International
The Prosecutor’s Office asks Boluarte to hand over the documents that justify the surgery he kept hidden
The Peruvian Prosecutor’s Office gave 24 hours to President Dina Boluarte, or her legal defense, to deliver the documents that motivated a surgery in 2023 that it kept hidden, as well as the rules she signed during that period, as part of the investigation into a possible abandonment of office.
Through the Area of Illicit Enrichment and Constitutional Complaints, the Prosecutor’s Office required the president “to comply with sending – within 24 hours the 91 rules in original that she assures she signed between June 28 and July 9, 2023, and the documents on her state of health that motivated the surgical intervention.”
On the social network X, the Public Ministry specified that it makes this request after the statement that the president provided on January 13, as part of the investigation opened for the alleged commission “of the crime of omission of functions and, alternatively, for the crime of abandonment of office, to the detriment of the State.”
Boluarte went this Monday to the office of the attorney general, Delia Espinoza, to testify about the nose operation that kept Congress hidden for more than a year and that has motivated the investigation of the Public Ministry.
His lawyer, Juan Carlos Portugal, said after the diligence that “there is no omission of the charge” because Boluarte “was always aware of the country.”
He explained that the surgery lasted between 40 and 50 minutes, during which “the president was never unconscious,” because it was an “almely simple” intervention.
“At all times she was lucid” and the subsequent treatment was outpatient, despite the fact that that night (June 29, 2023) she spent the night in the clinic, Portugal said.
For that reason, the lawyer maintained that “there is no omission (of functions) because the obligation to communicate (to Congress) is not covered by a rule.”
Boluarte admitted on December 12 that she underwent “a surgical intervention, it was not aesthetic”, that “it was necessary, essential”, for her health, and that it did not generate “any kind of disability, or impediment to exercise” her functions.
“When the Public Ministry deigns to summon me, I will voluntarily renounce my right to medical confidentiality and deliver my medical record,” he said.
After the opening of the investigation, Espinoza said in an interview that the president is not being investigated because she has undergone surgery, but because, allegedly, “she would have left office for hours or days without justification, without having communicated to Congress as appropriate.”
In this sense, he reiterated that the investigation is “about the hours that the Presidency would have stopped exercising because, perhaps, having been incapacitated or unconscious” in the period from June 29 to July 9, 2023.
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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