International
Brazil’s Lula meets Fernandez as begins first international trip
January 23 | By AFP | Mauricio Rabuffetti |
Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrived at the presidential palace in Buenos Aires on Monday as he began a first foreign trip since his election by meeting with Argentine counterpart Alberto Fernandez.
The two leaders are due to discuss strategic bilateral “gas integration” and a “common South American currency” for financial and trade flows, the Argentine presidency said in a statement released on Sunday night.
Lula, 77, arrived at the Casa Rosada in central Buenos Aires at 11:00 am accompanied by his wife Rosangela da Silva. He was greeted by Fernandez and First Lady Fabiola Yanez.
Brazil is Argentina’s largest trade partner, according to official figures published last week by the INDEC national statistics institute.
Brazil is the top destination for Argentine exports, amounting to 14.3 percent and $12.7 billion in 2022.
Close to 20 percent of Argentina’s imports are from Brazil, worth just over $16 billion last year.
“Argentina is the most important country in our diplomatic relations,” Feliciano de Sa Guimaraes, academic director for the Brazilian Center for Diplomatic Relations, told AFP.
Likewise, Fernandez’s government “depends a lot on Brazil”, not least in its negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with whom Argentina has a $44 billion debt.
Following the bilateral meeting with Fernandez, Lula was due to hold talks in the afternoon with Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro.
However, that meeting was canceled and Brazilian sources told AFP that Maduro had called off his trip to Argentina.
Maduro’s expected presence in Argentina had caused a stir, with civil organizations filing a complaint against the Venezuelan leader for human rights abuses, and some opposition politicians demanding he be arrested on arrival.
‘Rebuilding bridges’
On Tuesday, Lula will take part in a Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) summit.
His far right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro suspended Brazil’s participation in CELAC, alleging the body “gave importance to non-democratic regimes such as those of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.”
Lula is also due to meet Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Buenos Aires before heading to Montevideo on Wednesday for talks with Uruguay President Luis Lacalle Pou.
Brazil Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira told the Argentine Telam news agency on Saturday that Lula was looking to “rebuild bridges” with the international community after four years of Bolsonaro’s populist leadership.
“What we will do in Buenos Aires and Montevideo is speak without partners about the situation we inherited and possible paths to follow,” said Vieira.
One challenge Lula will face is a crisis within the Mercosur trade group that comprises Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay over Montevideo’s decision to negotiate a bilateral free trade agreement with China without the consent of its regional partners.
Lula begins his visit to Argentina just two days after sacking army commander Julio Cesar de Arruda due to a a lack of “confidence” following the storming of the seats of power in Brasilia earlier this month by Bolsonaro supporters.
Lula has said he suspects the security forces may have been involved in the riots.
International
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe on Monday requested that the Supreme Court restore his freedom while he appeals the historic 12-year house arrest sentence he received for bribery and procedural fraud.
Uribe, the most prominent figure of Colombia’s right wing, was convicted last week by a lower court for attempting to bribe paramilitary members into denying his ties to the violent anti-guerrilla squads.
Since Friday, the 73-year-old has been under house arrest at his residence in Rionegro, about 30 km from Medellín. The judge justified the measure by citing a risk of flight.
However, Uribe’s defense team rejected that argument and formally petitioned the court to immediately lift the detention order, claiming it lacks legal basis.
Uribe, a dominant force in Colombian politics for decades, is now the first former president in the country’s history to be convicted and placed under arrest, found guilty of witness tampering and obstruction of justice to prevent links to paramilitary groups.
He has repeatedly denounced the trial as politically motivated, blaming pressure from the leftist government currently in power.
His political party, Centro Democrático, has called for nationwide protests on August 7 in support of Uribe, who remains popular for his hardline stance against guerrilla groups.
Uribe has until August 13 to submit his written appeal. The case will then move to the Bogotá High Court, which has until October 16 to uphold, overturn, or dismiss the sentence. If the deadline passes without a decision, the case will be archived.
International
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
The poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean is currently engulfed in a deep political crisis and a wave of violence driven by armed groups — a situation that an international security mission led by Kenya is attempting to stabilize.
Due to the worsening security conditions, the U.S. government has suspended all official movements of embassy personnel outside the compound in Port-au-Prince, the U.S. State Department announced Monday in a security alert posted on social media platform X.
“There are intense gunfights in the Tabarre neighborhood, near the U.S. Embassy,” the alert reads, urging the public to avoid the area.
Tabarre is a municipality located near Port-au-Prince International Airport, northeast of the Haitian capital.
According to a July report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 3,141 people were killed in Haitibetween January 1 and June 30 of this year.
International
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that 136 boxes of food aid were airdropped into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium.
“In recent hours, six countries conducted air drops of 136 aid packages containing food for residents in the southern and northern Gaza Strip,” read the statement, which added that the operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli military emphasized that they will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response alongside the international community” and reiterated their stance to “refute false allegations of deliberate famine in Gaza.”
The announcement comes as UN agencies warn Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine. More than one in three residents go days without eating, and other nutrition indicators have dropped to their worst levels since the conflict began.
The agencies also noted the difficulty of “collecting reliable data in current conditions, as Gaza’s health systems —already devastated by nearly three years of conflict— are collapsing.”
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Sunday that hospitals in the enclave recorded six deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Saturday, all of them adults.
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
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Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction