On Thursday, Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Pérez Mackenna inaugurated the 63rd Antarctic Scientific Expedition (ECA) in Punta Arenas. The expedition is set to carry out nearly 50 research projects, involving more than 150 scientists, between November and the end of March.

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During the ceremony, the Foreign Minister highlighted Chile’s position as a gateway to Antarctica for international scientific programs. “The trust Chile enjoys in the realm of international relations, combined with the prestige of its public institutions and its logistical and infrastructural capabilities, represents an asset of immense value for attracting more countries to choose Chile as their gateway to Antarctica,” stated Pérez Mackenna.

Foreign Ministry reports indicated that the number of countries using Punta Arenas as a departure point for the “White Continent” has grown from 12 to 21 since 2004. Furthermore, eight other nations have occasionally passed through the capital of the Magallanes and Chilean Antarctic Region. “They use our ports and airports for their own vessels and aircraft, or they contract services in the Magallanes region to facilitate their scientific expeditions,” the minister noted.

The 63rd Antarctic Scientific Expedition includes operations at bases and field camps across the Antarctic Peninsula and the continent’s interior—including Union Glacier, located approximately 1,000 kilometers from the South Pole. The teams will conduct research across various fields of Antarctic science—an area the Foreign Minister described as strategic and inseparable from Chilean foreign policy.

En PuntaArenas se realizó el lanzamiento oficial de la 63ª Expedición Científica Antártica "ECA63" del @inach_gob

En la instancia, el Comandante en Jefe de la Tercera Zona Naval, Contraalmirante Juan Soto Herrera, presentó los detalles del despliegue naval para este periodo pic.twitter.com/qXflnac41l

— Armada de Chile (@Armada_Chile) October 30, 2026

The text reads, “The official launch of the 63rd Antarctic Scientific Expedition (“ECA63″) by @inach_gob took place in Punta Arenas. During the event, the Commander-in-Chief of the Third Naval Zone, Rear Admiral Juan Soto Herrera, presented details regarding the naval deployment for this period.”

“Antarctic science has a very distinct character; it is a strategic field—inseparable from Chile’s foreign policy—that helps us explore and gain knowledge about a vast territory that is crucial to the future of both our country and the planet,” Pérez Mackenna affirmed.

Antarctica is governed by the Antarctic Treaty—originally signed by 12 countries in 1959—which designates the territory for science and international cooperation. Although the continent is not governed by any single state, countries such as Chile, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand maintain historical territorial claims.

Chile operates at least ten Antarctic bases: five are managed by the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH), while the others are run by the Armed Forces. The country’s first facility in the territory was inaugurated in 1940, following a decree by President Pedro Aguirre Cerda that established the boundaries of the Chilean Antarctic territory.

#Chile | Severe storms and a tornado have damaged at least 25 homes in Requínoa and left over 10,000 customers without power in Santiago. Authorities have issued emergency alerts as they assess the damage.#ChileStorms #Tornado #SevereWeather #teleSUREnglish pic.twitter.com/p1XM7r0xMz

— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) October 27, 2026

Pressure from Washington has led to the suspension of air routes and the withdrawal of international companies.

On Wednesday, the National Office of Statistics and Information published a report showing that the U.S. energy blockade has caused a decrease in tourism to Cuba.

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This Caribbean nation received 65.1 percent fewer international visitors in the first nine months of this year than in the same period of 2025. Cuba received 477,707 international visitors from January to September, down 890,140 from the same period a year earlier.

Canada, Cuba’s largest source market for international tourists, saw the steepest decline, with visitor numbers falling by 430,460. Arrivals from Russia decreased by 67,205, while visits by Cubans living abroad dropped by 60,081. The number of visitors from the U.S. fell by 42,984.

Tourism is one of the Caribbean country’s main sources of foreign currency, but the sector is going through a crisis marked by suspended air routes, hotel closures and the withdrawal of international companies.

