International

Ecuador to resume impeachment proceedings against former president Lasso

Photo: Sputnik

November 29 |

Ecuador’s National Assembly will resume this Wednesday the impeachment trial against former president Guillermo Lasso (2021-2023), for alleged corruption in the public sector, according to the call issued for the plenary session of the Legislative.

The summons, signed by the president of the Parliament, will be this Wednesday at 16.00 local time (21:00 GMT), to deal with an item on the agenda.

In addition, it states that, “Impeachment against the constitutional president of the Republic, Guillermo Alberto Santiago Lasso Mendoza, as established in Article 93 of the Organic Law of the Legislative Function and in accordance with Resolution RL-2021-2023-162”.

This process was left for a vote on May 16, after the then president Guillermo Lasso exercised his defense and the interpellants presented their evidence.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

One day later, Lasso gave way to the “death cross” to dissolve the National Assembly and ordered to call for early elections, the second round of which took place on October 15 of this year.

Pamela Aguirre, president of the Political Control and Control Commission, explained to local media that in the plenary of the National Assembly there is still the interpellant Viviana Veloz, who will take up the arguments and continue the debate, where some assembly members will intervene.

Legislator Veloz, from the Citizen Revolutionary Party, was one of those who filed the charges against the then president in the previous Legislature.

Lasso was subjected to an impeachment process for irregularities in a contract, renewed during his administration, for the transportation of Ecuadorian oil, with a damage to the State for US$ 6.1 million.

The former president “will exercise his right to defense, arguing before the plenary of the National Assembly on the accusations against him”, according to Ecuadorian law.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

Related Topics:Guillermo Lasso impeachment

Up Next

Murderers of Mapuche youth sentenced to prison in Argentina

Don't Miss

Bolivian government inaugurates third Nuclear Medicine Center

20260330_renta_mh_300x250

International

White House says Cuba policy unchanged despite sanctioned fuel shipment

The White House said Monday that it has not changed its policy toward Cuba, despite allowing a sanctioned Russian oil tanker to deliver fuel to the island on humanitarian grounds.

U.S. officials emphasized that the decision was made as an exception and does not signal a broader shift in policy.

The administration added that similar decisions would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, depending on humanitarian considerations.

The clarification comes amid ongoing restrictions related to U.S. sanctions policy, which continue to limit trade and financial flows involving Cuba.

International

Spain to grant citizenship to Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López

The Spanish government is expected to grant citizenship this Tuesday to Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lópezthrough an extraordinary procedure known as “carta de naturaleza.”

The decision will be approved by royal decree, an exceptional legal mechanism used in special cases that require expedited resolution due to specific circumstances.

López has been living in Madrid since 2020, after leaving Venezuela following a prolonged political and legal conflict with the government of Nicolás Maduro.

According to government sources, López currently does not have a valid Venezuelan passport and faces difficulties in having his nationality fully recognized in his home country.

As a result, he applied for Spanish citizenship via a fast-track process at the end of 2025, after previously attempting to obtain it through regular procedures.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

The Spanish government justified the move based on López’s international relevance and foreign policy considerations.

López is the leader of the Voluntad Popular party and co-founder of the World Liberty Congress, an initiative launched in 2022 alongside figures such as Garry Kasparov and Masih Alinejad.

International

ICE to remain at airports amid DHS shutdown, Homan says

The U.S. “border czar,” Tom Homan, said Sunday that agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will remain deployed at airports until operations return to “100% normal,” as the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues.

“We will maintain ICE presence until airports feel they are fully back to normal operations,” Homan said during an interview on Face the Nation on CBS.

Homan justified the deployment on security grounds, noting that the measure was ordered by President Donald Trumpamid widespread absenteeism among agents of the Transportation Security Administration, who have gone without pay for over six weeks due to the DHS shutdown.

According to acting TSA administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill, at least 460 TSA agents have resigned during the shutdown, while daily absenteeism has averaged 11%, exceeding 50% at some airports.

Homan warned that if TSA staffing levels do not recover after the shutdown, ICE agents will continue filling the gap. “ICE is there to support our TSA brothers and sisters. We will remain as long as needed to ensure airport security,” he said.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

The DHS shutdown reached 44 days on Sunday, making it the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The impasse stems from disagreements between Democrats and Republicans over ICE funding.

A recent bipartisan Senate proposal to fund DHS without including ICE failed after being blocked by House Republicans, who insist on full funding for the agency.

Amid the deadlock, Trump signed an executive order directing Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to immediately pay TSA agents to address what he called an “emergency situation” and restore order at airports, with payments expected to begin Monday.