Latin America Rising > Ecuador raises Colombia tariffs to 100%, ambassador recalled; Formosa nuclear plant to be revived with funding from American company; Mexico shifts policy on energy development

 

Ecuador hikes tariffs to 100% on Colombia; Petro recalls envoy

By Mar Puig

   

Colombian President Gustavo Petro ordered the immediate return of his ambassador from Quito after Ecuador decided to raise tariffs on Colombia to 100% on May 1. Photo by Mauricio Duenas Castaneda

April 10 (UPI) -- Ecuador raised tariffs to 100% on imports from Colombia, and Colombian President Gustavo Petro ordered the immediate return of his ambassador from Quito.

This represents a new escalation of the diplomatic and trade crisis between the two countries, according to an Ecuadorian statement and remarks from both leaders.

Ecuador said it will implement the tariff increase May 1, according to the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade and Investment. It argued that Colombia has not taken concrete steps to curb drug trafficking and organized crime along the shared border.

"It is not possible to reach agreements with someone who does not have the same commitment to fighting narco-terrorism," Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa said Thursday night.

Petro described the tariff increase as "a monstrosity" and announced immediate measures.

"Our ambassador to Ecuador must return immediately," he wrote on X, where he also called for a Cabinet meeting at the border between the two countries.

The Colombian president also defended his anti-drug policy.

"The president of Ecuador insults the Colombian government that has seized more cocaine than in the entire history of the world," he said.

Ecuador's decision marks a new critical point in a dispute that has intensified in recent months and is affecting bilateral trade, energy cooperation and diplomatic channels, according to local media reports.

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Negotiations between the two countries 

U.S. firm to invest $230 million-plus in Argentine nuclear fuel plant

By Banyeliz Muñoz

   

Nano Nuclear Energy corporate representatives pose in August with Dioxitek S.A. directors after the signing of a memorandum of understanding intended to lead to completion of the nuclear fuel plant in Argentina. Photo by NANO Nuclear Energy Inc.

BUENOS AIRES, April 10 (UPI) -- U.S.-based Nano Nuclear Energy announced a $230 million-plus plan to restart a nuclear fuel facility owned by Argentina's state-run Dioxitek, with a goal of boosting domestic capacity and opening export opportunities in a tight global market.

The initiative, unveiled this week, focuses on the so-called New Uranium Plant, or NPU, situated in Formosa province in northern Argentina. Construction of the facility has been stalled since 2014. The project dates to the final years of former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's administration.

Contacts between Dioxitek and Nano Nuclear Energy began in August with the signing of a memorandum of understanding. That agreement allowed both sides to assess Argentina's nuclear sector and the capabilities of the state-owned company.

Discussions gained momentum during Argentina Week, an investment forum held in March in New York, where Argentine officials promoted opportunities in strategic sectors. There, the company finalized a formal proposal that is being reviewed by the Economy Ministry.

The plan would allow the U.S. firm to participate as a production partner, while Argentina would retain ownership. The arrangement would mark a shift in Argentina's nuclear policy, which has historically been fully controlled by the public sector.

The investment is structured in two phases. The first aims to complete construction and bring the plant online to produce uranium dioxide, a key input for nuclear power generation. The second phase would add a facility to convert that material into uranium hexafluoride, which is required for further processing.

If approved, the project could become the first nuclear initiative under Argentina's Large Investment Incentive Regime, known as RIGI, a framework that offers tax and foreign exchange benefits to attract major investments.

Isidro Baschar, former director and training manager at Nucleoeléctrica Argentina, said the RIGI is a tool promoted by President Javier Milei's administration to draw investment into sectors where the country holds competitive advantages.

"So far, initiatives have focused mainly on oil, gas and mining, so its application to the nuclear sector is a new development," Baschar told UPI.

He said the Dioxitek effort is part of a broader strategy to bring private financing into unfinished projects, such as the Formosa plant. The investment aims to secure domestic uranium dioxide supply and, in a second stage, develop export capabilities linked to the nuclear fuel cycle.

