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       T R O U B L E D   C O M P A N Y   R E P O R T E R

                 L A T I N   A M E R I C A

          Tuesday, July 30, 2024, Vol. 25, No. 152

                           Headlines



A R G E N T I N A

ARGENTINA: Exclusion and Poverty Increasingly Common in Country


B A H A M A S

FTX GROUP: Bankruptcy v. Class Action Lawyers Feud Escalates


B A R B A D O S

BARBADOS: Gets USD300M IDB Guarantee to Support Climate Resilience


B E R M U D A

NABORS INDUSTRIES: Nets $540.7 Million From Senior Note Offering


B R A Z I L

BRAZIL: Central Bank Delays New Feature in Payment System
BRAZIL: June Fiscal Deficit Hits BRL38.8B, Exceeds Market Forecasts
[*] BRAZIL: Embarks on a $100M Mission to Revitalize Forests


C O L O M B I A

GEOPARK LIMITED: Fitch Alters Outlook on B+ LongTerm IDR to Stable


J A M A I C A

JAMAICA: Trade Deficit Remained Steady for First Quarter of 2024


M E X I C O

GRUPO GICSA: S&P Withdraws 'CCC+' Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating
GRUPO IDESA: S&P Lowers LT ICR to 'CC', On CreditWatch Negative


P E R U

VOLCAN COMPANIA: Moody's Ups CFR to Caa1, Under Review for Upgrade


P U E R T O   R I C O

LIBERTY COMMUNICATIONS: S&P Affirms 'B+' ICR, Alters Outlook to Neg
PUERTO RICO: Reaches $188.4M Settlement With Cobra Acquisition

                           - - - - -


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A R G E N T I N A
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ARGENTINA: Exclusion and Poverty Increasingly Common in Country
---------------------------------------------------------------
AFP News reports that after the first three months of President
Javier Milei's government, the Buenos Aires City government's
statistics bureau reported that the destitution rate hit ceilings
since it began being measured in 2015. The rate doubled to 16
percent from the first quarter of 2023.

Four homeless people have died of hypothermia over the last few
weeks in Buenos Aires amid a cold snap, according to AFP News.

Many refuse to sleep in state shelters for fear of assault, the
report notes.

Nationwide, poverty was 41.7 percent at the end of the second half
of 2023, according to the INDEC national statistics bureau which
will publish its updated calculations this coming September, the
report discloses.

Yet the projections from the Universidad Catolica Argentina (UCA)
place it at 55 percent, a record hit by Argentina in 2002 during
its worst recent economic crisis, the report relays.

The current crisis pushed the poorest into destitution and vast
sectors of the middle class became newly poor, stated UCA, the
report notes.

The income gap between households and the price of the food basket
which define the poverty and destitution line has widened
enormously in a recession economy with over 270-percent
year-to-year inflation as of June and seven-percent unemployment,
the report relays.

"There is a loss at homes, not only of purchasing power for
salaries, but unemployment among heads of the family," explained
Eduardo Donza, researcher at UCA's Social Debt Observatory, the
report discloses.

AFP News says that poverty has stayed above 20 percent for over two
decades.  "We have structural poverty, with a third generation of
children and teenagers born into exclusion," defined Donza.

While the government is fighting a court order to distribute tonnes
of food to hundreds of soup kitchens currently being audited,
university students are relaunching a response to hunger, the
report says.

At a warehouse at the Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, outside
Buenos Aires, a queue of people await a plate of "super soup"
during an outdoor soup kitchen, a solidarity mechanism to
distribute food, the report notes.

It is the relaunch of this food high in protein developed by the
UNQ during the 2002 crisis to offer low-cost proteins to vulnerable
sectors, in a cattle-raising country that is eating an increasingly
lower amount of meat due to rising prices, the report relays.

After years of being closed down, the plant became reactivated a
month ago, and has already received orders, even from Chile and
Brazil, the report discloses.  A sponsorship system finances it
together with the university.

Today "we once again have an economic crisis, we're at a food
emergency with nearly six out of ten Argentines under the poverty
line, which translates into 27 million people going to bed hungry,"
Anahi Cuellas, director of the plant, told AFP News.

During a first stage they are to produce 75,000 portions at a cost
of 680 pesos a plate (some US$0.60), but they are getting ready for
much more, the report relays.  "Need will unfortunately grow,"
forecast Cuellas.

                      About Argentina

Argentina is a country located mostly in the southern half of South
America. Its capital is Buenos Aires. Javier Milei is the current
president of Argentina after winning the November 19, 2023 general
election. He succeeded Alberto Angel Fernandez in the position.

Argentina has the third largest economy in Latin America.  The
country's economy is an upper middle-income economy for fiscal year
2019, according to the World Bank. Historically, however, its
economic performance has been very uneven, with high economic
growth alternating with severe recessions, income maldistribution
and in the recent decades, increasing poverty.

The IMF's executive board completed on August 23, 2023, the fifth
and six reviews of Argentina's 30-month Extended Fund Facility
(EFF), and approved a US$7.5-billion disbursement to Argentina as
part of the larger program, which refinances payments Argentina
owes the institution from a previous bailout that failed to
stabilize the economy in 2018. Argentina would receive another IMF
disbursement in November of about US$2.75 billion pending another
staff-level agreement and board approval.

S&P Global Ratings, on March 15, 2024, raised its local currency
sovereign credit ratings on Argentina to 'CCC/C' from 'SD/SD' and
its national scale rating to 'raB+' from 'SD'. S&P also raised its
long-term foreign currency sovereign credit rating to 'CCC' from
'CCC-' and affirmed its 'C' short-term foreign currency rating. The
outlook on the long-term ratings is stable. In addition, S&P
revised its transfer and convertibility assessment to 'CCC' from
'CCC-'.

S&P said the stable outlook on the long-term ratings balances the
risks posed by pronounced economic imbalances and policy
uncertainties with the favorable change in near-term debt service
obligations. S&P also expect no further debt exchanges that it
would likely consider to be distressed.

Fitch Ratings upgraded on June 13, 2023, Argentina's Long-Term
Foreign Currency (FC) Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'CC' from
'C'and affirmed the Long-Term Local Currency (LC) IDR at 'CCC-'.
Fitch typically does not assign Outlooks to sovereigns with a
rating of 'CCC+' or below.

The upgrade of the FC IDR reflects that Fitch no longer deems a
default-like process to have begun, as the authorities have not
signaled a clear intention to follow through with an intra-public
debt swap announced in March. The new 'CC' rating signals a default
event of some sort appears probable in the coming years, regardless
of the outcome of upcoming elections. The affirmation of the LC IDR
at 'CCC-' follows the peso debt swap in June that Fitch did not
deem to be a "distressed debt exchange" (DDE).

Moody's Investors Service, in September 2022, affirmed Argentina's
Ca foreign-currency and local-currency long-term issuer and senior
unsecured ratings.  The outlook remains stable.  The decision to
affirm the Ca ratings balances Argentina's limited market access,
weak governance, and history of recurrent debt restructurings with
recent efforts to marshal fiscal and monetary measures to start
addressing underlying macroeconomic imbalances in the context of
the IMF program that was approved in 2022, according to Moody's.

DBRS, Inc. confirmed Argentina's Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer
Rating at CCC and downgraded its Long-Term Local Currency Issuer
Rating to CCC from CCC (high) on March 3, 2023.



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B A H A M A S
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FTX GROUP: Bankruptcy v. Class Action Lawyers Feud Escalates
-------------------------------------------------------------
Alison Frankel at Reuters reports that an increasingly nasty tussle
is underway for control of billions of dollars in claims arising
from the 2022 implosion of crypto exchange FTX.

The dispute is pitting lawyers who are pursuing claims within the
confines of FTX's Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware against
attorneys who are leading consolidated class actions on behalf of
FTX's customers in Miami federal court, according to Reuters.

It is a complicated jurisdictional fight, not just an exchange of
barbs by competing sets of lawyers, the report notes.  Ultimately,
the tug-of-war between lawyers in the Miami consolidated
litigation(or MDL) and in the FTX bankruptcy boils down to a
critical question of law: Which court - and which lawyers - should
be in charge of claims by FTX's defrauded customers?

And just to make things even more complex, there's yet another
court to consider, the report says. Onetime FTX executives,
including former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, were prosecuted in
Manhattan federal court, the report relays.  After Bankman-Fried
was convicted by a jury last fall, the judge who presided over his
criminal trial, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, ordered the
former CEO to forfeit $11 billion to repay victims of his fraud,
the report discloses.

