Brazil, United States deepen cooperation to combat organized crime
The initiative was presented by Brazil's finance ministry, where Minister Darío Durigan said the agreement between Brazil's Federal Revenue Service and U.S. Customs and Border Protection will enable the exchange of cargo data, particularly on shipments leaving the United States for Brazil.
The focus will be on intercepting illegal goods, such as weapons and narcotics.
The announcement comes as Washington considers designating Brazil-based criminal groups Primeiro Comando da Capital and Comando Vermelho as terrorist organizations, according to outlet G1 O'Globo.
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The effort gained traction after Eduardo Bolsonaro and Flávio Bolsonaro, sons of former President Jair Bolsonaro, urged members of the administration of Donald Trump to take action, The New York Times reported. U.S. officials have not publicly confirmed any such designation.
Brazilian authorities also highlighted the rollout of the DESARMA program, a system designed to allow real-time information sharing when customs officials identify shipments linked to firearms, ammunition, explosives and other sensitive materials.
Officials said the tool enables authorities to trace the origin of illicit goods and map criminal networks involved in the international arms trade.
Recent records show the system has expanded the ability to detect, connect and track illicit weapons flows, with early results already benefiting both countries.
U.S.-provided intelligence has helped uncover sophisticated smuggling methods, including rifle components hidden inside airsoft equipment and drugs concealed in packages labeled as common goods such as pet food sent through postal services.
Over the past 12 months, authorities identified 35 incidents involving the seizure of 1,168 items, weighing about 550 kilograms, primarily shipped from Florida using fraudulent declarations and concealment techniques.
Brazil's tax revenue secretary, Robinson Barreirinhas, said more than 1,100 weapons were seized over the past 12 months arriving from the United States, and that in the first quarter alone, authorities have seized more than 1.5 tons of drugs.
Brazil's finance ministry said consolidating this data into a structured database has improved identification of patterns, links between senders and recipients, and recurring trafficking routes. This, in turn, has strengthened information-sharing with U.S. authorities to support enforcement action at the source and dismantle criminal networks.
The ministry added that the cooperation is part of ongoing dialogue between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Trump, and forms part of a broader bilateral agenda focused on combating transnational organized crime.
Venezuela enacts mining law, thanks Trump for openness
April 17 (UPI) -- Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, signed a new mining law and thanked President Donald Trump for his "willingness" to advance bilateral cooperation, signaling a potential thaw in relations between the two countries.
The Organic Mining Law aims to reorganize and modernize the sector to turn it into a sustainable economic driver by attracting private and foreign investment, the government said.
During a signing ceremony broadcast on state television Thursday, Rodríguez also thanked Secretary of State Marco Rubio for what she described as a "willingness in the direction of having diplomatic and economic cooperative relations with Venezuela."
She said the goal is to build cooperation "adapted to a reality" that supports mutual understanding between both nations.
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The measure targets increased investment in mining, which authorities consider key to the country's economic recovery. Official data cited by Rodríguez showed the sector grew 10.9% last year.
The initiative follows a visit to Caracas by U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who said American companies are interested in operating in Venezuela.
Under the new law, domestic and international companies or consortiums may exploit gold and other "strategic minerals" through concession agreements lasting up to 30 years.
The legislation also establishes categories for small, medium and large-scale mining, in an effort to modernize a sector that previously operated largely under state control.
The new framework replaces regulations in place since 1999 and introduces changes aimed at easing restrictions. It includes the creation of a National Superintendency of Mining Activity to oversee investment, production and commercialization processes.
After recent bilateral contacts, the U.S. Treasury Department issued a license allowing American companies to participate in activities related to the extraction and commercialization of these resources.
At the law's promulgation ceremony, Rodríguez also highlighted the announcement by the International Monetary Fund on resumption of Venezuela's representation after seven years of suspension since 2019. She thanked Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, as well as the governments of Brazil, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar for their diplomatic mediation.
The announcements by the IMF and the World Bank Group came during their Spring Meetings, which began April 13 and conclude Saturday in Washington.
Bolivia drafts hydrocarbons law to attract foreign capital
Hydrocarbons Minister Mauricio Medinaceli told local media the main goal of the legislation is to attract foreign investment. The proposal outlines five core pillars to reposition Bolivia as an energy-producing nation rather than a net importer.