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Beyond the domestic scope

Mexico's Sheinbaum defends energy shift to cut reliance on U.S. gas

By Macarena Hermosilla

   

“Mexico must guarantee its sovereignty. And a fundamental part of sovereignty is energy sovereignty,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has reiterated. Photo by Isaac Esquivel/EPA

April 9 (UPI) -- Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum signaled a major shift in the country's energy policy aimed at reducing its dependence on natural gas imports from the United States, including a possible reopening of hydraulic fracturing under stricter controls.

"Mexico must guarantee its sovereignty. And a fundamental part of sovereignty is energy sovereignty," Sheinbaum said Thursday during a press conference.

The president said her administration is exploring new domestic production pathways, including using fracking, a technique she previously opposed due to environmental concerns.

Sheinbaum described the move as a "responsible decision" to be carried out under "strict scientific oversight" with the support of a specialized committee.

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The proposal centers on creating a technical and scientific panel of experts from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the National Polytechnic Institute.

The group will have two months to develop a protocol for extracting unconventional reserves, while minimizing environmental impact and prioritizing using treated or non-potable water.

The initiative marks a departure from the policy of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who maintained a strict ban on fracking on environmental grounds.

Mexico currently imports about 75% of the natural gas it consumes, mostly from Texas, exposing the country to price volatility and geopolitical risks that could affect the National Electric System.

"We cannot achieve energy sovereignty if we depend on a valve that can be shut outside our borders," Sheinbaum said.

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Government projections estimate gas demand could rise by about 30% 

The Iran war reveals the insanity of the EU sanctions on Russian gas and oil

 

Putin warning fuels calls in EU to drop sanctions

Losing Russian gas supplies amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East has raised concerns over the bloc’s energy security

Russian President Vladimir Putin. © Sputnik / Mikhail Metzel

EU politicians are stepping up calls to roll back Russia sanctions after President Vladimir Putin warned that Moscow could halt gas supplies ahead of a planned 2027 ban. It has raised concerns over the bloc’s energy security amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, and Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini have repeatedly condemned the sanctions, saying they hurt the EU’s economy.

In Germany, Sahra Wagenknecht, leader of the BSW party, has called for resuming imports of Russian oil to ease prices, while Alice Weidel, co-chair of the AfD, has urged an end to a one-sided reliance on the US and the Middle East for LNG.

Florian Philippot, the leader of France’s Patriots party shared a video of Putin’s remarks on X on Thursday. The French politician blasted the bloc’s Russia sanctions as “idiotic” and “ruinous” for Europeans and insisted they amount to collective self-harm.

European gas prices hit a three-year high this week after the US-Israeli campaign against Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes across the Middle East disrupted crude and LNG shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime choke point. This caused Qatar, the world’s second-largest LNG exporter, to halt production.

The EU gets between 5% and 15% of its total gas supplies from Middle Eastern sources, primarily Qatar. The US is currently the bloc’s dominant LNG supplier with a 60% share.

Last month, the EU agreed to ban all gas imports from Russia, once the bloc’s largest supplier, by late 2027. The measure was designed to be approved by a “reinforced majority” of countries using trade and energy laws, rather than as a sanctions measure requiring unanimous approval. It came despite opposition from Hungary and Slovakia.

READ MORE: Russia could end gas supplies to EU immediately – Putin

Putin said this week that Moscow may pull out of the EU gas market and redirect supplies to “reliable” partners without waiting for Brussels’ planned phase out of Russian imports to take effect. The energy crisis in the bloc is the result of its “misguided policies” over many years, he stated.

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Military Madness > One Nord Stream suspect arrested, another set free; Ukraine Blowing up Oil Tankers in the Black Sea

 

German court arrests Nord Stream blast suspect

Investigators claim the Ukrainian national led a group of saboteurs that blew up the pipelines

Sergey K., suspected mastermind of the Nord Stream pipeline explosions, escorted by police, Karlsruhe, Baden‑Württemberg, November 27, 2025. ©  Global Look Press/Uli Deck

A German court has issued a formal arrest warrant for a Ukrainian national allegedly involved in blowing up the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September 2022.

