Rio de Janeiro prosecutors ended 2025 with impressive figures in its financial fight against criminal organizations in the state. As a result of the work of their Special Action Group to Combat Organized Crime (GAECO) throughout the year, the judiciary was asked to freeze over BRL 906 million in assets linked to criminal individuals and organizations.

To this end, the group refined its investigation methods, expanded the exchange of information on national and transnational financial crimes, and forged partnerships to broaden the scope of its efforts.

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• Lula calls for South American cooperation against organized crime.
• Brazil sets up police unit to tackle organized crime.

A case in point is the Technical Cooperation Agreement, signed by Rio’s prosecution service with the Civil Police in March last year, with the aim of expanding the application of asset forfeiture in cases involving illicit wealth – a vital tool for tracking, freezing, and recovering illicit assets.

According to GAECO’s coordinator, prosecutor Letícia Petriz, the impact of these initiatives goes beyond numbers.

“The financial suffocation of criminal organizations strikes at their core, weakening their ability to operate and expand. GAECO’s actions are strategically geared toward undermining the economic power of these groups, especially through asset investigations and the application of extended confiscation, which makes it possible to remove illicitly obtained funds from criminal activity and prevent their reintroduction into the economic circuit,” she declared.

Complaints

In 2025, the special group filed 70 complaints against 767 individuals – including 120 public officials – and obtained court orders that supported 39 operations aimed at enforcing arrest orders and search-and-seizure warrants.

Among the main actions carried out throughout the year, the prosecutors acted to exercise arrest orders and search-and-seizure warrants against members of a criminal organization operating in the states of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais that stole crude oil from Transpetro (a subsidiary of Petrobras) and participated in joint actions with prosecutors from other states – such as Operation Carbono Oculto (“Hidden Carbon”), launched by São Paulo prosecutors against a billion-dollar scheme involving fuel adulteration and illegal distribution.

Digital environment

“The creation of CyberGAECO represents a strategic step towards modernizing investigations, given the growing activity of criminal organizations in the digital environment. The experience of other prosecution offices with similar structures shows that specialization is essential to increase the effectiveness of investigations, especially in crimes involving technology, cryptocurrencies, and money laundering,” Letícia Petriz said.

In 2025, Brazil registered its best year for international tourism, with 9,287,196 foreign tourist arrivals. This represents a 37.1 percent increase compared to 2024, which had previously held the historical record with approximately 6.7 million international visitors.

In addition to surpassing the previous year’s performance, the country also exceeded the target set in the National Tourism Plan (PNT) 2024–2027. The projection for 2025 was 6.9 million international arrivals, a figure that was exceeded by 34.6 percent.

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• Brazil unveils Mercosur Football Tourist Route.

In December 2025, Brazil registered an 11 percent increase in international tourist arrivals compared to the same period in 2024. In total, 896,488 foreign visitors arrived at destinations across the country, approximately 90,000 more than in the same month of the previous year.

This result consolidated December as the fourth-best month of the year in terms of international arrivals, behind January, February, and March.

Destination

According to the Ministry of Tourism, São Paulo was the largest gateway for foreigners to Brazil, with 2,753,869 international visitors, followed by Rio de Janeiro, with 2,196,443, and Rio Grande do Sul, which received 1,535,806 tourists over the year.

Origin

Among the source markets, Argentina maintained its absolute leadership, with 3,386,823 tourists, reaffirming the strength of regional tourism and South American integration. Chile ranked second, with 801,921 visitors, followed by the United States, which accounted for 759,637 arrivals in Brazil in 2025. Travelers from European countries such as France, Portugal, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Spain together totaled 1,274,567 visitors to Brazil.

Petrobras confirmed that there has been a leak during drilling 175 kilometers from Amapá state, on the Brazilian Equatorial Margin. The leak was identified last Sunday (Jan. 4). Since then, activities have been halted at the site. The company has not yet announced when activities will resume.

In a statement, the state-run company says it “has taken all necessary control measures and notified the relevant authorities. The fluid used complies with permitted toxicity limits and is biodegradable, so there is no harm to the environment or people.”