CUBAN FM RESIST THE BLOCKADE AT THE UN

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez stood up to US Ambassador Mike Waltz at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, in a confrontation that laid bare the deepening hostility over Washington's escalating economic war of aggression on the… pic.twitter.com/3Fqg5K0PzX

— Sovereign Media (@sov_media) October 29, 2026

In July, the Cuban government said that U.S. pressure had prompted seven international hotel chains to withdraw from the island, including Spain’s Melia, Iberostar and Barcelo.

The crisis has been compounded by U.S. restrictions on oil supplies imposed since January, including threats of tariffs on countries supplying fuel to the island, as well as expanded sanctions introduced in May.

Cuba has been subject to a U.S. economic, commercial and financial blockade for more than six decades. In June, Cuba’s National Assembly of People’s Power approved a package of 176 economic and social reform measures aimed at liberalizing the economy, including provisions to attract new investors and expand private-sector participation in tourism.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: Xinhua

Saca admitted to diverting more than $300 million in public funds during his 2004-2009 presidency.

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Former Salvadoran President Elias Antonio Saca was released on Thursday after completing a 10-year prison sentence for embezzlement and money laundering involving more than $300 million in public funds.

RELATED: Bukele Says El Salvador Could Dismantle Haiti’s Gangs

The 61-year-old former president appeared in court to formally register his release after serving his sentence in full, without early-release benefits, his lawyer, Mario Machado, said.

Saca was sentenced in September 2018 to five years for embezzlement and another five for money laundering. Under a plea agreement, he admitted to diverting and laundering more than $300 million during his 2004-2009 administration, avoiding a potential 30-year prison sentence.

He was arrested in 2016 during his son’s wedding. Prosecutors accused him of siphoning money from the state budget for himself and others, including more than $7 million transferred to his former political party, the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA).

¡El ex presidente de El Salvador, Elías Antonio Saca, recupera su libertad tras 10 años en prisión! 🌟 https://t.co/3kuzLOrsGl pic.twitter.com/ML3B51eew2

— Diario La Tribuna (@LaTribunahn) October 30, 2026

Text Reads: Former El Salvador president Elías Antonio Saca regains his freedom after 10 years in prison! 🌟

During the trial, Saca acknowledged exploiting weaknesses in government oversight to transfer public funds to private accounts. He also disclosed that he had issued regulations allowing him to classify information about financial transactions as state secrets, shielding the transfers from scrutiny.

According to his testimony, the money was transferred over the course of his five-year presidency into 13 private bank accounts belonging to his former private secretary, Elmer Charlaix, and two other presidential staff members.

In 2019, Saca was convicted in a separate bribery case after offering $10,000 to a court employee in exchange for information about proceedings against him. A judge ruled that the additional sentence would be incorporated into his existing 10-year term.

He was also ordered to repay $260 million to the state. In another case involving the diversion of funds from Taiwan, he was sentenced to pay an additional $6 million. It remains unclear whether he has fulfilled that obligation.

Saca, a businessman and radio broadcaster who served as president under ARENA, is one of four former Salvadoran presidents to have faced corruption charges. His successor, Mauricio Funes, fled to Nicaragua in September 2016 and died there in 2025.

More than 2,000 Salvadoran troops have been deployed to Haiti after an ambush left four military personnel missing.

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El Salvador has deployed more than 2,000 military personnel to Haiti in a mission to recover four soldiers missing since an ambush near Port-au-Prince, with President Nayib Bukele saying the operation could also be used to dismantle the country’s armed gangs.

RELATED: Haiti: Anti-Gang Force Confirms Finding Remains, Bukele Denies Those to Be Salvadoran Missing Military

“If we defeated the gangs here in El Salvador, we can defeat them there,” Bukele told reporters Thursday during an official visit by Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori. He said, however, that El Salvador would withdraw the same day if the four missing military aviation technicians were returned alive.

The Salvadoran Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that the deployment involved more than 2,000 members of the country’s armed forces and was part of a large-scale operation backed by several countries and international organizations.