The 49-year old, identified by media as former Ukrainian military officer Sergey Kuznetsov, supposedly led a small group of Ukrainian saboteurs. According to the German authorities, the group rented a yacht and planted explosives on the pipelines using commercial diving gear. The explosion severed three of the four pipelines that carried Russian natural gas to Germany.

Moscow has dismissed this version of events as “ridiculous,” suggesting involvement of NATO countries due to the complexity of the sabotage operation.

A statement published by the Office of the Federal Public Prosecutor General on Friday said that the “investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice executed the arrest warrant today [November 28] against Ukrainian national Serhii K.”

The man was apprehended in Italy in August and extradited to Germany on Thursday.

READ MORE: Poland could be threat to Germany – opposition leader

Another suspect in the case, identified as Vladimir Z., was detained in Poland in late September pursuant to a European Arrest Warrant.

However, in October, the Warsaw District Court struck down a German extradition request, ordering the suspect’s immediate release. The local media quoted Judge Dariusz Lubowski as arguing that Germany lacked jurisdiction, as the explosions occurred in international waters.

He went on to describe the blasts as “justified, rational and just.”

“Blowing up critical infrastructure during a war – during a just, defensive war – is not sabotage but denotes a military action,” the Polish judge concluded.

So the fact that it cost Germany billions of Euros and greatly affected their economy makes no difference to Poland.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also justified the sabotage, posting on X that “the problem with North Stream 2 is not that it was blown up. The problem is that it was built.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded that Tusk’s statement reveals Poland’s willingness to condone terrorism as long as it hurts Russia.

A lucrative deal like Nord Stream and Nord Stream II would have guaranteed that Russia would never invade Germany, or any other country served by their gas and oil. It's still the case, but peace is of no interest to NATO. Only the sale of American LNG and NATO weapons is of interest.

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Two sanctioned tankers hit by ‘explosions’ – Türkiye

Preliminary reports indicated the vessels caught fire due to “external impact,” officials have said

Oil tanker Kairos ablaze in the Black Sea on November 28, 2025. ©  X / denizcilikgm

Two tankers sanctioned by the West were damaged by explosions in the Black Sea on Friday, Turkish officials have said.

The Kairos, a Gambian-flagged vessel bound for the Russian port of Novorossiysk, caught fire 28 nautical miles (51 km) off Türkiye’s coast due to unspecified “external factors,” the Turkish Directorate General for Maritime Affairs said later Friday evening.

All 25 crew members, most of them Chinese nationals, have been rescued by the Turkish Coast Guard.

Footage published by officials shows the ship engulfed in flames.

Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said the information received from the ship “indicated a possible mine strike.” He confirmed that the initial assessment suggested “external impact.”

The second vessel, the Gambian-flagged tanker Virat, reported a “strike” 35 nautical miles (65 km) off the Turkish coast. The ship had communicated that it was attacked by drones, according to local media. Uraloglu said rescue vessels were deployed to evacuate the Virat’s crew of 20. 

Photos released by officials show a hole in the ship’s hull.

Both tankers had been sanctioned by Western states for transporting oil in violation of restrictions imposed on Russia over the Ukraine conflict. Moscow has denied operating a “shadow fleet.”

READ MORE: US ‘running out of things to sanction’ in Russia – Rubio

The Black Sea has remained the scene of tensions since February, as Russia and Ukraine have attacked each other’s naval assets. Floating mines have drifted far from the Ukrainian coast throughout the conflict, even reaching the Bosphorus.

USA cornering the energy market in the EU - An astonishing act of greed; UPDATE: America's bullying of Europe continues in the Balkans

  

This is not news; it's been obvious for several years now that America is pushing Russia out of the European gas and oil market so they can move in with more expensive LNG. That it is destroying economies in Europe has no sway on the American government. There is nothing godly in this astonishing greed. It may not be criminal, but it sure as hell is immoral!