Notícias relacionadas:

• Petrobras granted environmental license to explore Equatorial Margin.
• Brazil’s Science Academy urges further research into Equatorial Margin.

According to the oil giant, what happened was a loss of drilling fluid in two auxiliary lines connecting the drilling rig to the Morpho well.

Drilling fluid is used to clean and lubricate the drill bit during the drilling of oil and gas wells. The substance mixes water, clay, and chemicals. The compound helps control well pressure and prevent wall collapse.

The company states that “there are no problems with the rig or the well, which remain in a completely safe condition. The incident also poses no risk to the safety of the drilling operation.”

The Morpho well is located in an exploratory block (FZA-M-059) about 175 kilometers off the coast of Amapá state and 500 kilometers from the mouth of the Amazon river.

Oil and natural gas production in Brazil reached 4.921 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) in November 2025. A total of 3.773 million barrels per day (bbl/d) of oil were extracted, representing a 6.4 percent decrease compared to the previous month and a 13.9 percent increase compared to the same month in 2024.

Natural gas production stood at 182.57 million cubic meters per day (m³/d), representing a 6.3 percent shrinkage compared to October and a 15.7 percent surge compared to November 2024.

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The data can be found in the monthly bulletin on oil and natural gas production, released Monday (Jan. 5) by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Biofuels (ANP).

Pre-salt

As for pre-salt numbers, oil and natural gas production in the same month stood at 3.913 million boe/d – representing 79.6 percent of the amount produced in Brazil.

“Production fell by 8.5 percent compared to the previous month and grew by 15.6 percent compared to the same month in 2024,” the report reads.

Of the total, 3.024 million bbl/d is oil and 141.27 million m³/d is natural gas from 178 wells.

Utilization

According to the ANP, also in November, natural gas utilization reached 96.9 percent. A total of 61.87 million m³/d was made available to the market, and 5.71 million m³/d was flared.

“There was a five percent increase in flaring compared to the previous month and an 8.1 percent reduction compared to November 2024,” the agency added.

Offshore fields

Most of the oil (97.7%) and natural gas (85.7%) production is said to have stemmed from offshore fields.

“The fields operated by Petrobras – either alone or in consortium with other companies – accounted for 89.35 percent of total production,” said the ANP, adding that production came from 6,082 wells – of which 539 offshore and 5,543 onshore.

Highest production

The field that produced the most oil in November 2025 was Búzios, in the pre-salt layer of the Santos Basin, which recorded 744,300 bbl/d. In natural gas, the Mero field ranked first, also in the Santos Basin, with 40.80 million m³/d.

The facilities with the highest oil production were the FPSO (floating production, storage, and offloading) unit Almirante Tamandaré, in the Búzios Field, with 239,453 bbl/d); and for gas, the Marechal Duque de Caxias FPSO, in the Mero field, with 12.83 million m³/d.

On Sunday evening (Jan. 4), Brazil’s The Secret Agent won the award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2026 Critics’ Choice Awards. The flick was up against Left-Handed Girl, It Was Just an Accident, Belén, Sirāt, and No Other Choice.

Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho and starring Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent has been highly praised by Brazilian and international critics and was extremely well received at festivals over the last few months.

Notícias relacionadas:

• “The Secret Agent” and Wagner Moura nominated for Golden Globes.

The production also competed in the Best Actor category with Wagner Moura, but actor Timothée Chalamet won with Marty Supreme. Competing with Moura in this category were actors Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), and Michael B. Jordan (Sinners).

Golden Globes and Oscars

The Critics Choice Awards are considered a bellwether for the Oscars, to take place on March 15. In addition to the award for Best Foreign Language Film, The Secret Agent may compete for Best Casting.

In December, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the preliminary list of nominees in 12 categories for the 98th Oscars. The final list of Oscar nominees will be revealed on January 22.

The next challenge for Kleber Mendonça Filho’s feature is the 2026 Golden Globes, next Sunday (11). The movie is nominated in the categories of Best Foreign Language Film and Best Drama Film. Wagner Moura is nominated for Best Actor.