Both FTX bankruptcy lawyers and lawyers from the Miami MDL told the
Manhattan judge earlier this month that they should be in charge of
distributing some or all of the forfeited money to victims of
Bankman-Fried's fraud, the report says.

FTX lawyers said in a June 14 brief, that the now-bankrupt exchange
owns a lot of the money misappropriated by Bankman-Fried, so some
of the forfeited funds should be disbursed to FTX's creditors
through the bankruptcy process, the report notes.

But MDL lawyers said in their own June 14 brief, that FTX's
customers have a stronger interest than FTX in recovering the money
they deposited with the exchange before it went bust, the report
relays.  That money, they argued, belongs to the customers who were
fraudulently induced into opening accounts at the exchange – not
to the exchange itself, the report relates.

Somehow, three judges - Kaplan in the criminal case, U.S.
Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey in FTX's Delaware Chapter 11 and U.S.
District Judge Michael Moore in the Miami-based MDL - are going to
have to hash out which court ought to be in charge and how FTX
customers should be repaid, the report discloses.  And they're
going to have to do that amid ugly allegations from each side about
their counterparts, the report notes.

Broadly speaking, lawyers in the FTX bankruptcy contend that MDL
lawyers have hijacked claims that properly belong to FTX and should
be resolved in the Chapter 11, the report relays.  FTX's bankruptcy
lawyers allege, that lead counsel in the MDL are undermining their
efforts in bankruptcy court to return stolen money to the
exchange's onetime customers, the report says.

FTX's bankruptcy counsel from Sullivan & Cromwell and Quinn Emanuel
Urquhart & Sullivan asked the bankruptcy judge earlier this month
to bar the MDL lawyers from attempting to settle, claims against
former FTX executives, including Bankman-Fried, the report notes.
They argue that the proposed settlement, in which FTX insiders
would pay no cash but would cooperate with MDL lawyers in their
cases against other defendants, would release former FTX executives
from claims the company could assert against them in its Chapter
11, the report relays.

The report notes that the bankruptcy lawyers also want to prohibit
their MDL counterparts from continuing to litigate class actions
against several venture capital funds that helped FTX expand,
arguing that those claims belong to FTX. (FTX lawyers suggested
that they may eventually ask for an injunction to bar MDL lawyers
from proceeding with class actions against other defendants as
well.)

Sullivan & Cromwell and Quinn Emanuel contend in their filings that
the MDL lawyers are operating with their own financial interests in
mind, the report discloses.  

If those lawyers succeed in persuading Kaplan to allow them to
distribute forfeited money, FTX's lawyers said, they will seek
one-third of the funds as legal fees under their proposed
settlement with Bankman-Fried and other former executives, the
report says.   That would be a windfall for the MDL lawyers, FTX
said, at the expense of their clients, the report relays.

MDL co-lead counsel Adam Moskowitz of The Moskowitz Law Firm told
me in an email that it is the bankruptcy lawyers who are worried
about fees, not he and his colleagues, the report relays.

FTX "has already paid out over one billion dollars to these hourly
professionals," Moskowitz said, the report notes. "None of the MDL
lawyers have been paid anything and all such fee requests will only
be made after we recover for the class," he added.

Moskowitz and co-lead counsel David Boies of Boies Schiller Flexner
have not yet directly responded in court filings to attacks by
lawyers in the FTX bankruptcy, the report notes.  But they have
repeatedly said, in related briefs in other proceedings that the
FTX bankruptcy is riddled with conflicts and that the lawyers
handling the case can't be trusted to maximize customers' recovery,
the report discloses.

MDL lawyers have even filed a class action accusing FTX law firm
Sullivan & Cromwell - one of the firms now trying to block other
parts of their case - of helping FTX insiders defraud customers,
the report relays. Sullivan & Cromwell has denied wrongdoing and
moved to dismiss the class action.

Moskowitz and Boies Schiller have also objected, to FTX's proposed
bankruptcy reorganization plan, arguing (among other things) that
FTX is misleading customers about their proposed recovery and how
it will be affected by settlements in the MDL, the report relays.
At the very least, they told the bankruptcy judge, FTX's notice to
customers must include robust disclosures about the MDL and the
prospect that their recovery from the bankruptcy will be offset by
settlements in the Miami case, the report notes.

The MDL lawyers asked, the judge in their case, Moore, to hold a
hearing on this deepening dispute, the report discloses.  Neither
Sullivan & Cromwell nor Quinn Emanuel responded to my email query
on this latest development.

Moskowitz said he is confident that Moore, Dorsey and Kaplan can
coordinate to decide who's in charge, the report relays.

With billions of dollars in recovered money - and hundreds of
millions in legal fees - at stake, let's hope he's right, the
report adds.

                       About FTX Group

FTX is the world's second-largest cryptocurrency firm. FTX is a
cryptocurrency exchange built by traders, for traders. FTX offers
innovative products including industry-first derivatives, options,
volatility products and leveraged tokens.

Then CEO and co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried said Nov. 10, 2022, that
FTX paused customer withdrawals after it was hit with roughly $5
billion worth of withdrawal requests.

Faced with liquidity issues, FTX on Nov. 9, 2022, struck a deal to
sell itself to its giant rival Binance, but Binance walked away
from the deal amid reports on FTX regarding mishandled customer
funds and alleged US agency investigations. Bankman-Fried agreed
to
step aside, and restructuring vet John J. Ray III was quickly
named new CEO.

FTX Trading Ltd (d/b/a FTX.com), West Realm Shires Services Inc.
(d/b/a FTX US), Alameda Research Ltd. and certain affiliated
companies then commenced Chapter 11 proceedings (Bankr. D. Del.
Lead Case No. 22-11068) on an emergency basis on Nov. 11, 2022.
Additional entities sought Chapter 11 protection on Nov. 14, 2022.

FTX Trading and its affiliates each listed $10 billion to $50
billion in assets and liabilities, making FTX the biggest
bankruptcy filer in the US this year.  

According to Reuters, SBF shared a document with investors on Nov.
10, 2022, showing FTX had $13.86 billion in liabilities and $14.6
billion in assets. However, only $900 million of those assets were
liquid, leading to the cash crunch that ended with the company
filing for bankruptcy.

The Hon. John T. Dorsey is the case judge.

The Debtors tapped Sullivan & Cromwell, LLP as bankruptcy counsel;
Landis Rath & Cobb, LLP as local counsel; and Alvarez & Marsal
North America, LLC as financial advisor. Kroll is the claims
agent,
maintaining the page https://cases.ra.kroll.com/FTX/Home-Index

The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors tapped Paul Hastings
as counsel, FTI Consulting, Inc., as financial advisor, and
Jefferies LLC as the investment banker. Young Conaway Stargatt &
Taylor LLP is the Committee's Delaware and conflicts counsel.

Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads LLP, led by partners Gregory
T. Donilon, Edward L. Schnitzer, and David M. Banker, is
representing Sam Bankman-Fried in the Chapter 11 cases.

White-collar crime specialist Mark S. Cohen has reportedly been
hired to represent SBF in litigation. Lawyers at Paul Weiss
previously represented SBF but later renounced representing the
entrepreneur due to a conflict of interest.



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B A R B A D O S
===============

BARBADOS: Gets USD300M IDB Guarantee to Support Climate Resilience
------------------------------------------------------------------
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the European
Investment Bank (EIB) have approved guarantees totaling US$300
million to support an innovative debt-for-climate operation that
will help Barbados unlock much-needed resources to invest in
critical climate adaptation projects, while safeguarding other
priorities such as social spending on health and education.  

The boards of the IDB and the EIB each approved a US$150 million
guarantee, marking the first time the two institutions have
provided joint guarantees for a single operation in the Caribbean.
This combined effort on innovative climate financing and project
preparation will amplify the scale and impact of Barbados'
investment in climate-resilient infrastructure.  

The guarantees will be used in a debt-for-climate conversion plan
first announced late last year. The plan creates the fiscal space
that allows the government to make investments in resilience that
would not be otherwise possible given the current fiscal
limitations.

The guarantees will also help Barbados advance its resilience plans
outlined in the country's Updated Nationally Determined
Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement, and in the Roofs to
Reefs Programme, by increasing water availability and food security
and enhancing the country's resilience in a holistic manner. The
guarantees support the implementation of the European Union's
Global Gateway investment strategy and enable Barbados to access
crucial water and climate financing.

