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
Bolsonaro diagnosed with skin cancer amid coup conviction
Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has been diagnosed with skin cancer while serving a historic sentence for attempting a coup d’état. His medical team confirmed that the lesions have been removed and that, for now, he does not require further procedures, though he will need regular monitoring.
On Wednesday, September 17, Bolsonaro’s doctors confirmed the diagnosis. The announcement comes shortly after the former leader was convicted of orchestrating an attempted coup.
According to his physician, Claudio Birolini, Bolsonaro has “squamous cell carcinoma, which is neither the most benign nor the most aggressive form — it is intermediate.” Birolini warned, however, that this type of skin cancer “can carry more serious consequences.”
International
Milei praises Paraguay’s growth, calls Argentina’s last 20 years a ‘decline’
Argentine President Javier Milei praised Paraguay’s economic growth over the past two decades during a speech before the Paraguayan Congress on Wednesday (Sept. 17, 2025), crediting it to incentives that favored capitalism. At the same time, he contrasted that progress with what he described as Argentina’s deepening “decline” during the same period.
“If we compare the last 20 years of Paraguay with those of the Argentine Republic, we will find almost diametrically opposite results,” Milei told lawmakers during a special session of Parliament on the second and final day of his official visit to Asunción.
“While you have not stopped growing, we have deepened our decline. If we understand incentives as the engine of capitalism, Paraguay focused on preserving and strengthening them, while Argentina dedicated itself to chaining, directing, and suffocating them,” the right-wing leader stated.
International
Trump administration launches large-scale immigration operation in Chicago
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump intensified a large-scale immigration operation in the Chicago area with the arrival of additional Border Patrol agents on Tuesday and the presence of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem during a raid.
Noem posted a video on her X account showing the immigration operation, in which DHS reportedly removed “violent criminals” from the streets. The footage shows Noem observing the arrest of a man taken into custody at his home early Tuesday morning at an undisclosed location.
“I was in Chicago today to make it clear that we will not back down,” the secretary wrote. “Our work is just beginning,” she added.
The warning from Noem was echoed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Chief Gregory Bovino, who posted a video on X Tuesday showing multiple Border Patrol vehicles arriving in the city with the caption: “Chicago, we are here!”
Bovino, who led the immigration crackdown in Los Angeles implemented since last June, said the team will remain in Chicago to continue the mission they started in California.
Operation “Midway Blitz” is currently focused on the Chicago metropolitan area and its suburbs. Activists and residents have reported sightings of masked agents and unmarked vehicles in predominantly Latino neighborhoods.
Bolsonaro diagnosed with skin cancer amid coup conviction
Milei praises Paraguay’s growth, calls Argentina’s last 20 years a ‘decline’
Trump administration launches large-scale immigration operation in Chicago
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
International2 days ago20th Festival Salvadoreñísimo brings together thousands of salvadorans in Houston
-
International4 days ago22-Year-Old Suspect Arrested After 33-Hour Manhunt in Small Western U.S. Town
-
International1 day agoEcuador’s Noboa declares State of Emergency in seven provinces amid fuel price protests
-
International1 day agoTrump: U.S. has hit three venezuelan narco boats in Caribbean
-
International2 days agoEl Salvador unveils 2025-2029 National Reintegration Plan for returned migrants
-
Sin categoría1 day agoTrump files $15 billion defamation suit against The New York Times
-
International1 day agoColombia’s special peace tribunal hands down first sentence against former FARC leaders
-
International7 hours agoAsteroid 2025 FA22, 300 meters long, to pass safely near Earth tomorrow
-
International7 hours agoTrump administration launches large-scale immigration operation in Chicago
-
International5 hours agoMilei praises Paraguay’s growth, calls Argentina’s last 20 years a ‘decline’
-
International5 hours agoBolsonaro diagnosed with skin cancer amid coup conviction