International
Daniel Sancho’s mother says that her son is “well” and adapting to the new prison
Daniel Sancho’s mother, Silvia Bronchalo, assured on Wednesday that her son is “well” and in “adaptation period” in the Thai prison of Surat Thani, to which he was transferred on August 30, after being sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Colombian surgeon Edwin Arrieta.
“(It’s) okay. He is strong and where he is, logically, but well,” Bronchalo told EFE today in Surat Thani after visiting Sancho, 30, in the prison of this city in southern Thailand.
Bronchalo, a Spanish investment analyst, said that she has been able to visit her son on several occasions since last Friday and this week because the prison, which only allows a weekly appointment, has “compressed his visits.”
“It’s not like Samui, where you can see him every day,” said Bronchalo, who stressed that “they have compressed the visits, they have had that deference,” and said she was “happy” to have had the opportunity to see her son on more than one occasion.
The Spaniard referred to the differences between Samui prison, where Sancho remained on a provisional regime from August 7, 2023 until he was transferred to Surat Thani prison one day after he was sentenced to life imprisonment on the 29th of last month.
The Provincial Court of Samui found Sancho guilty of the premeditated murder of Arrieta on August 2, 2023 on the neighboring island of Phangan, a sentence that can still be appealed up to two times in Thailand.
“He is in a period of adaptation, now he is in another prison, there are more people, there are more prisoners of all kinds and they are other rules,” Bronchalo said.
Sancho had to be transferred from prison after the sentence because Samui’s prison only accepts prisoners with sentences of a maximum of 15 years, while Surat Thani’s includes prisoners with a minimum of that sentence and up to the death penalty.
Bronchalo confirmed that Sancho “is in an isolation module,” in which the prisoners are installed “until some time passes” of adaptation and then “they classify them depending on the sentence or what they have done.”
The Spaniard, his mother said, shares a cell “with 14 people,” all Asian except a European of Austrian origin.
The isolation module would be inside zone 6 of the prison, qualified as high security by the prison, according to sources close to the case.
Surat Thani prison is located in an almost depopulated area about 600 kilometers south of Bangkok and hosts about ten times more prisoners than Samui’s, about 4,730 prisoners and 626 prisoners, according to the Department of Corrections.
Also son of Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho, Daniel Sancho initially confessed to the crime but later and during the trial last April he maintained that the death of Arrieta, with whom he stayed in Phangan on the day of the events, was due to an accident.
International
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Wednesday that the death toll from recent rains and floods across several central states has risen to 66, while the federal government has activated air bridges and prioritized assistance in 191 isolated communities.
“Unfortunately, 66 people have died, and 75 remain missing,” the president said during her morning press conference. She added that the official death toll will be updated later in a new report.
As of Tuesday, authorities had reported 64 fatalities. Sheinbaum also announced the creation of a public information center to centralize official data on the deceased, missing persons, damaged homes, and cut-off communities.
According to the president, the number of missing persons has decreased thanks to coordination with state authorities.
“Through calls to phone line 079, 103 people who had been reported missing have now been located,” she explained.
Priority Municipalities
The president noted that the federal government has classified 191 communities as ‘priority’, a designation based mainly on the percentage of homes affected.
International
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Ecuadorian authorities are investigating two explosions that occurred early Wednesday, one on a road in the southern part of the country and another under a bridge in Guayas province. These incidents follow the car bomb explosion in the coastal city of Guayaquil, also in Guayas, which occurred the day before and left one person dead and 30 injured.
Press reports indicate that one person was injured and several vehicles were damaged in the explosion on the Cuenca-Girón-Pasaje road in the south.
“Besides yesterday’s explosion in Guayaquil, we have received reports of explosives placed on bridges along the Guayaquil-Machala and Machala-Cuenca routes to disrupt traffic,” said Roberto Luque, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT).
On his X social media account, Luque reported that authorities have been deployed to the sites to assess the damage and determine the current condition of the structures.
“What they haven’t achieved with their call for a strike, some are trying to achieve through terrorism,” he stated, referring to the 24 days of protests organized by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie) against rising diesel prices and other demands.
The protests, called at a national level, have Imbabura province as their epicenter. Roadblocks have also been reported in the northern part of Pichincha province, whose capital is Quito, while activities in the rest of the country continue normally.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
Central America3 days agoGuatemala arrests first escaped gang member after Barrio 18 prison break
-
International3 days agoMexico reports 64 dead, 65 missing after devastating central region floods
-
International3 days agoVenezuela calls for continued global pressure to secure ‘just peace’ for Palestine
-
International3 days agoPope Leo XIV to skip COP30 in Brazil but plans future visit, Lula confirms
-
Central America4 days agoFraijanes II prison in Guatemala reports gradual escape of 18th Street gang inmates
-
International2 days agoSheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
-
International4 days agoHeavy rains leave dozens dead in Hidalgo, Puebla, and Veracruz
-
International2 days agoArmed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
-
International2 days agoVenezuelan media faces fresh restrictions after reporting on opposition leader’s Nobel win
-
International1 day agoMexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
-
International1 day agoNew road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
-
International2 days agoCaracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win