Pèp ayisyen,

Nou prèske fin deplwaye sòlda nou yo ak ekipman nou yo sou tè Ayiti. Sa a se pa yon operasyon kont pèp ayisyen an, ni yon envazyon peyi Ayiti. Nou pa yon gwo pisans. Nou pa gen okenn enterè ni pou nou vin domine pèp ayisyen an, ni pou nou mete men sou richès Ayiti.… pic.twitter.com/AZ1XvdeJje

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) October 29, 2026

Text Reads: Haitian people, We have nearly finished deploying our soldiers and equipment on Haitian soil. This is not an operation against the Haitian people, nor an invasion of the country of Haiti. We are not a great power. We have no interest in coming to dominate the Haitian people, nor in laying hands on Haiti’s wealth. We are a modest country that is developing. The only thing we want is for our four aviation technicians to return home. And we’re giving the gangs a lesson—these gangs that make the Haitian people suffer, that kill people the population loves, that prevent them from living a normal, free life, without fear. It’s almost just us footing the bill for this operation. Even though we receive a bit of logistical help from a few other countries, it’s with our own modest funds that we’re covering 90% of the expenses. It costs us dearly, but we’ve learned from our own suffering: justice and peace have no price. We went through the same suffering that Haiti is going through today. We lived through a nightmare that was even more horrific than what the Haitian people are enduring right now. We know what that means: living in fear, not trusting politicians, not believing anyone who promises to help you. Because no one came to help us, and those who did come didn’t have good intentions in their hearts. But we managed to escape it. After 200 years of suffering, finally we’re living in peace, and today we are the safest country on the continent. We didn’t come to Haiti to make money, because no one is paying us to do it. We came to Haiti to fight against the wicked. But here’s what I’m asking of you: trust us, pray to the one true God, and ask Him to heal Haiti. “If at that time my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, where I am, I will forgive their sin, and I will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 Help us help Haiti. And when our mission is finished, we’ll return home. Perhaps the next generation of Haitians will remember us as friends who came to help one day.

Bukele rejected suggestions that the deployment amounted to an invasion, insisting that his government had no intention of occupying Haiti or asserting control over its population. In a post on X earlier Thursday, he said the mission had received authorization at both national and international levels and was focused on rescuing the missing personnel alive.

He also vowed to confront the gangs responsible for their abduction, arguing that Salvadoran forces knew how to deal with criminal organizations of this kind. Bukele described the confrontation as a battle between good and evil, saying his government stood on the side of good.

El Salvador had already been participating in the Gang Suppression Force (GSF), but its involvement in Haiti’s security crisis deepened after an ambush on Oct. 18 on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. The attack targeted a vehicle carrying four Salvadoran military personnel, who have been missing since the incident.

The Salvadoran contingent includes special forces personnel and represents the largest deployment by a single country in Haiti since the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) ended in 2017. The UN mission operated in the country from 2004 to 2017.

Reports circulated last Saturday that human remains potentially belonging to the four missing personnel had been found. Bukele dismissed those reports.

Bukele has maintained that recovering the four personnel alive is the operation’s primary objective and said their return would prompt the immediate withdrawal of Salvadoran forces.

Unions and left-wing groups plan further demonstrations in November, calling for the release of opposition figure Luisa González.

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Nearly 100 people marched through Ecuador’s capital, Quito, on Thursday to protest President Daniel Noboa’s government, launching a new wave of demonstrations ahead of local elections scheduled for Nov. 29.

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Organized by the country’s main trade unions and left-wing political parties, the peaceful march moved through the historic center before reaching the attorney general’s office. Protesters gathered outside the building carrying banners demanding the release of Luisa González, a former presidential candidate and one of the leading opposition figures.

González, who belongs to the political movement associated with former President Rafael Correa, was placed in pretrial detention in a case involving alleged money laundering. Prosecutors accuse her of involvement in the irregular financing of her first presidential campaign in 2023.

Chanting “Out, Noboa, out,” demonstrators also called for improvements to public education and healthcare. Some participants urged voters to cast null ballots in the upcoming local elections.

Natasha Rojas, a politician and activist, described the mobilization as a defense of democracy, civil liberties and the rights of Ecuadorians. She argued that the government was losing public support and warned that its policies would fuel further protests.