"This groundbreaking collaboration between the IDB and the EIB
marks a historic moment for Barbados and sets a powerful, scalable
model for other vulnerable nations. With these loan guarantees, we
are not only securing our nation's water and food resources but
also fortifying our resilience against the ever-looming threat of
the climate crisis. This initiative exemplifies how innovative
climate financing can drive meaningful change, ensuring a
sustainable future for our people and our planet," said Barbados
Prime Minister, Mia Amor Mottley.

"The EIB has consolidated its role as the Climate Bank, supporting
investments that reinforce the resilience of most-affected
countries," said Nadia Calviño, President of the European
Investment Bank. "I am really proud that the EIB Group participates
in the first ever debt-for-climate conversion and, through our
partnership with the European Commission, the IDB and the
government of Barbados, set an important milestone in innovative
financing for climate action."

"This operation exemplifies how the Global Gateway Investment
Agenda for Latin America and the Caribbean is delivering innovative
solutions to enhance partner countries' resilience and direct
benefits to the citizens. These crucial resources help Barbados
address climate vulnerabilities and invest in resilient
infrastructures," said Jutta Urpilainen, European Union
Commissioner.

"Our partnership with the EIB, and Barbados, shows how
international development organizations are working together as a
system with governments to devise innovative financial solutions to
mobilize more resources for more impactful climate-resilient
investments,'' said Ilan Goldfajn, IDB President. "Barbados is on
the forefront of financial innovation and partnerships. We reached
this important major achievement because of the country's strategic
vision and commitment to a climate-resilient future."

The operation will provide Barbados with the resources for
infrastructure investments, including the South Coast Water
Reclamation Project, which will increase the island's water
security in the context of climate change impacts and improve
sanitation services. The project will upgrade the South Coast
sewage treatment plant, allowing it to reclaim water used in
irrigation. This will allow local aquifers to recharge while
preventing untreated wastewater from being discharged into the
ocean, helping protect marine ecosystems and nearshore reefs and
safeguarding public health.

Under the guarantee program, Barbados has developed a set of
policies that will strengthen the government's capacity to prepare
and implement new climate investments, protect and augment scarce
groundwater resources, and boost agricultural production. The
government will also commit to adopting measures to improve tax and
debt management and develop strategies to enhance the country's
financial resilience to natural disasters such as hurricanes and
flooding. Complementary investments by the government in reducing
water losses in the supply network ensure a comprehensive water
security investment program.

The recent impacts of Hurricane Beryl highlight the vulnerability
of the Caribbean region and small island developing states to
climate change. The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season is predicted to
be unusually active and intense, driven by exceptionally warm ocean
temperatures. In becoming a Category 5 hurricane so early in the
season, Beryl set a historical record. This operation is the result
of collaborative efforts among Multilateral Development Banks
(MDBs) to provide innovative tools to address the challenges and
effects of climate change.

As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on
Oct. 31, 2023,  S&P Global Ratings, on Oct. 26, 2023, revised its
outlook on Barbados to positive from stable. S&P also affirmed its
'B-' long-and 'B' short-term foreign and local currency sovereign
credit ratings. The transfer and convertibility assessment remains
'B-'.



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B E R M U D A
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NABORS INDUSTRIES: Nets $540.7 Million From Senior Note Offering
----------------------------------------------------------------
As previously disclosed, on July 17, 2024, Nabors Industries, Inc.
entered into a purchase agreement under which NII agreed to sell
$550 million aggregate principal amount of its 8.875% Senior
Guaranteed Notes due 2031 to Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Wells
Fargo Securities, LLC, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, HSBC Securities
(USA) Inc and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC. The Notes are fully and
unconditionally guaranteed by Nabors Industries Ltd. and the
following of its indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries, including
Nabors Drilling Holdings Inc., Nabors International Finance Inc.,
Nabors Lux Finance 1, Nabors Global Holdings Limited and Nabors
Holdings Ltd. The closing of the sale of the Notes occurred on July
22, 2024. NII received net proceeds, after deducting offering
commissions and other expenses payable by NII, of approximately
$540.7 million. Nabors intends to use the net proceeds from this
offering along with cash on hand, to fund NII's redemption in full
the $555.9 million in principal amount outstanding 7.25% Senior
Guaranteed Notes due 2026.

NII sold the Notes to the Initial Purchasers in reliance on the
exemption from registration provided by Section 4(a)(2) of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The Initial Purchasers then
sold the Notes to (i) qualified institutional buyers pursuant to
the exemption from registration provided by Rule 144A and (ii)
pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act. NII relied on
these exemptions from registration based in part on representations
made by the Initial Purchasers in the Purchase Agreement.

The Notes are governed by an indenture, dated as of July 22, 2024,
among NII, as issuer, the Note Guarantors, as guarantors, and
Wilmington Trust, National Association, as trustee.

The Notes will bear interest at an annual rate of 8.875%. The Notes
will mature on August 15, 2031.

The Indenture includes covenants customary for transactions of this
type that, subject to significant exceptions, limit the ability of
NIL and its subsidiaries to, among other things, incur certain
liens or enter into sale and leaseback transactions. The Indenture
also contains a limitation on certain of NIL's subsidiaries'
ability to incur debt or guarantee debt of NIL, subject to
significant exceptions. In the event of a Change of Control
Triggering Event with respect to the Notes, the holders of the
Notes may require NII to purchase all or a portion of their Notes
at a purchase price equal to 101% of the principal amount of the
Notes so purchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any.

Prior to August 15, 2027, NII may redeem the Notes, in whole or in
part, at a price equal to 100% of the principal amount thereof plus
a "make-whole" premium and accrued and unpaid interest, if any. On
or after August 15, 2027, NII may redeem the Notes, in whole or in
part, at specified prices that decline over time, plus accrued and
unpaid interest, if any. In addition, NII may use the net cash
proceeds of one or more equity offerings to redeem up to 35% of the
aggregate principal amount of Notes prior to August 15, 2027, at a
price equal to 108.875% of the principal amount thereof plus
accrued and unpaid interest, if any.
  
The Notes will be senior unsecured obligations of NII and will rank
pari passu in right of payment with all of NII's existing and
future senior obligations. The guarantees of the Notes will be
senior unsecured obligations of the Note Guarantors and will rank
pari passu in right of payment with all of the Note Guarantors'
existing and future senior obligations. The Notes and the
guarantees will have the same obligors as, and will therefore
effectively rank pari passu with, NIL's 7.25% Senior Guaranteed
Notes due 2026 and 7.50% Senior Guaranteed Notes due 2028.

                  About Nabors

Bermuda-based Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE: NBR) owns and operates
land-based drilling rig fleets and provides offshore platform rigs
in the United States and several international markets.  Nabors
also provides directional drilling services, tubular services,
performance software, and innovative technologies for its own rig
fleet and those of third parties.

Nabors Industries reported a net loss of $11.8 million for the year
ended December 31, 2023, a net loss of $307.22 million in 2022, a
net loss $543.69 million in 2021, a net loss of $762.85 million in
2020, a net loss of $680.51 million in 2019, a net loss of $612.73
million in 2018, and a net loss of $540.63 million in 2017. As of
March 31, 2024, the Company had $4.64 billion in total assets,
$3.37 billion in total liabilities, and $522.82 million in total
stockholders' equity.

                            *    *    *

In September 2023, Egan-Jones Ratings Company upgraded the foreign
currency and local currency senior unsecured ratings on debt issued
by Nabors Industries, Inc. to CCC+ from CCC-.

In March 2024, S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook to stable
from positive and affirmed its 'B-' issuer credit rating on Nabors
Industries Ltd. At the same time, S&P affirmed its 'B-' issue-level
rating on the company's senior priority guaranteed notes with
recovery rating of '3' and 'CCC' issue-level rating on the
company's priority guaranteed notes with recovery rating of '6'.
The stable outlook reflects S&P's expectation for the company's
operating performance, industry fundamentals, near-term debt
maturity profile, and credit metrics to remain appropriate for the
'B-' issuer credit rating. The outlook revision reflects S&P's
expectation of reduced free cash flow generation and lower than
anticipated debt reduction.

In July 2024, S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'CCC' issue-level
rating and '6' recovery rating to Bermuda-based drilling contractor
Nabors Industries Ltd.'s proposed $550 million senior guaranteed
notes due 2031. The company's subsidiary, Nabors Industries Inc.
will issue the notes. The '6' recovery rating indicates its
expectation of negligible (0%-10%; rounded estimate: 0%) recovery
of principal by creditors in the event of a payment default.



