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Undated: Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in the southeastern region of South America. It borders Argentina to its west and Brazil to its north and east, with the Río de la Plata (River of Silver) to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast. Uruguay is home to an estimated 3.44 million people,[3] of whom 1.8 million live in the metropolitan area of its capital and largest city, Montevideo. With an area of approximately 176,000 square kilometres (68,000 sq mi), Uruguay is geographically the second-smallest nation in South America,[9] after Suriname.
A series of economic crises put an end to a democratic period that had begun in the early 20th century, culminating in a 1973 coup, which established a civic-military dictatorship. The military government persecuted leftists, socialists, and political opponents, resulting in several deaths and numerous instances of torture by the military; the military relinquished power to a civilian government in 1985. Uruguay is today a democratic constitutional republic, with a president who serves as both head of state and head of government.
Uruguay is ranked first in Latin America in democracy, peace, low perception of corruption,[11] e-government,[12] and is first in South America when it comes to press freedom, size of the middle class and prosperity.[11] On a per-capita basis, Uruguay contributes more troops to United Nations peacekeeping missions than any other country.[11] It tops the rank of absence of terrorism, a unique position within South America. It ranks second in the region on economic freedom, income equality, per-capita income and inflows of FDI.[11] Uruguay is the third-best country on the continent in terms of HDI, GDP growth,[13] innovation and infrastructure.[11] It is regarded as a high-income country by the UN.[12] Uruguay was also ranked the third-best in the world in e-Participation in 2014.[12] Uruguay is an important global exporter of combed wool, rice, soybeans, frozen beef, malt and milk.[11] Nearly 95% of Uruguay's electricity comes from renewable energy, mostly hydroelectric facilities and wind parks.[14] Uruguay is a founding member of the United Nations, OAS, Mercosur, UNASUR and NAM.
Uruguay is regarded as one of the most socially advanced countries in Latin America.[15] It ranks high on global measures of personal rights, tolerance, and inclusion issues.[16] The Economist named Uruguay "country of the year" in 2013,[17] acknowledging the policy of legalizing the production, sale and consumption of cannabis.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uruguay
Undated: Trump’s Conflicts of Interest in Uruguay U.S. taxpayers are helping underwrite the Trump family business in Uruguay.
https://www.americanprogress.org/series/trumps-conflicts-of-interest/view/
-- 2016 --
March 10: Trump Tower Workers in Uruguay Went on Strike Over a Dozen Missing Sausages
Workers on a new Trump building in Uruguay are unfazed by the GOP frontrunner's inflammatory rhetoric, but mess with their lunch, and there's hell to pay.
https://www.thestreet.com/story/13489574/1/trump-tower-workers-in-uruguay-went-on-strike-over-a-dozen-missing-sausages.html
November 10:
-- 2017 --
February 4: Eric Trump's Secret Service Bill Raises Ethics Experts' Eyebrows
The cost to provide President Donald Trump's son, Eric, with a Secret Service contingent during his early January business trip to Uruguay is raising eyebrows among ethics experts, after the president's pledge to keep his business and government interests separate.
According to purchasing orders reviewed by The Washington Post, taxpayers footed a bill of $88,320 for the Secret Service's hotel room accommodations. In addition, the U.S. Embassy in Uruguay's capital, Montevideo, spent $9,510 to put staffers in hotel rooms supporting Eric Trump's Secret Service detail for what was billed as a "VIP visit."
https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/eric-trump-secret-service-uruguay-taxpayer/2017/02/04/id/771998/
February 5: Eric Trump's Uruguay trip cost taxpayers $141,000
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/eric-trumps-uruguay-trip-cost-taxpayers-141000
February 7: Why the Trumps' Travel Expenses Matter
Every previous first family took vacations. No previous first family profited off of them.
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/02/trump-family-travel/515874/
December 14: Uruguay summons Israeli envoy over tweet about Jerusalem status
Ambassador Nina Ben-Ami posted criticism of the country’s foreign minister for ‘declaring Tel Aviv is the capital of Israel’
https://www.timesofisrael.com/uruguay-summons-israeli-envoy-over-tweet-about-jerusalem-status/
-- 2018 --
January 5: Eric Trump in Uruguay: ‘My Father Loves Argentina’
https://www.thebubble.com/eric-trump-punta-del-este-argentina/
January 25: Trump tower goes up in Uruguay resort as property prices go down
The Punta del Este coastal resort feels the chill from Argentine withdrawal
It hasn’t been plain sailing for the Trump Organization’s 162-unit venture since it was announced in 2012. The project launched at a rather inauspicious time: “The cost of homes rose strongly in Punta from 2004 to 2011 on the back of speculation,” says Rodrigo Ferreiro of Zen Propiedades, a local estate agency. “Then prices started to fall.” According to Andrea Centenaro of Engel & Völkers, property prices in Punta del Este are still down between 15 and 25 per cent compared with their high point in 2011, despite a recovery of around 5 per cent in the past year.
https://www.ft.com/content/eac7a07a-fbb6-11e7-9bfc-052cbba03425
February 11: Uruguay's government asked Congress on Friday to allow US troops to stay in country during the upcoming G20 meeting in neighboring Argentina, due to be attended by the US and Russian leaders.
Washington wants to send 400 civilian and military personnel as well as eight aircraft for a week, from November 26 to December 3.