Nelson Erazo, president of the Popular Front, accused state institutions, including the attorney general’s office and the comptroller’s office, of being used to target social activists and political leaders.

He said the demonstration brought together groups seeking political change and demanding that Ecuadorians be able to express themselves freely, with guarantees of access to education, healthcare and employment.

Opposition organizations have announced further demonstrations on Nov. 7 and 15, followed by a march alongside feminist groups on Nov. 25 to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Another mobilization is planned for Dec. 10, in coordination with international organizations, to defend human rights.

The Fund outlined four priorities for turning economic stabilisation into stronger growth and job creation as it backed a new $900 million disbursement.

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday urged Argentina to maintain its economic programme, warning that sustained policy implementation and stronger international reserves remain essential to reducing country risk as concerns grow over a possible technical recession.

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IMF spokeswoman Julie Kozack said the government should continue implementing its current policies while ensuring that the benefits of economic stabilisation translate into stronger growth and employment.

“Our best advice for Argentina to continue reducing its country risk is to continue with its strong policy implementation, that is, to keep implementing the programme as it has been doing,” Kozack told a news conference in Washington.

She stressed that accumulating net international reserves and strengthening the country’s external position were fundamental to reducing financial risks. The Fund’s broader message, she added, was to maintain the current policy direction while extending the benefits of stabilisation across the economy.

🇦🇷💸 | Ante las declaraciones directas del presidente de la nación Argentina, Javier Milei, la escalada de la crisis económica golpea con dureza a la sociedad, donde la mayoría de la población lucha diariamente contra el endeudamiento y la precariedad laboral. La realidad es que… pic.twitter.com/J4RLdc4uvQ

— teleSUR TV (@teleSURtv) October 22, 2026

Text Reads: | In light of the direct statements from Javier Milei, president of the Argentine nation, the escalation of the economic crisis is hitting society hard, where the majority of the population struggles daily against debt and job precariousness. The reality is that surveys reveal that nearly 6 out of 10 Argentine citizens have had to go into debt to survive amid the drastic drop in purchasing power. At the same time, the lack of employment and the loss of social rights worsen a landscape that deeply affects the quality of life of families, especially the youth. Popular discontent is growing in the face of official responses that seem to ignore the urgency of the crisis, forcing us to understand “The Other Side of the Coin”.

Addressing questions about the possibility of Argentina recording two consecutive quarters of economic contraction, Kozack outlined four priorities agreed upon with the government to support growth and job creation.

These include deepening capital and mortgage markets to expand access to financing, introducing greater flexibility in the labour market to encourage private-sector employment, advancing infrastructure projects awarded through concession agreements, and facilitating strategic investment through the Incentive Regime for Large Investments (RIGI).

Projects approved under the investment incentive scheme already exceed $76 billion, according to the IMF.

The Fund’s latest assessment comes as its staff and Argentine authorities reached an agreement on Tuesday on the third review of the country’s Extended Fund Facility programme, potentially unlocking a disbursement of approximately $900 million.

Kozack said the IMF Executive Board could consider the review in early December.

The Fund said the programme had continued to deliver results despite a more challenging international environment. Net international reserves exceeded the June target by approximately $4 billion, while the Central Bank purchased nearly $16 billion in foreign currency during the year.

The Treasury also raised more than $5 billion in domestic markets. With support from official creditors, the government secured $3.2 billion in guaranteed financing from international banks and was working to obtain an additional $1 billion before the end of the year.

The agreement maintains Argentina’s target of a primary fiscal surplus equivalent to 1.4% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2026, with a similar fiscal effort planned for 2027. It also preserves the existing exchange rate band system.

However, the economic outlook remains weaker than previously expected. In October, the IMF lowered its 2026 growth forecast for Argentina from 3.5% to 2.1%, underscoring the challenge of turning stabilisation gains into sustained economic expansion.

Haiti has postponed its presidential and legislative elections once again, pushing the first round from December 13 to July 18, 2027, as armed gangs and a decade-long institutional vacuum leave the country with no elected official since 2016.

