As the Venezuelan government, currently led by interim President Delcy Rodríguez, continues to release political prisoners, hundreds are still being held in jails and detention centers across the country, including four Argentine men. Nahuel Gallo, Germán Giuliani, Roberto Baldo and Gustavo Rivara have been detained for months, and in some cases, over a year. Harary, 72, had been held in El Rodeo I prison since September 4, 2024, when he crossed the border from Colombia. Ellos son Roberto Baldo y Montserrat Espinosa de Baldo. Cover image: Gustavo Rivara, Roberto Baldo and Germán Giuliani

The national government has officially launched a 12-month administrative takeover of the Port of Ushuaia after detecting apparent financial irregularities and the diversion of public funds. The measure was ordered by the National Ports and Navigation Agency (ANPYN, by its Spanish initials) and published this Thursday in the Official Gazette. The government of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and South Atlantic Islands said it will take legal action against the takeover of the port. From the National Ports and Navigation Agency, a strategic body created in 2025, Arreseygor has taken on responsibility for leading a process with significant institutional impact on the national port system. From that position, Arreseygor is now directly responsible for the administrative intervention of the port of Ushuaia — a measure with strong institutional and strategic impact that has placed the Fuegian port under direct national government control and thrust it into the center of Argentina’s port, logistics and geopolitical agenda.

The Torneo Apertura, the opening stage of the Argentine football league, is set to start on Thursday, with a five-match slate. The action continues at 8 p.m., as Banfield takes on Huracán and Unión de Santa Fe faces off against Platense. The league formatFor 2026, the league format will remain mostly the same as last year. They will also play two games against teams in the other group, one at random and one against their derby rival. There will be eight trophies up for grabs this season, with the Recopa de Campeones making a debut for 2026.

Chile’s president-elect José Antonio Kast announced the list of 25 ministers that will be part of his cabinet after he takes office on March 11. Fernando Rabat, who defended Pinochet in a 2004 embezzlement case, will be minister of justice and human rights. However, in 2021 Kast denied being a Pinochet supporter and questioned the human rights violations committed during his rule. “Chile needs decision, character, it needs a government that acts with urgency,” Kast said during the cabinet presentation on Wednesday. Although Pinochet was investigated for the embezzlement case and the extreme violations of human rights committed during his dictatorship, he died in 2006 without any convictions.

36 tennis player Sebastián Báez at the 2026 Australian Open. The 25-year-old fell by 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 to Argentine-born Italian Luciano Darderi after just under two and a half hours of play. However, coming from a three-hour grind against Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round, Báez visibly felt the Melbourne heat. The fourth set was more of the same, with a visibly more settled Darderi sealing the match without issue. It’s not the last we’ve heard of Argentine tennis stars in the 2026 Australian Open, as Cerúndolo and Etcheverry will feature in the third round, going up against Andrey Rublev (15) and Alexander Bublik (10) respectively.

Santa Cruz provincial government confirmed on Sunday that it had received a US$136 million loan from China in order to resume work on a hydroelectric dam, a project that has been paralyzed since December 2023. The total loan amounts to US$150 million, and comes from a consortium of banks led by ICBC and the Bank of China. While US$136 million was transferred to Santa Cruz, the other US$14 million will remain in China to pay suppliers. The dams are located 115 kilometers west of Puerto Santa Cruz. Last week, the Santa Cruz government held a meeting with representatives of Gezhouba and the Argentine Construction Workers’ Union (UOCRA), seeking to finalize the necessary agreements to restart the project.

Argentine authorities have confirmed the country’s first death associated with a new variant of flu, the influenza A (H3N2). Genomic analyses carried out by the Malbrán Institute confirmed 28 cases of the Subtype K, one of the variants currently being monitored because of its potential to cause serious illness. It caused the flu season to start earlier than usual in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan, and unusually severe flu in those countries. Until the most recent weekly figures were released, Argentina had confirmed 11 cases in five provinces. Argentina’s latest epidemiological bulletin noted that only six people who had the new flu variant had been vaccinated against flu.

President Javier Milei defended the need for countries to engage in free enterprise capitalism and drop what he called “socialist” policies while speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “That is, to make Argentina great again,” he stated, quoting United States President Donald Trump’s famous motto. Milei’s speech was part of the third day of the Davos forum and took place right after United States President Donald Trump’s presentation, which extended further than planned, delaying the rest of the scheduled activities. In 2024, just a month after he became president, Milei used his debut at the Davos Forum to warn the businesspeople and world leaders present about the “dangers” of socialism, feminism, and climate activism. On Wednesday, before taking part in the forum, Milei met with a group of CEOs from international banks and finance firms, including the leaders of Citigroup, BlackRock, and BBVA.

