Yamandú Orsi
Uruguayan politician of the Broad Front; won the 2024 presidential run-off
| Yamandú Orsi
| |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Uruguayan |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Known for | Broad Front candidate who won Uruguay's 2024 presidential run-off; reported target of Black Cube work for the Huts family of Katoen Natie |
Yamandú Orsi is a Uruguayan politician of the left-leaning Broad Front who won the second round of the 2024 presidential election. In July 2026 Intelligence Online reported, citing a single source, that before that election the Israeli private intelligence firm Black Cube had sought compromising information on his inner circle and evidence of illegal Broad Front financing for the Huts family of Katoen Natie. Black Cube denied conducting political investigations in Uruguay.
2024 election
Uruguay's constitution bars consecutive presidential terms, so Luis Lacalle Pou could not stand again in 2024. The governing coalition nominated his former chief of staff Álvaro Delgado, of the centre-right National Party, against Orsi, the Broad Front candidate. Orsi won the run-off with 49.8 per cent of the vote.[1]
The Broad Front had opposed the Lacalle Pou government's February 2021 agreement extending Katoen Natie's Montevideo container-terminal concession to 2081, and challenged its legality.[1] In March 2022 two of its senators, Mario Bergara and Charles Carrera, ratified a criminal complaint over the agreement.[2]
Reported Black Cube operation
According to Intelligence Online, Karl Huts, son and business partner of the Katoen Natie owner Ferdinand Huts, feared that Uruguay's business-friendly policies might change after the election. The family "enlisted" Black Cube "to gain information that could be leveraged about Orsi's inner circle and his political associates". A single "source familiar with the operation" said the firm "sought to obtain evidence of illegal financing by Broad Front, including by recording conversations with party members". The article does not say that any recording was made. It reported that "false claims spread widely during the campaign" but that "no scandals emerged to suggest Black Cube's probing had paid off".[1]
Black Cube replied to Intelligence Online through an English law firm. It cited client confidentiality and denied conducting political investigations in Uruguay. No response from Orsi, the Broad Front or the Huts family is reported.[1] The wider account, including the firm's earlier reported work against the rival port operator Montecon, is on Black Cube in Uruguay.
Port dispute in government
In September 2026 the Uruguayan presidency announced an agreement under which Neltume Ports, majority shareholder in Montecon, withdrew its US$600 million claim against Uruguay at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. The state paid no compensation and accepted no liability. A separate claim by another Montecon shareholder, ATCO, remained outstanding.[3]
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Matt Bernardini and Michael Sweeney, Black Cube, business and politics in Latin America, Intelligence Online, 15 July 2026.
- ↑ Lucas Silva, Empresa de "seguridad e investigación" con sede en Miami le encomendó a Astesiano la elaboración de "fichas" con "información personal" sobre Mario Bergara y Charles Carrera (Miami-based "security and investigation" firm asked Astesiano to compile "files" of "personal information" on Mario Bergara and Charles Carrera), la diaria, 28 November 2022.
- ↑ Uruguay ends $600 million Montecon-linked arbitration, Container News, 8 September 2026.