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The move had been expected since the start of the month, when the council extended the deadline for candidate registration to October 31 without setting a new voting date.

The first round of the presidential and legislative elections, together with the constitutional referendum, now falls on July 18, 2027. A second round -including presidential and legislative runoffs and local elections- is scheduled for October 4 of that same year. The campaign, originally due to begin on October 5, will open on April 15, 2027, roughly three months before polling day.

RELATED: UN Security Council Reaffirms Mandate in Haiti Despite Attacks

Under the updated schedule, candidate registration will remain open through February 9, 2027, while voter registration is extended to May 20. The council’s online platform shows that nearly 890,000 voters are registered on the electoral roll, far short of the 7.7 million people of voting age.

Despite repeated calendar revisions, candidates have continued to register for the elections. According to the Provisional Electoral Council ’s latest updates, over 7,300 candidates have registered for different elected positions. The provisional list includes 19 candidates for President, 369 for the Senate, 1,293 for the Chamber of Deputies and 5,623 for local elections.

Haïti a de nouvelles dates pour les élections présidentielle, législatives et municipales à venir :
18 juillet 2027 pour le premier tour – 4 octobre 2027 pour le deuxième tour, selon une communiqué du Conseil électoral provisoire. pic.twitter.com/A4raK78ifp

— Frantz Duval (@Frantzduval) October 29, 2026

Text reads: “Haiti has new dates for the upcoming presidential, legislative and municipal elections: July 18, 2027 for the first round – October 4, 2027 for the second round, according to a communiqué of the Provisional Electoral Council.”

The Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) framed the decision as an effort to keep the process moving. “The updated calendar aims to facilitate the continuation of electoral operations under conditions that allow the stakeholders concerned to fulfill their obligations in accordance with the provisions of the legal framework,” the council explained in a statement accompanying the new plan.

The body also pledged to move forward “with dialogue, professionalism and rigor,” targeting elections that are inclusive, credible and transparent. It promised to respect “the right of each citizen to participate in the democratic life of the country.”

That language contrasts sharply with conditions on the ground. Haiti has not held an election since 2016, when Jovenel Moïse won the presidency. He took office in February 2017 and was assassinated on July 7, 2021, at his residence in Port-au-Prince.

Since that killing, no elected official has occupied any post in the country’s state structure. Successive transitional governments have cycled through without managing to organize a vote. Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, the current leader, has governed on an interim basis since November 10, 2024.

The elections were first set for August 30 of this year. The political and security crisis, driven by armed gang violence and the failure to restore institutional stability, forced a postponement to December 13. That date has now been abandoned for July 18, 2027.

Gangs Hold the Capital

Armed gangs control most of Port-au-Prince. The main force arrayed against them is the Gang Suppression Force (GSF), created in September 2025 under a UN Security Council mandate and renewed for six additional months when it reached its first anniversary.

The latest delay unfolds as hundreds of Salvadoran soldiers search the Haitian capital for four kidnapped colleagues. Those troops belonged to the GSF and vanished on October 18, when armed gangs ambushed them on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince.

The #GSF confirms that it has received, through a third-party humanitarian organization, remains suspected of being those of the four personnel from the Salvadoran contingent currently missing.
At this stage, the GSF is not in a position to confirm that the remains are those of… pic.twitter.com/JvfLg1DfCG

— Gang Suppression Force – Haiti (@GSForceHaiti) October 25, 2026

PM Fils-Aimé presides over a country under siege. He holds no elected mandate himself, and the security conditions that have justified every postponement show no sign of easing.

For Haitians, the wait has now stretched past a decade without a chance to cast a ballot. Each interim administration has promised elections and delivered another delay. The violence cited as the obstacle has, in turn, deepened with every year of institutional drift.

Whether July 2027 becomes a genuine election day depends on factors no schedule can secure: safe streets, working electoral machinery and a minimum of political consensus. As things stand, the only firm date in Haiti is a next postponement.

Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodriguez appointed Deputy Minister Oliver Blanco as the country’s new Foreign Minister on Thursday, while outgoing top diplomat Félix Plasencia will lead the mission to recover Venezuelan gold held in the United Kingdom.