US President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin are scheduled to attend the event.
https://www.france24.com/en/20181102-uruguays-government-asks-congress-approve-us-troops-g20
March 23: Trump names Dallas Republican Kenn George as ambassador to Uruguay
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2018/03/23/trump-names-dallas-republican-kenn-george-ambassador-uruguay
May 29: Why have violent crime and murder spiked in Uruguay?
Homicides and crimes, such as armed robbery, began to spike in 2011-2012. Since then murders have increased by nearly 40 percent. However, it is the unprecedented upsurge of murders and violent crimes since November 2017 that has raised concerns among the general public and politicians. The first quarter of 2018 brought a record number of homicides—147 compared to 81 in the same period last year. Experts believe that if current trends continue, Uruguay may reach double digits this year in murders per 100,000 (epidemic levels according to the World Health Organization) for the first time in the country’s history.
https://theglobalamericans.org/2018/05/why-have-violent-crime-and-murder-spiked-in-uruguay/
June 25: Uruguay Trump Tower Has Issues, Least of Which Is Trump
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-25/uruguay-trump-tower-has-lots-of-issues-least-of-which-is-trump
July 5: Trump Takes Credit For Peace with Uruguay
Following his tweet taking credit for peace with North Korea, Trump Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders read a prepared statement that said Trump deserves credit for peace with most countries the US is not currently at war in. She singled out Uruguay as an outstanding example of Trump’s peacemaking talents.
The CNN reporter seemed on the edge of tears. “But we have been at peace with all these nations since World War II, if not forever. How can Trump take credit for it?”
http://www.richardcahill.net/home/trump-takes-credit-for-peace-with-uruguay
July 19: You Are Paying for the Trump Brothers to Travel the World on Trump Organization Business
Their secret service details are racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel costs.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/07/you-are-paying-for-the-trump-brothers-to-travel-the-world-on-trump-organization-business/
October 16: POT WARNINGS FROM URUGUAY — As Canada on Wednesday becomes the second country to legalize marijuana, it’s getting advice from the first. Uruguayan Ambassador to Canada Martin Vidal told POLITICO he spent months sharing lessons learned from his country’s legalization. The biggest challenge involved American banks, which threatened to cut off Uruguayan banks’ access to international transactions for fear of violating the anti-drug and money-laundering provisions of the post-9/11 PATRIOT Act. That caused Uruguayan banks to stop serving Uruguayan stores, which had to either stop selling pot or become cash-only businesses. Now there are 17 pharmacies across the country, serving almost 29,000 registered users. The Uruguayans have been talking to Canadian banks and discussing ideas for complying with the PATRIOT Act.
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/pro-canada-preview/2018/10/16/pot-warnings-from-uruguay-327069
October 19: Uruguay Passes Law Granting Rights to Trans People
Uruguay's Congress has approved a law that guarantees rights to the South American country's transgender community.
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2018-10-19/uruguay-passes-law-granting-rights-to-trans-people
October 22: Trans rights are under threat in the US, but Uruguay is massively expanding them
https://qz.com/1432396/us-threatens-trans-rights-while-uruguay-massively-expands-them/
October 22: Private equity strikes back against Uruguay
In December 2013, three private equity investors were jailed in Uruguay over a privatization gone bad. One of them remained there until May 2015, despite never being charged with a crime.
https://www.axios.com/private-equity-strikes-back-uruguay-pluna-8918e1ef-f0e2-47e9-af5e-f4d478f6da8f.html
November 15: Uruguay lawmakers OK entry of US planes, soldiers for summit
Uruguayan lawmakers have voted to allow eight U.S. aircraft and up to 400 American military personnel and civilians into the country to provide security for a G20 summit of world leaders in neighboring Argentina
https://www.foxnews.com/us/correction-uruguay-g20-summit-us-story
November 17: Unions, activists oppose entry of US troops into Uruguay for G20 summit
The bill permitting the entry of troops to ‘protect’ US president Donal Trump was passed in the Uruguayan Senate on November 13. Unions and civil society groups said that the move would compromise national sovereignty
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2018/11/17/unions-activists-oppose-entry-of-us-troops-into-uruguay-for-g20-summit/
November 30: Hundreds of US troops on alert in Uruguay to protect Trump at G20
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/thousands-of-american-troops-on-alert-to-protect-trump-at-g20
-- 2019 --
February 13: CREW Requests Documents on Eric Trump’s Uruguay Trip
Eric Trump recently tweeted about a business trip he took to Uruguay in January 2019 to visit the construction site of Trump Tower Punta del Este. A previous trip to Uruguay cost the U.S. taxpayers “nearly $100,000 in hotel rooms for Secret Service and embassy staff.” Under the Freedom of Information Act, CREW requested Secret Service records that would show the costs of Eric Trump’s most recent trip to Uruguay.
Eric Trump, as a son of the president, is entitled to Secret Service protection. However this protection comes at a significant cost when the Trump children travel abroad to advance their private business interests. Ultimately, promotion of these international holdings also promotes the business interests of the President because he has refused to divest. The American people deserve to know how much of their tax dollars are spent towards increasing the president’s personal bottom line.
https://www.citizensforethics.org/foia/foia-eric-trumps-uruguay-trip/
-- 2020 --
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