional, and the Attorney General's Office of Baja California Sur is investigating the circumstances At least 17 people were injured on Wednesday night when a car drove into a crowd celebrating in the streets of Cabo San Lucas, in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur, Mexico's win over the Czech Republic at the World Cup. The driver was detained, and authorities opened an investigation to clarify what happened.

]]> Thu, 25 Jun 2026 21:10:00 GMT <![CDATA[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.

]]> Thu, 25 Jun 2026 06:41:00 GMT <![CDATA[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.

]]> Thu, 25 Jun 2026 05:19:00 GMT <![CDATA[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.

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