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B R A Z I L
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BRAZIL: Central Bank Delays New Feature in Payment System
---------------------------------------------------------
Reuters reports that Brazil's central bank said a new feature for
its popular Pix instant payment system aimed at automatically
paying recurring bills will be launched next June instead of this
October, as had been originally scheduled.

The delay follows repeated calls from the Brazilian central bank's
governor, Roberto Campos Neto, for the approval of a constitutional
amendment granting financial autonomy to the institution, according
to the report.

Campos Neto argues that given the central bank's current budgetary
situation, there may come a time when policymakers face
difficulties in operating Pix, the report notes.

                          About Brazil

Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world and third largest
in the Americas. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won the 2022 Brazilian
general election. He was sworn in on January 1, 2023, as the 39th
president of Brazil, succeeding Jair Bolsonaro.

As reported in the TCR-LA on May 6, 2024, Moody's Ratings affirmed
the Government of Brazil's long-term issuer and senior
unsecured bond ratings at Ba2, senior unsecured shelf rating at
(P)Ba2 and changed the outlook to positive from stable. Moody's
assesses thatBrazil's real GDP growth prospects are more robust
than in the pre-pandemic years, supported by the implementation of
structural reforms over multiple administrations, as well as the
presence of institutional guardrails that reduce uncertainty
around future policy direction. The outlook change to positive is
underpinned by Moody's assessment that more robust growth combined
with continued, albeit gradual, progress towards fiscal
consolidation, may allow Brazil's debt burden to stabilize.
However, there are risks to the government's execution of
continued fiscal consolidation.

S&P Global Ratings raised on Dec. 19, 2023, its long-term global
scale ratings on Brazil to 'BB' from 'BB-'. The outlook on the
long-term ratings is stable. S&P affirmed Brazil's global scale
short-term ratings at 'B' and its national scale long-term rating
at 'brAAA'. S&P also raised the transfer and convertibility
assessment on the country to 'BBB-' from 'BB+'. S&P said, "The
stable outlook reflects our expectation that Brazil will maintain
a
strong external position, thanks to strong commodity output and
limited external financing needs. We also believe Brazil's
institutional framework can sustain stable and pragmatic
policymaking based on extensive checks and balances across the
executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. We
expect a very gradual fiscal correction but anticipate fiscal
deficits will remain large."

Fitch Ratings affirmed on Dec. 15, 2023, Brazil's
Long-TermForeign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB' with
a StableOutlook. Fitch said Brazil's ratings are supported by its
large and diverse economy, high per-capita income, and deep
domestic markets and a large cash cushion that support the
sovereign's financing flexibility and its high local-currency debt
share. Strong external finances support resilience to shocks,
underpinned by a flexible exchange rate, robust international
reserves and a sovereign net external creditor position. The
ratings are constrained by weak economic growth potential,
relatively low governance scores, high and rising government
debt/GDP, and budgetary rigidities. A new fiscal framework
introduced this year aims to anchor a gradual consolidation process
and address these fiscal weaknesses, but its effectiveness is
increasingly unclear.

DBRS Inc., on August 15, 2023, upgraded Brazil's Long-TermForeign
and Local Currency - Issuer Ratings to BB from BB (low).At the same
time, DBRS Morningstar confirmed Brazil'sShort-term Foreign and
Local Currency - Issuer Ratings at R-4.The trend on all ratings is
Stable (March 2018).


BRAZIL: June Fiscal Deficit Hits BRL38.8B, Exceeds Market Forecasts
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Rio Times Online report that Brazil's Central Government reported a
significant fiscal deficit of BRL38.836 billion (US$6.87 billion)
in June.

This marks a continued economic strain, despite being an
improvement from May's BRL60.983 billion (US$10.79 billion)
deficit, according to Rio Times Online.

Analysts had expected a slightly smaller deficit of BRL37.7 billion
(US$6.67 billion). The figure includes activities from the National
Treasury, Social Security, and Central Bank, the report relays.

June's results surpassed financial forecasts, showing the weakest
performance since the series began in 1997, the report discloses.
For context, June last year posted a deficit of BRL45.223 billion
(US$8 billion), the report relates.

Cumulatively, the year-to-date deficit stands at BRL68.698 billion
(US$12.15 billion), the most substantial since 2020, the report
notes.

This figure starkly contrasts with last year's BRL42.509 billion
(US$7.52 billion) deficit at this point, the report says.
Nevertheless, June's revenue rose by 8.2% compared to last year,
the report discloses.

The first half-year increase reached 8.5%. Conversely, expenses
increased only 0.3% in June, after adjusting for inflation, with a
six-month rise of 10.5%, the report relays.

Over the past 12 months, the deficit totaled BRL260.7 billion
(US$46.13 billion), or 2.29% of Brazil's GDP, the report notes.

The government closely monitored spending, with mandatory expenses
at 18.5% of GDP and discretionary spending at 1.8%, the report
relays.

For 2024, the government still targets a primary fiscal balance,
aiming for zero impact on GDP, though not many experts believe that
they will achieve that, the report discloses.

The permissible variation is slight, the report notes. The spending
cap is set at BRL2.089 trillion (US$369.56 billion), the report
relays.

The Ministry of Planning and Budget anticipates a year-end deficit
of BRL28.8 billion (US$5.09 billion), aligning with the 0.25% GDP
target, the report says.

In breakdowns, the National Treasury and Central Bank saw a primary
surplus of BRL6.063 billion (US$1.07 billion) in June, the report
notes.

The Treasury's year-to-date surplus totals BRL129.524 billion
(US$22.92 billion), the report says.

However, Social Security recorded a BRL44.899 billion (US$7.94
billion) deficit last month, cumulating to BRL198.221 billion
(US$35.09 billion) for the half-year, the report relays.

The Central Bank also faced a June deficit of BRL152 million
(US$26.9 million) and BRL269 million (US$47.61 million) over six
months, the report adds.

                          About Brazil

Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world and third largest
in the Americas. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won the 2022 Brazilian
general election. He was sworn in on January 1, 2023, as the 39th
president of Brazil, succeeding Jair Bolsonaro.

As reported in the TCR-LA on May 6, 2024, Moody's Ratings affirmed
the Government of Brazil's long-term issuer and senior
unsecured bond ratings at Ba2, senior unsecured shelf rating at
(P)Ba2 and changed the outlook to positive from stable. Moody's
assesses thatBrazil's real GDP growth prospects are more robust
than in the pre-pandemic years, supported by the implementation of
structural reforms over multiple administrations, as well as the
presence of institutional guardrails that reduce uncertainty
around future policy direction. The outlook change to positive is
underpinned by Moody's assessment that more robust growth combined
with continued, albeit gradual, progress towards fiscal
consolidation, may allow Brazil's debt burden to stabilize.
However, there are risks to the government's execution of
continued fiscal consolidation.

S&P Global Ratings raised on Dec. 19, 2023, its long-term global
scale ratings on Brazil to 'BB' from 'BB-'. The outlook on the
long-term ratings is stable. S&P affirmed Brazil's global scale
short-term ratings at 'B' and its national scale long-term rating
at 'brAAA'. S&P also raised the transfer and convertibility
assessment on the country to 'BBB-' from 'BB+'. S&P said, "The
stable outlook reflects our expectation that Brazil will maintain
a
strong external position, thanks to strong commodity output and
limited external financing needs. We also believe Brazil's
institutional framework can sustain stable and pragmatic
policymaking based on extensive checks and balances across the
executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. We
expect a very gradual fiscal correction but anticipate fiscal
deficits will remain large."

Fitch Ratings affirmed on Dec. 15, 2023, Brazil's
Long-TermForeign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB' with
a StableOutlook. Fitch said Brazil's ratings are supported by its
large and diverse economy, high per-capita income, and deep
domestic markets and a large cash cushion that support the
sovereign's financing flexibility and its high local-currency debt
share. Strong external finances support resilience to shocks,
underpinned by a flexible exchange rate, robust international
reserves and a sovereign net external creditor position. The
ratings are constrained by weak economic growth potential,
relatively low governance scores, high and rising government
debt/GDP, and budgetary rigidities. A new fiscal framework
introduced this year aims to anchor a gradual consolidation process
and address these fiscal weaknesses, but its effectiveness is
increasingly unclear.

DBRS Inc., on August 15, 2023, upgraded Brazil's Long-TermForeign
and Local Currency - Issuer Ratings to BB from BB (low).At the same
time, DBRS Morningstar confirmed Brazil'sShort-term Foreign and
Local Currency - Issuer Ratings at R-4.The trend on all ratings is
Stable (March 2018).

