International
The deputy head of prison officers of one of the largest prisons in Ecuador murdered
A group of hitmen murdered this Friday the deputy chief of prison officers of one of the largest prisons in Ecuador, located in the Andean province of Cotopaxi, according to the Prosecutor’s Office and the prison authorities reported this Friday.
This Friday, at least two people were arrested for investigations related to the murder of Olger M., deputy chief of prison agents of the Latacunga prison, which is officially known as the Cotopaxi Freedom Deprivation Center Number 1, the Public Ministry added in a message in X.
The Prosecutor’s Office “ordered the practice of proceedings, including the removal of the body of Olger M., deputy chead of prison agents, who was attacked today in Latacunga for alleged hitmen,” the source remarked.
Crime in the midst of the relocation of prisoners
This announcement about the murder of the deputy prison chief of this prison in the province of Cotopaxi, whose capital is Latacunga, comes a few days after the Service for Attention to Persons Deprived of Liberty (SNAI), the state prison unit, reported on the relocation of 1,193 inmates from two prisons in the central Andean region of the country.
The SNAI indicated that the authorities transferred prisoners from a prison in the neighboring province of Tungurahua to Cotopaxi, and also prisoners from Cotopaxi to Tungurahua.
The transfer process involved 665 men and 528 women with the purpose of improving security conditions and promoting a safer and more appropriate environment for the inmatees, the SNAI said.
Crisis in the prison system
The processes of transferring prisoners between prisons are common in Ecuador, which for about three years has been suffering from a crisis in the prison system due to the violence attributed to gangs of criminals, who are fighting for control of detention centers.
For this reason, the military has been managing several Ecuadorian prisons since last January, when the country’s president, Daniel Noboa, declared a situation of “internal armed conflict” to face violence in prisons and streets due to the presence of groups belonging to organized crime, which he called “terrorists.”
And it is that, between 2021 and 2023 alone, more than 500 people were murdered in Ecuador’s prisons, most of them in a series of massacres due to internal confrontations between rival criminal gangs.
Latacunga prison has been part of these violent episodes. Until the end of September it was the second most populous prison in Ecuador, with about 4,400 inmates, only surpassed by the Litoral Penitentiary, located in Guayaquil, with about 6,900 prisoners.
Prison violence also took to the streets, which caused Ecuador to be the Latin American country with the highest homicide rate, registering 47.2 murders per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023.
International
Maduro, Delcy Rodríguez sued in Florida over alleged kidnapping, torture and terrorism
U.S. citizens have revived a lawsuit in Miami against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro following his capture, as well as against Vice President and now acting leader Delcy Rodríguez and other senior Chavista officials, whom they accuse of kidnapping, torture, and terrorism.
The plaintiffs — including U.S. citizens who were kidnapped in Venezuela and two minors — filed a motion over the weekend before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida asking the court to declare the defendants in default for failing to respond to the lawsuit initially filed on August 14, 2025, according to court documents made public on Monday.
The case, assigned to Judge Darrin P. Gayles, accuses the Venezuelan leaders of violating the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), the Florida Anti-Terrorism Act, and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
In addition to Maduro and Rodríguez, the lawsuit names Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López; Attorney General Tarek William Saab; Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello; former Supreme Court Chief Justice Maikel Moreno; and National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez.
The complaint also lists the state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and former Electricity Minister Néstor Reverol as defendants.
According to the filing, Maduro “committed flagrant acts of terrorism against U.S. citizens,” citing the criminal case in New York in which Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, appeared in court for the first time on Monday following their arrest on Saturday.
The lawsuit claims that the plaintiffs “were held captive by Maduro” with “illegal material support” from the other defendants, whom it identifies as members of the Cartel of the Suns, a group designated by the United States as a terrorist organization last year.
International
U.S. faces worst flu season in decades as new strain spreads nationwide
The flu continues to take a heavy toll across the United States, with all but four states reporting high or very high levels of activity as a new viral strain known as subclade K continues to spread.
According to another key indicator — doctor visits for fever accompanied by cough or sore throat, common flu symptoms — the U.S. is experiencing its highest level of respiratory illness since at least the 1997–98 flu season, based on data released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“This is definitely a standout year,” said Dr. Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “It’s the worst we’ve seen in at least 20 years. Most of the country is experiencing very high levels of activity, and we are still near the peak.”
Rivers noted that it is unusual to see such a severe flu season following another poor season the previous year, as intense seasons typically do not occur back to back.
Nationwide, approximately 8.2% of doctor visits during the final week of the year were for flu-like symptoms. At the same point last season — which was also severe — that figure stood at 6.7%.
In Massachusetts, where flu activity is reported as very high, health officials urged residents to get vaccinated.
“This is a moment for clarity, urgency, and action,” said Dr. Robbie Goldstein, Commissioner of Public Health, in a press release. “These viruses are serious, dangerous, and potentially deadly. We are seeing critically ill children, families grieving devastating losses, and hospitals under strain due to capacity.”
International
U.S. Energy Secretary to meet oil executives on reviving Venezuela’s crude industry
U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright is set to meet this week with executives from the American oil industry to discuss how to revive Venezuela’s crude oil sector, according to multiple media reports.
The meeting will take place on the sidelines of an energy conference organized by investment banking group Goldman Sachs in Miami.
Senior executives from major U.S. oil companies, including Chevron and ConocoPhillips, are expected to attend the symposium.
Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, estimated at 300 to 303 billion barrels, representing roughly one-fifth of known global reserves.
Following the controversial operation carried out on Saturday to detain Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, U.S. President Donald Trump has placed renewed emphasis on control over and exploitation of Venezuela’s vast oil resources.
Maduro, Delcy Rodríguez sued in Florida over alleged kidnapping, torture and terrorism
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