International

Ecuador quake leaves 14 dead and more than 400 injured

Photo: EFE

March 20 |

The strong 6.8 tremor that shook Ecuador left 14 dead and 446 people injured in at least two provinces, the country’s authorities reported on Sunday. At least one death was reported in bordering Peru.

A day after the earthquake, the most recent official reports show that 180 houses were affected and 5 bridges were destroyed, according to the Ecuadorian Risk Management Secretariat.

In Peru, Prime Minister Alberto Otárola reported that a 4-year-old girl died in a hospital in the Tumbes region, bordering Ecuador. The minor suffered an encephalocranial traumatism after her house collapsed due to the earthquake in Ecuador, which was also felt in Peru.

The Peruvian civil defense said that due to the tremor four houses were uninhabitable in the Tumbes region.

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Ecuadorian rescue forces are still working in the areas affected by the quake, which according to Ecuador’s Geophysical Institute had its epicenter about 29 kilometers from Balao, in the Guayas region, about 80 kilometers south of Guayaquil, Ecuador’s second largest city.

Early Sunday, rescuers and volunteers traveled to the island of Puná, on Ecuador’s southern coast, to assess damage and offer aid to the victims. President Guillermo Lasso called on Ecuadorians to remain calm and expressed his solidarity with the families of the deceased and those affected.

The expressions of support to the victims and relatives of the victims began to arrive after the earthquake.

Pope Francis offered prayers on Sunday for the victims of the earthquake. During his weekly midday blessing, Francis recalled that the tremor “caused deaths, injuries and enormous damage.”

“I am close to the Ecuadorian people and I assure them of my prayers for the dead and for all those who suffer,” the pope added.

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The U.S. ambassador in Quito, Michael J. Fitzpatrick, offered via Twitter “sincere condolences” for the deaths and assured that the U.S. “joins the people of Ecuador in this difficult situation.

Deaths and damages
One of the people who lost his life in Saturday’s earthquake was in the city of Cuenca. The victim was trapped inside a vehicle on which the facade of a house collapsed, informed the Secretariat of Risk Management.

In the province of El Oro, the collapse of a house resulted in the death of three people. In the area of Jambelí, the collapse of the camera tower of the Integrated Security Service ECU 911 was reported.

The airport in the Santa Rosa canton was slightly damaged as a result of the earthquake.

At the moment, two aftershocks have been registered after the tremor. One of magnitude 4.8 at a depth of 24 kilometers, and another of magnitude 3.7 at a depth of 23 kilometers. Both with epicenter about 23 kilometers from Balao, Guayas.

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In Guayas, authorities reported multiple material damages. Including the collapse of 10 houses that left several injured.

In Machala canton, the tremor caused the collapse of a two-story house leaving people trapped inside, authorities reported. They also reported the collapse of telephone lines and lack of electricity in several sectors of the province, and the collapse of the old coastal dock.

Firefighters immediately launched rescue efforts for people trapped under the rubble.

President Guillermo Lasso called for calm and to “be informed through official channels”, in a message on his social networks. Lasso said that he communicated with the Secretariat of Risk Management “to evaluate the effects” of the earthquake that occurred in Balao, Guayas.

The president and his cabinet activated the National Emergency Operations Committee in Guayaquil to evaluate the effects caused by the tremor.

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International

Brazil offers to mediate Colombia-Ecuador tensions, calls for restraint

The government of Brazil has offered to mediate in the ongoing tensions between Colombia and Ecuador, while calling on both nations to exercise restraint.

In a statement released Wednesday, Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged the parties involved to act with moderation and seek a peaceful resolution to the dispute.

“Brazil encourages all sides to act with moderation in order to find a peaceful solution to the controversy. It stands ready to support dialogue efforts aimed at preserving peace and security in the region,” the statement said.

Brazil also expressed “serious concern” over reports of deaths in the border area between Colombia and Ecuador, noting that the circumstances surrounding the incidents have not yet been clarified.

The diplomatic move comes amid rising tensions between the neighboring countries, increasing regional concern over stability and security along their shared border.

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International

U.S. lowers travel advisory for much of Venezuela but keeps high-risk zones under warning

The U.S. Department of State announced on Thursday that it has lowered its travel advisory for much of Venezuela to Level 3 (“Reconsider Travel”), reflecting what it described as improved security conditions in parts of the country.

However, the agency will maintain the highest Level 4 warning (“Do Not Travel”) for several regions, including the states of Táchira, Amazonas, Apure, Aragua and Guárico, as well as rural areas of Bolívar, citing ongoing risks such as crime, kidnapping and terrorism.

The updated advisory marks a shift from December, when the United States raised the alert for Venezuela to Level 4 nationwide, warning of severe security threats.

Despite the partial downgrade, U.S. authorities continue to urge caution, emphasizing that conditions remain volatile in certain areas and that travelers should carefully assess risks before planning any trips to the country.

International

EU lawmakers move to ban AI tools that generate non-consensual nude images

Members of the European Parliament are pushing to ban across the bloc artificial intelligence services that allow users to digitally “undress” people without their consent.

The proposal, adopted on Wednesday at committee level, aims to prohibit applications that generate non-consensual explicit images. Irish lawmaker Michael McNamara, one of the sponsors, said the measure seeks to stop tools that “have caused significant harm for the benefit of a few.”

Dutch MEP Kim van Sparrentak welcomed the move, calling it “a major victory, especially for women and children in Europe.”

The amendment, part of broader EU legislation on artificial intelligence, was approved by the Parliament’s civil liberties and internal market committees. It specifically targets systems that use AI to create or manipulate sexually explicit or intimate images resembling identifiable individuals without their consent.

The proposal will be put to a full vote in the European Parliament on March 26. If adopted, lawmakers and European Union member states will need to agree on a final version before it can take effect.

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Separately, representatives of the 27 EU countries recently backed a Franco-Spanish amendment seeking to ban AI services used to generate non-consensual sexual images or child sexual abuse material.

The initiative follows controversy surrounding a feature introduced in Grok, developed by xAI, which allowed users to create simulated nude images from real photos. The tool sparked widespread criticism and prompted an EU investigation.

In response, xAI restricted image generation features in mid-January to paying subscribers and stated it blocks the creation of sexualized images in jurisdictions where such content is illegal.