International
Relatives of Ecuador inmates clamor for news after bloody riot
AFP
Relatives gathered Friday at a morgue in Ecuador, clamoring for news about loved ones locked up at a prison where 118 convicts were killed in a flare-up of gang violence, some beheaded.
They shared their worry in frantic tones as they circulated rumors that some of the bodies had been dismembered or burnt beyond recognition, and that police have yet to remove all the corpses from the scene of one of the bloodiest prison riots in South American history.
“I came because I saw a video, sent to me by cell phone, where I recognized his head,” said Ermes Duarte, desperate for word on his son who he said had just 15 days left to serve at Guayaquil prison in the port city of the same name.
“I haven’t spoken to my son since Monday,” the 71-year-old told AFP.
The riot broke out Tuesday as prisoners believed to have links to rival Mexican drug gangs went to war armed with guns and grenades.
Police had retaken control by Thursday evening after a massive security operation involving some 900 officers and members of tactical units while soldiers and tanks were stationed outside the jail.
Six inmates were beheaded in the massacre that left 86 wounded, six critically, according to Ecuador’s prisons authority.
So far, 41 of the bodies have been identified, officials said, and 22 turned over to their families.
– Three sons dead –
A woman at the morgue, in search of her brother, told AFP she had seen an image of a severed head “which looked like his”.
Ecuador’s prisons are the scene of frequent clashes between thousands of inmates with ties to drug gangs — mainly the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels.
The prison system has 65 facilities designed for about 30,000 inmates but houses 39,000 — 8,500 of them in Guayaquil.
The country has about 1,500 guards — a shortfall of about 3,000, according to experts.
Corruption is rife, enabling prisoners to acquire all sorts of contraband, including arms and ammunition.
So far this year, riots have claimed 237 inmates’ lives — up from 103 in 2020 — and left 166 injured.
At the morgue, Daniel Villacis, 57, said he lost three sons in the latest prison clash.
Clutching a banner that read “You left without saying goodbye…” and a picture of one of his children, Villacis told AFP two of his sons’ bodies were already at home, and he was waiting for the third.
Police continued searches of the prison Friday for arms and ammunition. On Thursday, they had seized three pistols, several rounds of ammunition, 25 knives and three explosive devices.
The government decreed a state of emergency after Tuesday’s riot, suspending the civil rights of prisoners and allowing it to deploy the armed forces to restore and maintain order.
– ‘A war’ –
On February 23, simultaneous riots at four jails including Guayaquil left 79 inmates dead, several of them also beheaded.
Two weeks ago, Guayaquil’s Prison Number 4 was attacked by drones, part of “a war between international cartels,” prison authorities said. There were no casualties in that attack.
Jaqueline Cox, 52, said she identified the body of her son Jorge Mojarras, 28, from a tattoo on his back in a picture shown to her by forensics experts at Guayaquil morgue.
He was in jail for stealing a mobile phone, she said.
Located between Colombia and Peru, the world’s leading cocaine producers, Ecuador is a key transit for drug shipments to the United States and Europe.
Guayaquil is Ecuador’s most populous city and its main port.
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
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Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
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