Last year, actress Fernanda Torres won the Golden Globe for Best Actress for her performance in I’m Still Here.

*Paula Laboissière contributed to this article.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spoke out this Saturday morning (Jan. 3) about the United States’ attacks on Venezuela and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Lula condemned the military action and demanded a vigorous response from the United Nations (UN).

Through social media, Lula stated that such actions “cross an unacceptable line.”

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“These acts represent a very serious affront to the sovereignty of Venezuela and set yet another extremely dangerous precedent for the entire international community. Attacking countries, in flagrant violation of international law, is the first step toward a world of violence, chaos, and instability, where the law of the strongest prevails over multilateralism,” said Lula.

The Brazilian president recalled that Brazil has always opposed the use of force in other countries and regions, and noted the action is reminiscent of “the worst moments of interference in the politics of Latin America and the Caribbean.”

“Brazil condemns these actions and remains available to promote dialogue and cooperation,” he added.

An emergency meeting at the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs took place on Saturday morning to discuss the crisis in the neighboring country. President Lula participated via videoconference, as he is in Rio de Janeiro. His staff informed that the president will return to Brasília later today. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, was on vacation and will also return to Brasília today.

Attacks on Venezuela

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced this Saturday a large-scale attack on Venezuela. The capital, Caracas, and other cities were hit by air and ground forces. According to Trump, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured and removed from the country.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez demanded proof of life from President Nicolás Maduro and the first lady, whose whereabouts remain unknown after the US attacks.

The unemployment rate in the quarter ending in November stood at 5.2 percent, according to data released by the Brazilian government’s statistics agency IBGE.

This is the lowest rate since 2012, as measured by the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (Continuous Pnad).

Notícias relacionadas:

• Unemployment for third quarter of 2025 lowest since 2012: 5.6%.
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According to IBGE, from September to November, 5.6 million people were unemployed - the lowest number ever recorded by the survey.

Throughout the historical series, the largest contingent of unemployed occurred in the quarter ending in March 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when this indicator registered 14.9 million people without formal employment.

Employment

The lowest unemployment rate in the historical series was also accompanied by a new record in employment in the country, at 103.2 million, IBGE data show.

The employment level - that is, the proportion of people aged 14 or older who were working - reached the highest percentage in the historical series of the Continuous Pnad: 59.0 percent.

The South Korean HANBIT-Nano rocket – the first commercial flight launched from a Brazilian base – exploded minutes after takeoff from Alcântara Base, in Maranhão state, on Monday (Dec. 22). The vehicle was unmanned.

The Innospace rocket took off at 10:13 pm and, the Brazilian Air Force reported, suffered an “anomaly that caused it to crash into the ground.”

Notícias relacionadas:

• Rocket launch from Alcântara Base postponed to Friday.

According to the statement, a team from the Air Force and the Fire Department was sent to the crash site to examine the wreckage. Innospace is also working to determine the cause of the failure.

The launch of HANBIT-Nano had been postponed several times. Initially, the flight was scheduled to take place in November. The date was changed to December 17, but an anomaly was identified, leading to another change, this time to December 19. Another problem caused the launch to be moved to Monday (22).

The spacecraft was 21.8 meters long and weighed 20 tons. It was to carry satellites into space to be placed in Earth orbit. It also carried eight payloads – five small satellites and three experimental devices developed by Brazil and India.

Korea’s Innospace announced it has postponed the launch of the Hanbit-Nano rocket, originally scheduled for Wednesday (Dec. 17), to Friday at 3:45 pm. It would have been the first time a commercial flight departed from a Brazilian base. 

According to a statement, the company changed the launch date to allow sufficient time to “replace components after detecting an anomaly in the cooling device of the first stage oxidizer supply system during the final inspection.”

The Brazilian Air Force, which operates the Alcântara Launch Center in Maranhão state, confirmed the postponement.

The space vehicle – which is 21.8 m long, 1.4 m in diameter, and weighs 20 tons – was scheduled to go into space on Wednesday, carrying satellites into low Earth orbit at an altitude of some 300 km and an inclination of 40 degrees.