[*] BRAZIL: Embarks on a $100M Mission to Revitalize Forests
------------------------------------------------------------
Adele Cardin at Rio Times Online report that the Brazilian
government has allocated $100 million to restore 16,000 hectares of
the Bom Futuro National Forest in Rondonia.  This marks one of the
most substantial forest restoration projects in Brazil, according
to Rio Times Online.

The Brazilian Forest Service, part of the Ministry of Environment
and Climate Change, announced this initiative, the report notes.

It aims to address the intense political and economic pressures,
such as illegal occupation and land grabbing, the report relays.

Renato Rosenberg, the director of Forest Concessions and
Monitoring, emphasized the need for economic activities in the
forest, the report discloses.  He believes these activities are
crucial to shield the forest from further exploitation, the report
notes.

Partnering with Imaflora and international consultancy Systemiq,
the project seeks to increase managed and restored forest areas to
5 million hectares in two years, the report says.  This goal
significantly surpasses the 1.3 million hectares designated since
2006, the report relays.

The management strategy allows for selective logging, possibly
alongside the sustainable harvesting of non-timber products or
tourism, the report discloses.  This approach aims to fully
leverage forest concessions to prevent ongoing destruction, the
report relays.

This initiative not only tackles immediate threats but also
establishes a model for sustainable forest management worldwide,
the report notes.

By investing in the economic potential of forests, Brazil protects
its environmental and economic interests, the report relays.

This project underscores the vital importance of Brazil's
rainforests in global climate change efforts, the report adds.

                          About Brazil

Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world and third largest
in the Americas. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won the 2022 Brazilian
general election. He was sworn in on January 1, 2023, as the 39th
president of Brazil, succeeding Jair Bolsonaro.

As reported in the TCR-LA on May 6, 2024, Moody's Ratings affirmed
the Government of Brazil's long-term issuer and senior
unsecured bond ratings at Ba2, senior unsecured shelf rating at
(P)Ba2 and changed the outlook to positive from stable. Moody's
assesses thatBrazil's real GDP growth prospects are more robust
than in the pre-pandemic years, supported by the implementation of
structural reforms over multiple administrations, as well as the
presence of institutional guardrails that reduce uncertainty
around future policy direction. The outlook change to positive is
underpinned by Moody's assessment that more robust growth combined
with continued, albeit gradual, progress towards fiscal
consolidation, may allow Brazil's debt burden to stabilize.
However, there are risks to the government's execution of
continued fiscal consolidation.

S&P Global Ratings raised on Dec. 19, 2023, its long-term global
scale ratings on Brazil to 'BB' from 'BB-'. The outlook on the
long-term ratings is stable. S&P affirmed Brazil's global scale
short-term ratings at 'B' and its national scale long-term rating
at 'brAAA'. S&P also raised the transfer and convertibility
assessment on the country to 'BBB-' from 'BB+'. S&P said, "The
stable outlook reflects our expectation that Brazil will maintain
a
strong external position, thanks to strong commodity output and
limited external financing needs. We also believe Brazil's
institutional framework can sustain stable and pragmatic
policymaking based on extensive checks and balances across the
executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. We
expect a very gradual fiscal correction but anticipate fiscal
deficits will remain large."

Fitch Ratings affirmed on Dec. 15, 2023, Brazil's
Long-TermForeign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB' with
a StableOutlook. Fitch said Brazil's ratings are supported by its
large and diverse economy, high per-capita income, and deep
domestic markets and a large cash cushion that support the
sovereign's financing flexibility and its high local-currency debt
share. Strong external finances support resilience to shocks,
underpinned by a flexible exchange rate, robust international
reserves and a sovereign net external creditor position. The
ratings are constrained by weak economic growth potential,
relatively low governance scores, high and rising government
debt/GDP, and budgetary rigidities. A new fiscal framework
introduced this year aims to anchor a gradual consolidation process
and address these fiscal weaknesses, but its effectiveness is
increasingly unclear.

DBRS Inc., on August 15, 2023, upgraded Brazil's Long-TermForeign
and Local Currency - Issuer Ratings to BB from BB (low).At the same
time, DBRS Morningstar confirmed Brazil'sShort-term Foreign and
Local Currency - Issuer Ratings at R-4.The trend on all ratings is
Stable (March 2018).




===============
C O L O M B I A
===============

GEOPARK LIMITED: Fitch Alters Outlook on B+ LongTerm IDR to Stable
------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed GeoPark Limited's Long-Term Foreign and
Local Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at 'B+'. The Rating
Outlook has been revised to Stable from Negative. Fitch has also
affirmed GeoPark's USD500 million notes due 2027 at 'B+'/'RR4'.

The Outlook revision to Stable reflects the increase in 1P reserve
base and 1P Reserve Life Index (RLI), and incorporates the
company's' improved geographic footprint. Fitch's base case
estimates that GeoPark's 1P reserves will be close to 93 million of
barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) by YE 2024, assuming a Reserve
Replacement Ratio (RRR) of at least 100%, Fitch also estimates that
the RLI will remain above seven years throughout the rating
horizon. The base case production is 36,000 barrels of oil
equivalent per day (boed) in 2024, and increasing towards 52,000
boed by YE 2026.

Key Rating Drivers

Growing Reserve Life: Fitch estimates GeoPark's RLI will remain
above seven years throughout the rating horizon, reverting the
declining trend of the last two years, in line with the current
rating threshold. Last May, the company acquired non-operated
working interest (WI) in four adjacent unconventional blocks (Mata
Mora and Confluencia) in the Neuquén Basin in Argentina, adding 25
mmboe in net 1P reserves and additional production of at least
6,000 boed to the current portfolio.

Production Profile: GeoPark's ratings remain constrained to the 'B'
category given its relatively small scale of operations. Fitch
expects GeoPark's daily production to increase yoy, reaching and
exit rate close to 41,000 boed by YE 2024. As of 1Q24, the company
reported production of 35,473 boed, 3% lower than 1Q22. Net
production of acquired blocks in Argentina was 5,360 boed in 1Q24,
compared to 3,343 boed, per Argentina's Energy Secretary open data.
Fitch's base case assumed Geopark's production will reach 52,000
boed by FY 2026.

Effective Cost Producer: Fitch anticipates that the company will
continue to maintain its cost-efficient production profile.
GeoPark's competitive advantages stem from its operations in
onshore oilfields in Colombia, which result in lower exploration
costs, partly due to the low transportation costs enabled by
selling at the wellhead. In 2023, GeoPark's half-cycle cost was USD
20.7/boe, and the full-cycle cost was USD 32.3/boe. Lifting costs
(excluding transportation) were USD 5.8/boe for the Argentinian
assets, compared to USD 13.2/boe for current operations.

Financial Flexibility: Fitch's rating case assumes that GeoPark
will maintain its conservative financial policies, including
hedging a portion of its production and supporting its
cost-efficient production profile, while sustaining a conservative
leverage and liquidity position. CFO is expected to cover capex by
an average of 1.5x times under Fitch's price deck assumption over
the rating horizon. GeoPark secured up to USD500 million in funding
from Vitol, boosting liquidity between 2024 and 2026. Dividends are
assumed to be paid each year but will not materially exceed FCF.

Derivation Summary

GeoPark's credit and business profile is comparable to other small
independent oil producers in Latin America. The ratings of
SierraCol Energy Limited (B+/Stable), Frontera Energy Corporation
(B/Stable), and Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (B/Stable) are all
constrained to the 'B' category, given the inherent operational
risk associated with the small scale and low diversification of
their oil and gas production. 3R Petroleum Oleo e Gas S.A.'s
(B+/Rating Watch Positive) gas focus business and robust reserves
makes are key differentiation factors in comparison to the
independent producers in Colombia.

GeoPark's production profile compares favorably with other 'B'
their peers in Colombia. Over the rating horizon, Fitch expects
GeoPark's production to reach 52,000 boed by 2026, which would be
the highest among the peers in Colombia, with SierraCol expected
production at 43,000 boed, Frontera-s at 42,000 boed and Gran
Tierra-s at 45,000 boed.

GeoPark's 1P RLI is expected to remain above seven years over the
rating horizon, in line with the Colombian peers. Geopark's
half-cycle cost at USD20.7/boe and full-cycle cost at USD32.3/boe
are on the lower side of the range for producers in the region.
3R's half-cyle costs was at the higher side of the spectrum at
USD43.5 in 2023. Fitch expects that GeoPark, like its Colombian
peers, will maintain leverage levels below 2.0x over the next four
years.