The draft seeks to introduce more competitive conditions to draw capital, strengthen legal certainty and ease some contractual terms while maintaining state control over natural resources, according to the Bolivian newspaper El Deber.
"Bolivia is undergoing a structural shift because there will be a new hydrocarbons law, and we will present it as a national agreement among Bolivians," Paz said earlier this week during a visit to Brazil.
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"That law will not benefit the state alone. It will benefit the development capacity of Bolivians across all regions."
Authorities said the framework is designed around competitiveness and legal security, aiming to establish conditions that allow immediate foreign investment inflows, local broadcaster Red Uno reported.
To that end, the proposal includes fiscal and contractual incentives intended to make Bolivia more attractive to international operators. It prioritizes the reactivation of mature fields and traditional wells to maximize recovery of remaining reserves.
On the operational side, the law calls for a deep overhaul of contracting mechanisms to make them more agile and transparent, reducing bureaucratic bottlenecks.
At the same time, the government plans to strengthen the role of state-owned Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos as the central player in the production chain, with the aim of reducing costly fuel imports.
Officials said the reform also seeks to ensure stable domestic supply following a 2025 fuel shortage crisis marked by recurring diesel and gasoline scarcities, long lines at service stations and protests by transport workers.
Bolivia's hydrocarbons sector experienced a "golden era" between 2006 and 2014, driven by high global prices and peak production levels. That cycle later weakened due to natural depletion of reserves and limited exploration investment during years of rule by the Movement for Socialism.
Official data and industry sources show that investment in exploration and production, which exceeded $1 billion annually in the past decade, has steadily declined to below $500 million.
Natural gas output, the country's main export, has dropped from more than 60 million cubic meters per day at its peak to about 40 million cubic meters or less per day, affecting Bolivia's ability to meet export commitments with Brazil and Argentina.
Chilean government offers reforms package to revive economy
In a nationally televised address Wednesday night, Kast outlined reforms centered on five main goals: improving Chile's tax competitiveness, strengthening formal employment, simplifying regulations, increasing legal and regulatory certainty, and restraining public spending.
"We are going to break with a state that spends more than it has. We are going to break the bureaucracy that paralyzes and suffocates investment. We are going to break everything that is bad to rebuild everything that is good," Kast said.
He added Chile must return to robust growth and job creation, arguing that while the average corporate tax rate among countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development fell to 22% from 31% since 2000, Chile's rose to 27% from 15% during the same period, while national growth has remained below 2%.
By 2030, the government aims to reduce unemployment to 6.5%, lift annual economic growth to about 4% and restore structural fiscal balance, Kast said. The unemployment rate was 8.3% as of February, and the economy grow by 2.5% last year.
The centerpiece of the reform package is a proposed cut in the corporate tax rate to 23% from 27% --a measure that has drawn the strongest criticism.
"This bill is not an ideological agenda," Kast said. "It is a concrete response to real emergencies."
"I know there will be voices saying this project benefits those who have the most. That objection does not withstand the data," he added.
Economists have raised concerns about the fiscal impact of the proposal. Claudio Agostini, an academic at Adolfo Ibáñez University, told Radio Cooperativa that the package appears inconsistent with Chile's fiscal reality.
"Given the fiscal situation, where spending must converge with revenue, most of the measures significantly reduce tax collection," Agostini said. "At a first macroeconomic glance, it raises concern because this package tends to increase the fiscal deficit rather than reduce it."
Former Deputy Finance Minister Alejandro Micco, now a professor on the Faculty of Economics and Business at University of Chile, questioned the likely effect on investment.
"Global evidence shows the impact of these kinds of measures on activity and investment is limited. Therefore, we could face a future revenue problem," Micco said.
The government said it will submit the full bill to Congress on Monday for debate and approval. Analysts expect difficult negotiations because opposition lawmakers argue several measures disproportionately benefit large corporations.
Opposition lawmaker Francisca Bello said the administration is attempting to push through a disguised tax reform that benefits higher-income groups.
Sen. Daniela Cicardini, of the Socialist Party of Chile, told La Nación that the government is presenting the proposal as a growth plan when it is "a gift for Chile's richest 1%."
Political analyst Tomás Duval, an assistant professor at the Autonomous University of Chile, told Radio Bio Bio that reform would require extensive negotiation because the government lacks the congressional majorities needed to pass it in either chamber.