There’ll be at least two Argentine tennis stars in the 2026 Australian Open third round, as Francisco Cerúndolo (world No.20) and Tomás Etcheverry (61) won their respective games on Tuesday. Cerúndolo was the first to seal his ticket for the next round. I love playing tennis with this energy.”The win will undoubtedly help Etcheverry keep up his resurgence. Tirante and Comesaña outIt wasn’t all good news for Argentines in the Australian Open, as Thiago Tirante (103) and Francisco Comesaña (68) bowed out. The Argentine fell 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in a rain-delayed affair played late into the Australian night.

First, the good news: for the second year running, the Milei government achieved a trade surplus in 2025, with a positive balance of US$11.286 billion, according to Argentina’s statistical institute, INDEC. December finished with a US$1.9 billion surplus, the second highest figure of the year, only surpassed by the November surplus. It means Argentina has accumulated 25 consecutive months with a trade surplus, which coincides exactly with the length of Javier Milei’s term as president. Exports of goods totaled US$87 billion in 2025 — close to the 2022 record of US$88 billion. However, even with that rise, last year’s trade surplus was 40% lower than the previous year, when it reached almost US$18.9 billion.

The European Parliament has voted to send the Mercosur-European Union trade deal to the EU’s top court to verify whether it complies with existing EU treaties. This means implementation of the agreement could now happen in at least two years from now, supposing it will be approved by the European Parliament. It is divided into two parts: a strictly trade-only pact, designed to be implemented right after the European Commission and European Parliament approve it, and a broader one, that includes investment and environmental sections, which needs parliamentary approval from each participating country. 334 parliament members backed the provision, 10 above those who rejected it, while 11 abstained. Farmers led mass protests on Wednesday outside of the European Parliament as the vote took place, signaling their disapproval of the EU-Mercosur deal.

The revelation is significant insofar as it targets one of President Javier Milei’s main policies. The brief identified an additional four “risks” to Argentina: lack of economic opportunity or unemployment, economic downturn (e.g., recession, stagnation), inequality (wealth, income), and social polarization. Last year, right-wing PRO party leader and former Argentine President Mauricio Macri (2015-2019) denounced a deepfake AI video that spread on social media. The footage falsely depicted him encouraging the public to vote for presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni in the Buenos Aires City legislative elections. Macri took to his own social media channels to condemn the video, calling the matter “an attempt at electoral fraud” conducted by ruling party La Libertad Avanza.

A French mountaineer died on Monday near the summit of Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Americas and in the Southern Hemisphere, in Mendoza province. Guillaume Ferey, 33, collapsed and died at “La Cueva,” a spot located about 200 meters from the summit, at an altitude of 6,700 meters. Second death on AconcaguaThis is the second death on Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Andes Mountains, in 2026. The first occurred on January 4, when a 55-year-old Russian mountaineer died, also just meters from the summit. According to official figures, more than 55,000 people visited Aconcagua Provincial Park last season.

Argentine tennis star Sebastián Báez (ranked 36 in ATP singles) beat Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (61) on Monday, taking the total number of Argentines that made it to the 2026 Australian Open second round to five. However, the Argentine player broke the Frenchman’s serve early both in the first and second sets and raced to a two sets to none lead. As he had done in the first couple of sets, Báez took an early lead and physical issues stopped Mpetshi Perricard from forcing his way back. “I had the chance to wrap it up before but I wasn’t able to take it,” the Argentine player told the press after the match. He joins the other Argentines set to play in the second round starting Tuesday.

Several hotspots of the wildfire that began in the touristic area of Puerto Patriada, Chubut, in the Patagonia region, reignited on Monday due to the heat and dry weather. Almost 15,000 hectares of native forest and implanted vegetation have been consumed since the fires began on January 5. This means that, although there are still active hotspots, firefighters have been able to make a barrier around the fire’s perimeter to stop it from spreading further. The wildfire began on January 5 in Puerto Patriada, near the Epuyén lake, and spread to surrounding areas, affecting vegetation, animals and at least 20 homes. One man was arrested on Monday, accused of attempting to start a fire, although it remains unclear how the fires began on Saturday.