Christopher Landau met with Paraguayan President Peña to discuss regional security and investment opportunities.

On Monday, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau began a three-day visit to Paraguay, where he announced that U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are interested “on refocusing attention on the Western Hemisphere.”

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Landau specified that their attention is focused specifically on “the Great America,” a territory that Washington considers extending from Canada to Tierra del Fuego, at the southern tip of South America.

During the day, the senior U.S. official met with President Santiago Peña and Vice President Pedro Alliana as part of a visit he described as “very important” for U.S. diplomacy, which seeks to explore investment opportunities and regional security.

“We talked about security issues. Paraguay is located in the heart of South America, and I think there are many opportunities to strengthen those ties,” he said after meeting with Peña and Alliana.

🇵🇾🇺🇸 El presidente Santiago Peña recibió al subsecretario de Estado adjunto de Estados Unidos, Christopher Landau, quien inició una visita oficial de tres días a Paraguay.

🔗🗞 https://t.co/bVQpC0lwLs pic.twitter.com/EaZXZZ4wB6

— IP Paraguay (@IPParaguay) October 19, 2026

The text reads, “President Santiago Peña received the U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of State, Christopher Landau, who began a three-day official visit to Paraguay.”

He also indicated that his visit recognizes “the great importance” of the relationship between the two nations and that there are “many win-win situations given Paraguay’s great potential” for investors.

On Monday, Landau arrived accompanied by a delegation of U.S. business executives and Juan Pablo Segura, deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs.

On social media, President Peña posted a welcome message in Guarani and Spanish in response to a post by Landau, who lived in Paraguay from 1972 to 1977, when his father, George Landau, served as ambassador to the South American country during the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner (1954-1989).

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

The delegation finished the competition with 75 medals, including 24 gold.

On Saturday, Italy achieved its second consecutive title at the World Skate Games in Paraguay, beating Colombia in a close race for first place in the overall medal count.

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The Italian delegation finished the competition with 75 medals, including 24 gold, while Colombia finished second with 49 medals and 23 gold. Spain took third place with 47 medals, 17 of which were gold.

The Italian wins were based primarily in the artistic and technical disciplines, where they achieved a significant advantage over their rivals. In artistic skating, Italy won twelve medals compared to Colombia’s three.

Meanwhile, Colombia showed its dominance in speed skating, amassing 35 medals in this discipline, including 17 gold. Therefore, they solidified a hegemony that has allowed them to win 23 world titles.

🌎 World Skate Games ASU🇵🇾2026 🛼

🛹 ¡A puro #Skateboarding en el Parque Olímpico Paraguayo! ✨

🚨EN VIVO – COPTV: https://t.co/vLo2focNRu #ParaguayPuede pic.twitter.com/vij7N1zgCp

— Comité Olímpico Pyo (@coparaguay) October 15, 2026

The text reads, “World Skate Games Asuncion 2026. Pure Skateboarding in the Paraguayan Olympic Park!”

Among the tournament’s outstanding performances was that of 15-year-old Spaniard Egoitz Bijueska, who was crowned champion in the park skateboarding event, ahead of renowned international figures.

Sebastian “Chevi” Guzman, a Venezuelan-born, naturalized Spanish sprinter, won five medals and broke his own world record in the 100-meter sprint with a time of 9.467 seconds.

According to the organizers, the Games brought together 5,600 competitors from 91 countries between October 2nd and 18th. The participants competed in 11 sports and 40 disciplines, making the event one of the biggest international skating events.

#FromTheSouth News Bits | The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's World Food Forum is being held in Rome, Italy, offering nations an opportunity to showcase their capabilities and limitations in ensuring food security. pic.twitter.com/APin31lft6

— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) October 14, 2026

teleSUR: JP

Source: EFE

This is the driest year on record in Tegucigalpa. Eighty percent of Honduran territory is on red alert, and the capital has had a potable water rationing system every 12 days for a month. The lack of rain is making maize and bean crops in Guatemala — the main food source in a country with the region’s highest rate of chronic child malnutrition — even more vulnerable. The Panama Canal has begun restricting vessel traffic because of water stress in the basin, and the parched Amazon rivers are isolating dozens of riverside communities in Brazil and hampering fishermen’s work.

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© Ivan Valencia (AP)

The EU welcomes Cambodia’s decision to join the Multi-party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA) for WTO members, contributing to efforts to uphold a rules-based multilateral trading system. 

With Cambodia’s participation, the MPIA now covers 62 World Trade Organization (WTO) members and 60.4% of world trade.  

The MPIA brings together participants from all continents and at different levels of development, united by a shared commitment to upholding the rules-based trading system. 

The MPIA preserves the right to appeal in trade disputes among participating WTO members, at a time when the WTO’s Appellate Body remains non-functioning. It helps ensure that disputes can continue to be resolved in an orderly and binding manner, avoiding appeals 'into the void'. 

“I welcome Cambodia to the MPIA. The arrangement plays an important role in upholding the rules-based trading system. Each new participant helps reinforce the predictability, stability and credibility of global trade rules. I encourage other WTO members to join the MPIA,” said EU Trade and Economic Security Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič. 

Background 

The MPIA was established in 2020 and has proven its effectiveness in many WTO disputes.  

Under the MPIA, appeals are heard by arbitrators randomly selected from a pool of 10 standing appeal arbitrators set up by the participating WTO members. These arbitrators are persons of recognised authority, with demonstrated expertise in law, international trade and WTO agreements.  

The MPIA is open to all WTO members as a practical tool for appeal arbitration, pending the restoration of a reformed and fully functioning WTO dispute settlement system. 

As of 1 June 2025, the MPIA has an updated pool of appeal arbitrators to ensure that appeals continue to be heard by independent arbitrators of the highest calibre. 

At the WTO Ministerial Conference that took place earlier this year, MPIA ministers stressed the importance of the MPIA for the security and predictability of the multilateral trading system.  

The current MPIA participants are Australia, Barbados, Benin, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, China, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, the European Union (and its Member States), Guatemala, Hong Kong (China), Iceland, Japan, Liechtenstein, Macao (China), Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Uruguay and Vietnam.

More information

MC14: Supporting the rules-based multilateral trading system: the role of the MPIA