Key Assumptions

- Fitch's revised price deck for Brent per barrel (bbl) of USD80
bbl for 2024, USD70 bbl for 2025, USD65 bbl for 2026 and 2027;

- Average production of 38,500 boed in 2024; reaching 52,000 boed
by 2026;

- Average annual dividends of USD30 million;

- 2024 capex close to USD200 million; annual average capex of
USD230 million between 2025-2027;

- Production cost per boe of USD10.5 between 2024-2027;

- Exploration cost per boe of USD1.0 between 2024-2027;

- SG&A cost per boe of USD3.0 between 2024-2027;

- Reserve replenishment ratio annual average of 1P of 100%.

Recovery Analysis

The recovery analysis assumes that GeoPark would be a going concern
(GC) in bankruptcy and that it would be reorganized rather than
liquidated.

GC Approach:

- A 10% administrative claim.

- The GC EBITDA is estimated at USD 400 million. The GC EBITDA
estimate reflects Fitch's view of a sustainable,
post-reorganization EBITDA level upon which Fitch bases the
valuation of GeoPark.

- EV multiple of 5.0x.

With these assumptions, Fitch's waterfall generated recovery
computation (WGRC) for the senior unsecured notes is in the 'RR3'
band. However, according to Fitch's "Country-Specific Treatment of
Recovery Ratings Criteria," the Recovery Rating for corporate
issuers in Colombia is capped at 'RR4'. The Recovery Rating for the
senior secured notes is therefore 'RR4' with 50% recoveries in a
hypothetical event of default.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors That Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive
Rating Action/Upgrade

- Net production rising consistently to 75,000 boed on a sustained
basis while maintaining 1P reserves reserve life of at least 10
years, consistently;

- Maintenance of a conservative financial profile, with gross
leverage of 2.5x or below;

- Diversification of operations and improvements in realized oil
and gas differentials.

Factors That Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead Negative
Rating Action/Downgrade

- Sustainable production falls below 30,000 boed;

- Reserve life declines to below 7.0 years on a sustained basis;

- A significant deterioration of total debt/EBITDA to 3.0x or
more.

Liquidity and Debt Structure

Adequate Liquidity: GeoPark had cash on hand of USD151 million at
March 31, 2024. This compares favorably to short-term debt of USD6
million. The company has additional funding of up to USD500 million
available through a prepayment facility with Vitol, which has not
been drawn, USD80 million from a senior unsecured credit agreement
and USD181 million of uncommitted credit lines.

Issuer Profile

GeoPark Ltd. is a small but growing oil and gas E&P company with
producing operations in Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil and recently
acquired working interest in four blocks in the prolific
Argentinian basin Vaca Muerta.

ESG Considerations

GeoPark Limited has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for GHG Emissions
& Air Quality due to the growing importance of the continued
development and execution of the company's energy-transition
strategy. This has a negative impact on the credit profile, and is
relevant to the ratings in conjunction with other factors.

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless
otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' means ESG
issues are credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on
the entity, either due to their nature or the way in which they are
being managed by the entity. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not
inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the
relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision.

   Entity/Debt                 Rating        Recovery   Prior
   -----------                 ------        --------   -----
GeoPark Limited       LT IDR    B+  Affirmed            B+
                      LC LT IDR B+  Affirmed            B+

   senior unsecured   LT        B+  Affirmed   RR4      B+



=============
J A M A I C A
=============

JAMAICA: Trade Deficit Remained Steady for First Quarter of 2024
----------------------------------------------------------------
RJR News reports that Jamaica's trade deficit was almost unchanged
for the first three months of 2024.

The Statistical Institute of Jamaica says the difference between
the cost of imports and what is earned from exports is valued at
US$1.371 billion, according to RJR News.

That's compared to a trade deficit of $1.376 billion for January to
March 2023, the report notes.

For the first quarter this year, Jamaica's total spending on
imports was valued at US$1.86 billion, the report relays.

This represents a two per cent drop, versus the $1.9 billion spent
in January to March 2023, the report discloses.

This decrease was largely due to lower imports of "Raw
Materials/Intermediate Goods," the report says.

Meanwhile, total export earnings amounted to to US$492.9 million
for the three months, the report relays.

That was a 6.3 per cent decline when compared to the US$525.8
million earned for the similar 2023 period, the report notes.

This was primarily due to a 23.1 per cent decrease in the value of
"Mineral Fuels" exports, the report discloses.

Domestic exports however increased by 12 per cent during the
period, with earnings valued at US$430.1 million, compared to
US$383.9 million for January to March 2023 period, the report
says.

In contrast, re-exports declined by 55.7 per cent to US$62.8
million, from January to March 2024, the report adds.

                       About Jamaica

Jamaica is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea.
Jamaica is an upper-middle income country with an economy heavily
dependent on tourism.  Other major sectors of the Jamaican economy
include agriculture, mining, manufacturing, petroleum refining,
financial and insurance services.

In October 2023, Moody's upgraded the Government of Jamaica's
long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings to B1 from B2, and
senior unsecured shelf rating to (P)B1 from (P)B2. The outlook has
been changed to positive from stable.  The upgrade of Jamaica's
rating to B1 reflects the government's sustained commitment to
fiscal consolidation and debt reduction.  The positive outlook
reflects Moody's assessment that a continuation of the favorable
fiscal trajectory will further increase Jamaica's credit
resilience.

S&P Global Ratings raised on September 13, 2023, its long-term
foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Jamaica to
'BB-' from 'B+', and affirmed its short-term foreign and local
currency sovereign credit ratings at 'B'.  The stable outlook
reflects S&P's expectation that the government will remain
committed to prudent fiscal policies and reducing debt, as well as
supportive economic policies including a flexible exchange rate
regime and effective monetary policy.  

In March 2022, Fitch Ratings affirmed Jamaica's Long-Term Foreign
Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'B+'. The Rating Outlook is
Stable.
       



===========
M E X I C O
===========

GRUPO GICSA: S&P Withdraws 'CCC+' Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating
----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings withdrew its 'CCC+' long-term global scale
issuer credit rating on Grupo Gicsa S.A.B. de C.V. at the company's
request. The outlook was stable at the time of the withdrawal.


GRUPO IDESA: S&P Lowers LT ICR to 'CC', On CreditWatch Negative
---------------------------------------------------------------
On July 26, 2024, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer
credit and issue-level ratings on Mexico-based petrochemicals
producer Grupo Idesa S.A. de C.V. (Grupo IDESA) to 'CC' from
'CCC+'. The recovery rating on its secured notes remains at '3',
indicating its expectation of meaningful recovery (50%-90%)
prospects in the event of a payment default.

S&P is placing the ratings on CreditWatch with negative
implications, reflecting its expectation that S&P will lower the
issuer credit rating to 'SD' (selective default) and the rating on
the senior unsecured notes to 'D' when the tender offer is
complete.

Grupo IDESA announced a cash tender offer on the full principal
amount of its 6.5% senior notes due October 2028. S&P will consider
the transaction, once completed, as tantamount to a default.

S&P said, "We view the proposed cash tender offer as a distressed
exchange.This cash tender offer is set to pay 20% below par on the
company's 6.5% senior secured notes due 2028, which we view as
significantly less than what it promised for the original
securities on the maturity date. On July 24, 2024, Grupo IDESA
announced a cash tender offer on these notes (currently trading at
$77.5), for which it is willing to pay $800 for each $1,000 on the
principal amount as the cash consideration to bondholders. This
transaction will be funded by a credit facility from Banco Inbursa,
S.A., Institución de Banca Múltiple, Grupo Financiero Inbursa
(Banco Inbursa; the main stakeholder).

"In our opinion, Grupo IDESA continues to largely depend on
extraordinary financial support from its main stakeholder to meet
financial and operating commitments, as margins remain at 3.6% and
revenue dropped by more than 30% last year. In addition, EBITDA
coverage remains below 0.5x.

"We will review the company's credit profile, in terms of capital
structure and liquidity position, after the tender offer is
completed. The tender offer has an expiration of July 30, 2024.

"We are placing our ratings on Grupo IDESA on CreditWatch negative
because we expect to lower the issuer credit rating to 'SD' and the
rating on the senior notes to 'D' when the tender offer occurs. We
plan to update the recovery ratings on the remaining senior notes
when we have more information about the company's post-tender offer
capital structure, liquidity assessment, and earnings profile. We
could raise our ratings and remove them from CreditWatch negative
if the company does not go through with the announced cash tender.
The level of rating will depend on the company's interest coverage
ratio, liquidity position, and capital structure."




