International

Ecuador roads blockaded on fourth day of fuel price protests

AFP

Indigenous Ecuadorans used burning tires, tree trunks and stones Thursday to block access to the capital, Quito, on the fourth day of protests against high fuel prices and living costs.

Indigenous people, who make up over a million of Ecuador’s 17.7 million inhabitants, embarked on an open-ended anti-government protest Monday that has since been joined by students and other discontented groups.

“We came to claim our rights because we are paid low prices for the products we produce,” Nelson Jami, a farmer from the southern Cotopaxi province, told AFP at a blockade south of Quito.

Protests and roadblocks were registered Thursday in 15 of Ecuador’s 24 provinces, authorities said, with hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Quito alone.

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Firefighters said a truck carrying demonstrators overturned in Quito Thursday, injuring 12 people.

Oil producer Ecuador has been hit by rising inflation, unemployment and poverty exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Fuel prices have risen sharply since 2020, almost doubling for diesel from $1 to $1.90 per gallon (3.8 liters) and rising from $1.75 to $2.55 for petrol.

The powerful Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie), which called the protests, wants the price reduced to $1.50 for diesel and $2.10 for petrol.

Conaie is credited with helping topple three Ecuadoran presidents between 1997 and 2005.

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– ‘Sabotage’ –

President Guillermo Lasso said Wednesday the government’s door was open to dialogue, “but we will not give in to violent groups that seek to impose their rules.”

Conaie leader Leonidas Iza, for his part, said the government was not making any concessions required for negotiations to begin.

Iza was arrested Tuesday on the second day of the mass protest on suspicion of “sabotage,” according to the government, prompting furious supporters to descend on the prosecutor’s office to demand he be freed.

He was released the following day on a judge’s orders pending trial on charges of “paralyzing public transport services.”

Iza risks up to three years in prison.

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Conaie has reported 14 people injured since the protests began Monday, while police reported 29 arrests, eight agents injured and 11 others briefly held by demonstrators.

Ecuador’s Production Minister Julio Prado said losses as a result of the protests amounted to some $20 million by Thursday.

In 2019, Conaie-led protests resulted in 11 deaths and forced then-president Lenin Moreno to abandon plans to eliminate fuel subsidies.

International

Habeas Corpus at risk as Trump team eyes drastic border policy shift

The White House is reportedly considering suspending habeas corpus, the legal principle that protects individuals against arbitrary detention, as part of its efforts to escalate anti-immigration measures in the United States.

In remarks to reporters, Stephen Miller, a senior advisor to President Donald Trump, argued that the U.S. Constitution allows the suspension of habeas corpus “in times of invasion.”

“It’s an option we are actively considering, and it all depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not,” Miller stated.

The Trump administration has frequently invoked the notion of a “migrant invasion” to justify actions such as the militarization of the U.S.-Mexico border and the deportation of foreign nationals—primarily Venezuelans—to El Salvador’s CECOT megaprison.

International

Maduro to Xi: Venezuela is a loyal friend to China

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro assured his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, during a meeting held in Moscow on the sidelines of the 80th anniversary of the Red Army’s victory in World War II, that China has “loyal friends” in the Caribbean nation.

“You know that in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela you have loyal friends and people willing to continue working for a new world,” said the South American leader, according to footage aired Friday by Venezuelan state broadcaster VTV.

Maduro, accompanied by several of his ministers including Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López, highlighted the “great results” of a 2023 agreement between China and Venezuela called the “All-Weather and All-Round Strategic Partnership.”

“I believe we can multiply the great results we’re already seeing, and I’m sure that strong and clear guidelines will emerge from this meeting to keep moving forward together,” Maduro added.

International

Iberojet reaffirms commitment to Honduras as Central American Hub

Spanish airline Iberojet and Palmerola International Airport, located in central Honduras, signed a three-year renewal of their exclusive agreement to operate direct flights between the Honduran terminal and the cities of Madrid and Barcelona.

With this renewal, Iberojet—part of the Spanish tourism group Ávoris Corporación Empresarial—reaffirms its commitment to Honduras as its main gateway to Central America from Europe.

The agreement was signed by Iberojet’s Commercial Director, Mario Domínguez, and Erick Spears, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Palmerola.

The signing ceremony took place at the residence of the Spanish Ambassador to Honduras, Diego Nuño García, who served as an honorary witness.