Regional Pulse: 16 July 2024
Southern Pulse’s weekly review of need-to-know events curated for people who work in Latin America.
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Editor's Picks:
Argentina
Milei skips Mercosur summit to attend CPAC in Brazil
On 8 July 2024, the Southern Common Market trade bloc (Mercosur) summit took place in Asunción, Paraguay. Argentina was the only member state without its leader in attendance. President Javier Milei instead attended the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Camboriú, southern Brazil. His absence drew criticism from the other Mercosur presidents amid recent verbal escalations between Milei and Brazil's leftist President Lula da Silva. The summit's agenda focused on ongoing trade negotiations with the EU, China, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as whether member countries should independently negotiate bilateral agreements with nations outside the commercial bloc. Milei sent Foreign Affairs Minister Diana Mondino in his place, who emphasized Argentina's commitment to the bloc but criticized its slowness in signing new free trade agreements.
Mexico
Cargo truck hijacking increased 40% in the last two years
On 12 July 2024, Forbes reported that cargo truck hijacking increased by 40.7% in the last two years. Data from the Mexican Association of Insurance Institutions (AMIS) revealed that Mexico registered 9,421 cargo robberies between May 2023 and April 2024 and 6,694 robberies from May 2022 to April 2023. The three states that logged the most robberies are Mexico (1,881), Puebla (1,665), and Veracruz (700). Other states with high hijacking rates include Yucatán, Morelos, Chiapas, San Luis Potosí, and Guanajuato. The theft of private vehicles is also on the rise. Because of this, lower house representatives urged authorities in the public security, infrastructure, and tourism ministries to strengthen their intelligence programs to combat organized crime on Mexican highways. However, experts consulted by Forbes — such as security analyst Rodrigo Martínez-Celis Wogau — rule out involvement from top-tier criminal groups.
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Peru
Prosecutors demand USD40 million settlement in ‘Caso Cócteles’ case
On 10 July 2024, anti-money laundering prosecutor María Camus Dávila demanded that former presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori and 42 others involved in the so-called “Caso Cócteles” corruption case pay a USD40 million settlement. The prosecution requested a settlement payment for crimes including criminal organization, money laundering, obstruction of justice, and false declarations in the administrative process, Convoca reported. The decision comes after attorney José Domingo Pérez requested a 30-year and 10-month sentence for the accused Keiko Fujimori last week in his opening statement. Following trial sessions are scheduled throughout July with the defense’s counterarguments.
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