=======
P E R U
=======

VOLCAN COMPANIA: Moody's Ups CFR to Caa1, Under Review for Upgrade
------------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Ratings has upgraded Volcan Compania Minera S.A.A. y
Subsidiarias ("Volcan")'s Corporate Family Rating to Caa1 from
Caa3. Moody's have also upgraded Volcan's 4.375% $365 million in
Senior Unsecured notes to Caa2 from Caa3. Moody's placed the
ratings on review for further upgrade. Previously, the outlook was
negative. The upgrade of the senior unsecured notes to Caa2, one
notch below CFR, reflects its senior unsecured nature and
subordination in the payment waterfall.

The rating action follows a material reduction of Volcan's
refinancing risk following the announcement that the company
reached an agreement to refinance its term loan, which first
amortization payment was due in April 2024 and was extended to June
2024. This delayed payment was not a default under the term loan
credit agreement; however, it constitutes an event of default under
Moody's definition of default.

The new term loan will benefit from a collateral package including
a trust over receivables, shares of subsidiaries and mortgages over
most of the company's assets. The term loan will also benefit from
a cash sweep mechanism that would allow excess cash above $70
million to be directed 50% to the repayment of the term loan and
50% directed to fund the expansion of Romina, a polymetallic
project with an estimated investment of $125 million through 2026,
on top of around $20 million already disbursed by the company.

The review will focus on 1) Volcan's ability to refinance the
senior unsecured notes due in February 2026, and 2) secure
additional sources to fund the expansion of Romina.

RATINGS RATIONALE

Moody's expect Volcan to generate negative cash flow of $21 million
in 2024, $100 million in 2025 and $45 million in 2026, driven by
increased interest payments and growth capex related to Romina,
which is not expected to contribute cash flows before 2026.
Therefore, Moody's believe that the company will need to incur
additional debt to fund the construction of this project with
leverage peaking at 3.5x in 2025. Under the company's term loan
agreement, Volcan is allowed to increase debt for $125 million to
fund Romina and $70 million for working capital purposes.

In May and June 2024, Volcan managed to sell two hydroelectric
plants for around $70 million, which the company will use to reduce
debt by $35 million and boost the company's liquidity. Other
sources of liquidity are currently limited to $70 million related
to potential sale of non-core assets; however, it remains unclear
when these potential transactions would be concluded.  

Volcan's Caa1 CFR incorporates a material reduction of Volcan's
refinancing risk, although liquidity remains weak, given the
maturity of $365 million in senior unsecured notes in February
2026. The CFR also incorporates Volcan's high earnings volatility
because of its exposure to commodity prices coupled with high cost
structure, historically tight liquidity and aggressive financial
policies, as well as its modest scale compared with that of its
global peers.

At the same time, Volcan's Caa1 CFR reflects the company's limited
operational diversification in terms of metals produced and assets,
with seven mines located in one country.

In May 2024, Transition Metals AG, a subsidiary of the Argentine
group Integra Capital, reached an agreement with Glencore plc (Baa1
positive) to acquire its controlling stake in Volcan. Transition
Metals AG has been supportive of the liability management process
and current management team, which Moody's expect to remain in
place.

The upgrade also reflects governance considerations as key drivers
of the rating action including improved near term liquidity;
however, refinancing risk remains and is reflected in the company's
Financial Strategy and Risk Management assessment at 5, and the
overall exposure to governance risks (Issuer Profile Score or
"IPS") (G-5). The ESG Credit Impact Score is CIS-5, since ESG
considerations are a constraint for the rating.

FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS

Positive pressure on Volcan's ratings would be subject to the
company's ability to improve its liquidity profile through the
refinancing of its $365 million in senior unsecured notes due in
February 2026, in addition to secure the funds to develop its
Romina project.  

Given the review for upgrade, a downgrade of Volcan's ratings is
unlikely. However, negative pressure could occur, should the
company fail to refinance its senior unsecured notes due 2026 at
least twelve months ahead of the maturity.

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Mining
published in October 2021.

Volcan Compania Minera S.A.A. y Subsidiarias (Volcan) is a Peruvian
mining company that primarily produces zinc and lead concentrate
and some copper concentrate, all with high silver content. The
company operates through five operating units including seven
operating mines, five concentrator plants and one leaching plant
for silver oxide production. All of Volcan's operations are located
in Peru, and it reported revenue of $839 million for the 12 months
that ended March 2024. Volcan is a holding company listed on the
stock exchanges of Lima, Santiago and Madrid (Latibex). Since May
2024 Transition Metals AG, subsidiary of Integra Capital, holds a
controlling stake of 63% in Volcan's Class A voting shares, which
is equivalent to a 23.3% economic interest in Volcan.

Integra Capital is a diversified firm with investments in
education, energy, media and telecom, mining, technology, wine,
food and drinks. Its mining business includes lithium exploration
activities in Argentina and investments in uranium and copper.



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P U E R T O   R I C O
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LIBERTY COMMUNICATIONS: S&P Affirms 'B+' ICR, Alters Outlook to Neg
-------------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings revised the outlook on cable and mobile provider
Liberty Communications of Puerto Rico LLC (LCPR) to negative from
stable and affirmed its ratings on the company, including the 'B+'
issuer credit rating.

The negative outlook reflects the potential that adjusted leverage
could remain above 6x over the next 12 months if the company is
unable to significantly reduce integration expenses and expand
earnings.

Weak mobile segment results have pressured earnings. An 8% decline
in residential mobile service revenue contributed to its
weaker-than-expected results as mobile postpaid subscribers
decreased by about 5% on the expiration of Emergency Connectivity
Fund (ECF), intensified competition from T-Mobile, and the mobile
migration, as the company's wireless workforce focused its efforts
on assisting current customers. S&P said, "These factors combined
with ongoing losses in mobile prepaid, which we believe account for
roughly 10% of total residential mobile service revenue, caused
LCPR's first quarter earnings to be significantly lower than we
assumed in our previous base-case forecast. As a result, debt to
annualized EBITDA was 10.5x in the first quarter of 2024 causing
LTM debt to EBITDA to rise to 6.7x from 5.7x for the LTM ended Dec.
31, 2023."

S&P said, "We believe that second quarter earnings will be soft,
but noticeably better than first quarter performance on fewer
integration costs associated with the mobile migration, which was
completed in early April. Still, we do not expect a return to
positive free operating cash flow (FOCF) until the back-half of
2024 on improved earnings driven by fewer headwinds from ECF and
expenses related to the integration of the AT&T wireless assets.

"We believe that intensifying competition from T-Mobile will
continue to pressure LCPR's mobile subscriber metrics this year.
Excluding subscriber losses related to ECF (which we believe will
be minimal after the second quarter of 2024), we expect the
company's mobile postpaid subscriber base will contract 4%-5% in
2024, modestly higher than the pace of subscriber losses in 2023 on
heightened competition from T-Mobile. T-Mobile has had a spectrum
advantage on the island since the acquisition of Sprint in 2020,
which we believe has translated to a better 5G customer experience,
limiting postpaid subscriber additions at LCPR. Still, we believe
the acquisition of Dish's spectrum assets in Puerto Rico and the
U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) will strengthen LCPR's 5G mobile network
and allow it to compete more effectively with T-Mobile, reducing
net postpaid subscriber losses in 2025 and beyond. The acquisition
(which we expect to close later this year), includes roughly
120,000 of Boost mobile subscribers, which will increase LCPR's
scale in the prepaid market. This partially offsets prepaid
declines, in part, driven by certain sales restrictions governed by
an AT&T transitional services agreement that expired on June 30,
2024.

"We believe residential broadband services revenue will increase by
3%-4% annually through 2025. We expect broadband average revenue
per user (ARPU) growth of 0%-2% and annual subscriber growth of
about 2% through 2025, modestly lower than our previous estimate of
about 2.5%, driven by the negative impact from the expiration of
ACP. We believe that LCPR has been more active in the program than
most small- midsize cable operators given the lower-income
demographics of the island. However, we recognize that unlike peers
in the contiguous U.S., LCPR's competitive position in broadband
over the past two years has been less affected by fixed wireless
access (FWA) and fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) competition, which we
believe could prevent significant customer churn with the
expiration of ACP as there are fewer options available. In
addition, LCPR is the only quadruple-play provider in Puerto Rico
with a dominant broadband position on the island, which we believe
limits customer churn.

