Colombia and Venezuela agree a new Bilateral Investment Treaty, Venezuela’s first since withdrawing from the ICSID Convention

On February 23, 2019, Venezuela broke diplomatic relations with Colombia and gave Colombian diplomats twenty-four hours to leave the country. Four years later, on February 3, 2023, Colombia and Venezuela signed an unprecedented bilateral investment treaty (BIT) that evidences the marked improvement in their relations since the election of President Gustavo Petro in June 2022. … Read more

Third Inauguration of Lula as Brazil’s President

On January 1, 2023, following an extremely disputed presidential election, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office as the President of the Federative Republic of Brazil. Although a popular Brazilian politician and former President for two consecutive terms (2003 until 2010), Lula’s third presidential term begins in a polarized political scenario. On January 8, 2023, … Read more

OFAC Issues License to Trinidad and Tobago Related to Venezuelan Gas

On January 24, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (“OFAC”) reportedly issued a specific license to Trinidad and Tobago to develop a major gas field located in Venezuelan territorial waters (the “Trinidad and Tobago License”). According to recent media reports, the Trinidad and Tobago License is “intended to enhance … Read more

Inter-American Court of Human Rights Asked to Issue Advisory Opinion on States’ Obligation to Respond to the Climate Emergency

On January 9, 2023, Chile and Colombia co-signed a request to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (“Inter-American Court”) for an advisory opinion with the purpose of “clarify[ing] the scope of the States’ obligations … to respond to the climate emergency within the framework of international human rights law” (the “Request”). According to the Request, … Read more

The FNE’s gun-jumping investigation into GSK’s acquisition of Pfizer’s consumer healthcare business in Chile: when a joint venture is not a joint venture and why it matters

Earlier this year, the Fiscalía Nacional Económica (FNE), Chile’s competition authority, closed a gun-jumping investigation into GSK’s acquisition of Pfizer’s consumer healthcare business in Chile. The FNE reached this conclusion after a 2-year ex-officio investigation which was based on the erroneous assumption that the deal constituted an acquisition of joint control by GSK and Pfizer … Read more

GUSTAVO PETRO: COLOMBIA’S NEW PRESIDENT TAKES OFFICE

On August 7, 2022, Gustavo Petro took office as President of the Republic of Colombia.  This election is historic for multiple reasons: Petro won with the highest number of votes in Colombian electoral history (over eleven million votes); and this is the first time a left-wing candidate has been elected as President in the country. … Read more

Chile’s new Constitution: where is Chile now, and where is it heading?

As discussed in our last Latin America Note on Chile, for many, the constitutional re-write process and the election of Gabriel Boric as President represent an opportunity to reshape Chile’s political, economic, and social structures by increasing social investment and environmental protection. However, for others (including foreign investors), this period of uncertainty has triggered significant … Read more

ICJ orders Colombia immediately to cease activities in Nicaraguan EEZ waters

On April 21, 2022, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered judgment in Nicaragua v. Colombia concerning alleged violations of sovereign rights and maritime spaces in the Caribbean Sea. Following a ruling rendered in 2012 in a territorial and maritime dispute between the two countries, the ICJ determined that Colombia breached its international obligation to respect Nicaragua’s sovereign rights … Read more