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Acting President Delcy Rodriguez announced the moves in Caracas during an event focused on the National Electric System, where she also outlined plans for the country’s energy infrastructure.

The reshuffle places a 35-year-old diplomat at the helm of the Foreign Ministry and redirects a veteran official toward a long-running dispute over state assets frozen abroad.

RELATED: Delcy Rodríguez Announces Transformations, Labor Dialogue, and Reforms in Venezuela

“I have decided to appoint Oliver Blanco as Foreign Minister of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. I hope this strengthened team keeps advancing in the changes and the geopolitical recovery of Venezuela in areas of cooperation and friendship with all countries,” Rodriguez said.

He designado a Oliver Blanco, joven profesional de las relaciones internacionales, como nuevo ministro del Poder Popular de Relaciones y Comercio Exterior. Confío en su preparación, compromiso y capacidad para asumir esta importante responsabilidad al servicio de Venezuela.… pic.twitter.com/A0gaqGOWnv

— Miraflores Al Momento (@MirafloresAM) October 29, 2026

Text reads: “I have appointed Oliver Blanco, a young professional in international relations, as the new Minister of People’s Power for Foreign Relations and Trade. I trust in his preparation, commitment and ability to take on this important responsibility in the service of Venezuela. I thank Félix Plasencia for his dedication and work at the head of the Chancellery, and who will now assume new international strategic tasks.”

The new Foreign Minister Blanco, holds a degree in International Studies from the Central University of Venezuela and a master’s degree in Political and Government Studies from the Metropolitan University. His previous post covered Europe and North America, a portfolio that included some of the governments most active in the sanctions and asset disputes that have defined Venezuela’s recent foreign relations.

Gold Recovery Mission

Felix Plasencia, who steps down as Foreign Minister, will now serve as director of International Affairs for the Presidency. His immediate priority is clear. “His first task is to settle in the United Kingdom until we recover the gold that belongs to Venezuelans,” the Acting President Rodriguez stated.

The assignment follows a request Rodriguez made on Wednesday. She asked the Foreign Ministry and the Attorney General’s Office to begin formal procedures to recover Venezuelan gold retained at the Bank of England. The precious metal has been at the center of a legal battle involving rival claims over Venezuela’s legitimate government, with London courts weighing which authority controls the reserves.

Recibo con mucha humildad y compromiso la responsabilidad que me ha encomendado la presidenta encargada, @delcyrodriguezv.

Defenderé nuestra soberanía y el interés nacional con firmeza, trabajando siempre por alcanzar beneficios concretos para nuestra gente.

Me siento orgulloso… pic.twitter.com/AamIdSnuvS

— Oliver Blanco (@OliverBlanco) October 29, 2026

Text reads: “I accept with great humility and commitment the responsibility entrusted to me by the Acting President @delcyrodriguezv. I will defend our sovereignty and national interest firmly, always working to achieve concrete benefits for our people. I am proud to accompany the Acting President in this process of democratic transformation, to which we all have something to contribute to bring it to a successful conclusion.”

Cabinet Reshuffle Expand

The changes extend beyond the two senior positions. Marynna Saatdjian will take over as Vice-minister for Europe and North America, filling the role Blanco leaves behind. Saúl Ameliach, until now a Vice-minister at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, moves to head the Vice-ministry of International Trade.

Acting President Rodriguez framed the appointments as part of a broader effort to strengthen Venezuela’s diplomatic corps. She emphasized that the government will continue pursuing cooperation and friendship with all countries while defending national sovereignty.

The diplomatic shift carries particular weight given the gold dispute. Venezuela has pursued the release of its reserves held in London for years, arguing the assets belong to the Venezuelan people and are needed for social programs and economic recovery. By sending Plasencia directly to the United Kingdom, the government signals it intends to press the matter with renewed intensity.

With Blanco at the Foreign Ministry, Plasencia handling international affairs from the Presidency and new vice ministers in place, the administration has assembled a team positioned around two core objectives: restoring full diplomatic engagement and reclaiming state assets held overseas.