"FWA could pressure cable subscriber growth over the next couple of
years. The technology works well and is being offered at low prices
throughout most of the U.S. We expect FWA will continue gaining
market share with discounted service relative to cable, appealing
to more price-sensitive customers that may be willing to compromise
on speed compared with a wired cable connection. We believe many of
these households subscribe to copper-based services and
historically converted to cable when copper networks failed to meet
their data requirements. FWA fills the gap between cable and
copper, typically offering better speeds than copper at prices that
are typically lower than cable. Given the lower-income demographic
in Puerto Rico, we believe there would likely be a strong demand
for this product on the island and T-Mobile is likely the best
positioned competitor to offer the service, which it launched
earlier this year. However, T-Mobile's initial $50 a month offering
appears less competitive than what is being marketed in the
contiguous U.S. and is modestly higher than LCPR's broadband ARPU
of about $48. In addition, the service is limited to qualifying
voice line subscribers, which we believe likely reflects limited
network capacity for any large-scale deployment, which could limit
broadband subscriber churn at LCPR.

"The issuer credit rating incorporates a notch of support from the
group because we believe LLA would support LCPR during periods of
temporary stress. The company is 100% owned by Liberty Latin
America Ltd. (LLA; not rated), which also owns Cable & Wireless
Communications Ltd. (BB-/Stable/B) and Liberty Costa Rica
(B+/Stable/--) While our group credit profile on LLA is 'bb-', we
do not equalize our ratings on the companies because LCPR only
accounts for about 30% of the group's total earnings, and there are
no contractual obligations to provide incentive for support, such
as cross-default provisions among the different credit pools.
Furthermore, there is minimal operational overlap between the group
members. Still, we consider the company to be moderately strategic
to its group.

"The negative outlook reflects that we could lower our rating on
LCPR within the next six to 12-months if there is not a significant
improvement in credit metrics in the second half of 2024 following
the absence of integration expenses.

"We could lower our rating on LCPR if its EBITDA underperforms our
expectations, causing debt to EBITDA to remain above 6x over the
next 12 months. We could also lower our rating if its senior
secured maximum net leverage covenant exceeds 5.5x and we believe
this covenant will be tested within the next 12-months.

"We could revise our outlook on LCPR to stable within the next 12
months if it successfully completes the mobile migration and
expands its EBITDA such that we expect its leverage will approach
the mid-5x area and FOCF to debt approaches 5% on a sustained
basis."

PUERTO RICO: Reaches $188.4M Settlement With Cobra Acquisition
--------------------------------------------------------------
Cobra Acquisitions LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mammoth Energy
Services, Inc., announced that it has entered into a release and
settlement agreement with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority
and the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico,
in its capacity as Title III representative for PREPA, to settle
all outstanding matters between Cobra and PREPA.

Arty Straehla, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are pleased
to have reached this resolution with PREPA and look forward to
receiving the money for work we concluded over five years ago. We
plan to use a portion of the $188.4 million in settlement proceeds
to pay off our term credit facility, which had a balance of
approximately $49.3 million as of June 30, 2024. The remaining
amount of approximately $139.1 million will be cash on our balance
sheet to be used to invest back into our business and for general
corporate purposes."

Cobra and PREPA previously entered into two agreements to aid in
the restoration and reconstruction of Puerto Rico's power grid in
response to damage caused by Hurricane Maria in 2017. PREPA is
currently subject to bankruptcy proceedings, which were filed in
July 2017 and are currently pending in the United States District
Court for the District of Puerto Rico. As a result, PREPA's ability
to meet its payment obligations under the above-referenced
agreements is largely dependent upon funding from the Federal
Emergency Management Agency or other sources. Since September 30,
2019, Mammoth has been pursuing litigation in the Title III Court
and other dispute resolution efforts seeking recovery of the
amounts owed to Cobra by PREPA for restoration services in Puerto
Rico, which proceedings are discussed in more detail in Mammoth's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As of June 30,
2024, Cobra had remaining receivables due from PREPA totaling
approximately $359.1 million in relation to these agreements. PREPA
is currently holding approximately $18.4 million in funds received
from FEMA for purported garnishments in this amount asserted by
three Puerto Rican municipalities for certain municipal tax claims
discussed in Mammoth's filings with the SEC and for which Cobra
disputes any valid garnishment.

Under the terms of the Settlement Agreement, Cobra will have an
allowed administrative expense claim against PREPA of $170.0
million (plus the $18.4 million in the Withheld FEMA Funds).
Cobra's allowed claim will be paid through three installments:

(i) $150 million on the later of (A) ten business days following
approval of the Settlement Agreement by the Title III Court and (B)
August 31, 2024;

(ii) $20 million within seven days following the effective date of
PREPA's plan of adjustment; and

(iii) $18.4 million in the Withheld FEMA Funds within either (A)
ten business days after the deadline for appealing the entry of the
settlement order by the Title III Court under the applicable
bankruptcy rules of procedure if no such appeal is filed, or (B) if
the provisions of the settlement order allowing PREPA to release
the Withheld FEMA Funds to Cobra without retaining any liability to
the Specified Municipalities are appealed by the Specified
Municipalities, within ten business days of the filing of the
notice of such appeal.

The Settlement Agreement was approved by the Company's Board of
Directors on July 22, 2024, and was also approved by the PREPA
Board and by the FOMB. The Settlement Agreement remains subject to
approval by the Title III Court, which is expected to hear the
motion relating to the Settlement Agreement at either a non-omnibus
hearing to be held in August of 2024 or at the next omnibus hearing
to be held on September 18, 2024.

As a result of the Settlement Agreement, the Company will record a
non-cash, pre-tax charge of approximately $170.7 million in the
second quarter of 2024 to reduce its accounts receivable balance
from PREPA to the amount expected to be received from the
Settlement Agreement.

                About Mammoth Energy Services, Inc.

Mammoth is an integrated, growth-oriented energy services company
focused on the providing products and services to enable the
exploration and development of North American onshore
unconventional oil and natural gas reserves as well as the
construction and repair of the electric grid for private utilities,
public investor-owned utilities and co-operative utilities through
its infrastructure services businesses. Mammoth's suite of services
and products include: well completion services, infrastructure
services, natural sand and proppant services, drilling services and
other energy services. For more information, please visit
www.mammothenergy.com.

               About Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is a self-governing commonwealth in association with
the United States. The chief of state is the President of the
United States of America. The head of government is an elected
Governor. There are two legislative chambers: the House of
Representatives, 51 seats, and the Senate, 27 seats.

In 2016, the U.S. Congress passed PROMESA, which, among other
things, created the Financial Oversight and Management Board and
imposed an automatic stay on creditor lawsuits against the
government, which expired May 1, 2017.

The members of the oversight board are: (i) Andrew G. Biggs, (ii)
Jose B. Carrion III, (iii) Carlos M. Garcia, (iv) Arthur J.
Gonzalez, (v) Jose R. Gonzalez, (vi) Ana. J. Matosantos, and (vii)
David A. Skeel Jr.

On May 3, 2017, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico filed a petition
for relief under Title III of the Puerto Rico Oversight,
Management, and Economic Stability Act ("PROMESA"). The case is
pending in the United States District Court for the District of
Puerto Rico under case number 17-cv-01578. A copy of Puerto Rico's
PROMESA petition is available at
http://bankrupt.com/misc/17-01578-00001.pdf                       


On May 5, 2017, the Puerto Rico Sales Tax Financing Corporation
(COFINA) commenced a case under Title III of PROMESA (D.P.R. Case
No. 17-01599). Joint administration has been sought for the Title
III cases.

On May 21, 2017, two more agencies -- Employees Retirement System
of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and Puerto
Rico Highways and Transportation Authority (Case Nos. 17-01685 and
17-01686) -- commenced Title III cases.

U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts named U.S. District Judge Laura
Taylor Swain to preside over the Title III cases.

The Oversight Board has hired as advisors, Proskauer Rose LLP and
O'Neill & Borges LLC as legal counsel, McKinsey & Co. as strategic
consultant, Citigroup Global Markets as municipal investment
banker, and Ernst & Young, as financial advisor.

Martin J. Bienenstock, Esq., Scott K. Rutsky, Esq., and Philip M.
Abelson, Esq., of Proskauer Rose LLP; and Hermann D. Bauer, Esq.,
at O'Neill & Borges LLC are onboard as attorneys.

Prime Clerk LLC is the claims and noticing agent.  Prime Clerk
maintains the case Website:
https://cases.primeclerk.com/puertorico

Jones Day is serving as counsel to certain ERS bondholders. Paul
Weiss is counsel to the Ad Hoc Group of Puerto Rico General
Obligation Bondholders.


                           *********


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