Uruguay's National Computer Security Incident Response Center (CERTUY) issued a report Monday in Montevideo stating that 14,264 attacks were reported last year, a significant increase from the 4,968 incidents in 2023. Most cases consisted of phishing, followed by unauthorized access to systems, malware installation, intrusion attempts, and proactive breaches of state systems.
Various UN peacekeeping troops were killed this weekend in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as the rebel M23 made territorial gains. One Uruguayan was among the dead and another was reported stable, albeit in a critical condition. Three others were wounded. In addition to the Uruguayan casualty, the UN troops also confirmed the killing of two South African soldiers. At least 13 peacekeepers fell last week.
The company willing to pick up Pluna's legacy as Uruguay's flag carrier will be making a series of announcements next week at Montevideo's Carrasco International Airport, just one year after revealing its plans. SUA (Sociedad Uruguaya de Aviación) is to start operations through a wet lease of airBaltic Airbus A220 aircraft, thus becoming the first airline in Latin America and the Caribbean to choose the Canadian-built narrow-body twin jet.
Argentina's Libertarian Government Wednesday announced the appointment of career Ambassador Alan Claudio Béraud as the new mission chief before Uruguay. Béraud is already stationed in Montevideo, where he heads Argentina's representations before the Southern Comon Market (Mercosur) and the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI).
Uruguay's Judiciary Friday granted house arrest to Deputy Commissioner Ricardo Zabala, who has been indicted for the 1978 murder of Cecilia Fontana, mother of former Interior Minister Luis Alberto Heber. As per Judge Verónica Ester Pena Molina's decision, Zabala was moved to a seaside resort residence citing health problems. He is the only person prosecuted for that crime. The case has resurfaced in recent years.
The Uruguayan Government this week made a US$ 8.4 million payment to the Spanish shipyard Cardama as the first installment for the construction of two new ocean patrol vessels (OPVs) agreed upon in July last year. The process has since been questioned and one Uruguayan Navy Admiral even retired from active duty amid the controversy.
Argentine President Javier Milei's “chainsaw” policies reached the South American country's diplomatic efforts: After recalling Ambassador Martín García Moritán from Uruguay citing “service reasons,” Buenos Aires announced it would be unifying its presence in Montevideo under one single Ambassador who would also be representing the country before the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI) and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur).
Ambassador Martín García Moritán has been removed from the Argentine mission in the Uruguayan capital and ordered back to Buenos Aires, according to Presidential Decree 29/2025 published Wednesday in the Official Gazette. The measure was adopted barely over a month before President-elect Yamandú Orsi's March 1 inauguration. The career diplomat had been appointed on Feb. 19, 2024.
Uruguay's Parliament passed Tuesday a unilateral declaration from the ruling Multicolor coalition stating that “no one can deny” there is a dictatorship in Venezuela. The opposition Broad Front (Frente Amplio - FA) of President-elect Yamandú Orsi, who is to take office on March 1, submitted a text of its own excluding the word “dictatorship” and hence no consensus. However, the FA reckoned that “the Venezuelan government has deepened its distancing from the institutional framework” and that the absence of audits in the electoral process “erodes the legitimacy of the result and questions any democratic transition.”
Uruguay's President-elect Yamandú Orsi will undergo cataract surgery in the next few days, due to which he will be pausing his transition agenda, it was reported Monday in Montevideo. According to Orsi's press team, the former Mayor (Governor) of Canelones had been postponing these procedures until it was decided to have them performed between Tuesday and Thursday. Orsi is expected to recover soon, so as to resume his activities leading up to his March 1 inauguration.