International
They denounce the arrest in Havana of the Cuban opponent Manuel Cuesta Morúa
The Cuban opponent Manuel Cuesta Morúa, one of the leaders of the dissent on the island, has been detained since this Saturday in Havana and for the moment the reason for his arrest has not been revealed, denounced Cuban parties abroad and human rights NGOs.
According to sources close to EFE, the arrest took place in the middle of the morning around his home and after the dissident warned his closest circle that he had been surveillance in front of his home by the Cuban security forces since the day before.
“The opposition Manuel Cuesta Morúa, vice president of the Council for the Democratic Transition of Cuba (CTDC), has been arrested by the Cuban political police. We do not know his whereabouts or the reason for his arrest,” the Christian Democratic Party of Cuba (PDC) wrote on social networks.
The NGO Cubalex made for its part “a call to the international community to keep the attention on human rights violations in Cuba” by denouncing the arrest of Cuesta Morúa.
The complainants and sources consulted said they did not know the possible reasons for the arrest and the current whereabouts of the opponent. They also indicated that they have no record of other arrests in the drensing opposition collective on the island.
Manuel Cuesta Morúa asked for the freedom of José Daniel Ferrer
Cuesta Morúa recently presented before the Cuban Supreme Court a habeas corpus procedure to request the immediate release of the opponent José Daniel Ferrer, an initiative that so far has not had an official response.
The appeal was filed shortly after Ferrer’s family denounced that the prisoner for political reasons had received a “brutal beating” by the prison staff in which he has been since July 11, 2021.
Ferrer, founder of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unpacu) and historical dissident, has been arrested on previous occasions. The first occurred in 2003, during the repressive period called the “black first time.”
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
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