US officials working to corner EU energy market – FT

Washington wants to substitute the oil and gas exports to the bloc with its own, the Financial Times has said

FILE PHOTO. ©  Global Look Press / Christian Charisius

The US is moving to push Russian energy out of the EU market and position itself to fill the gap, the Financial Times reported Friday.

Washington has also deliberately blocked a bid by Sweden-based Gunvor Group to acquire the foreign assets of Russian oil major Lukoil, according to the outlet.

Gunvor withdrew its $22 billion proposal after US officials accused the company of acting as “the Kremlin’s puppet.” Earlier in November, the US Treasury warned in a post on X that the company would “never get a license to operate and profit” if it pursued the deal.

The potential acquisition surfaced after US President Donald Trump imposed new sanctions on Lukoil and another Russian oil giant, Rosneft, prompting the former to seek buyers for its overseas holdings.

The bid was announced as “US officials toured Europe as part of efforts to sell American energy and eliminate ‘every last molecule’ of Russian gas from the continent,” the FT wrote. The decision to block the deal came from “high up in the Treasury,” the paper reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.

Read more

 US ‘ready to displace’ all Russian gas and oil in EU – energy secretary

Afterward, Washington issued a general license enabling other bidders to pursue Lukoil’s international assets, the FT said. Private US equity firm Carlyle expressed interest this week, according to the report.

Lukoil confirmed on Friday that it is in “ongoing negotiations on the sale of its international assets with several potential buyers,” without naming them.

US officials have openly stated their intention to replace Russia in the EU energy market. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in September that the US was prepared “to displace all of the Russian gas that goes into Europe and all of the Russian refined products from oil as well.”

The Kremlin has condemned the sanctions as an “unfriendly step” but maintained it is still seeking “good relations with all countries, including the US.”

The restrictions on Lukoil are already affecting Europe. Earlier in November, Bulgaria curbed fuel exports to its fellow EU states amid supply concerns. Lukoil owns the country’s largest refinery, more than 200 gas stations and a major fuel transport network.

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US pressuring Serbia to expel Russian companies from energy sector – minister

Washington imposed sanctions on the Balkan country’s oil refinery majority-owned by Gazprom

FILE PHOTO. ©  Maxim Konankov/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The US has refused to let Serbia’s only oil refinery resume operations unless the Russian co-owners give up their stakes, Serbian Energy Minister Dubravka Dedovic Handanovic said on Saturday.

The Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS), which runs the refinery, was hit with US sanctions last month. Banks have since stopped processing transactions, and Croatia’s JANAF pipeline, Serbia’s key crude oil supply route, has halted deliveries. Earlier, Reuters reported that the refinery can operate only until November 25 without new supplies.

Russian energy giants Gazprom and Gazprom Neft together own 56% of NIS, while the Serbian government owns around 30%.

NIS petitioned the US government for a temporary waiver that would allow the company to continue operating while it negotiates a change in ownership, Dedovic Handanovic said. The US granted only a three-month period to find new buyers, not permission for the refinery to keep running, she added.

READ MORE: Von der Leyen issues ultimatum to EU aspirant

Serbia was “not given even a single day for NIS to continue operating,” the minister said. “The American administration has, for the first time, stated clearly and unequivocally that it wants a complete change in the ownership held by Russian shareholders,” Dedovic Handanovic stated.

She said Belgrade would have to make “some of the most difficult decisions in history” at a government meeting Sunday that will include President Aleksandar Vucic and heads of major state companies. The options include nationalizing NIS and negotiating possible compensation for the Russian shareholders, she said.

The US and the EU have urged Serbia to cut its historically close ties with Russia, which Belgrade has so far resisted. The US also aims to push Russia from the European market, with Energy Secretary Chris Wright saying in September that Washington was prepared to “displace” the importation of Russian oil and gas.