International

Daniel Noboa, a ‘millennial’ president, unpredictable and with a heavy hand

Daniel Noboa, the youngest president of Latin America and the democratic history of Ecuador, seeks at the age of 37 to be re-elected for a full term (2025-2029), after fourteen months of government marked by the “hard hand” against organized crime and by controversial and unpredictable actions for his adversaries, who denounce a “dictatorial attitude”.

At the age of 35, he gave the surprise by winning the extraordinary elections of 2023 and assuming a leading country in homicide rate in Latin America and with a fiscal deficit of almost 5 billion dollars. Without hesitation, he declared a “war” on organized crime, which has been tarnished in terms of human rights, and implemented unpopular economic reforms to balance public accounts.

He did not tremble his pulse to make decisions even sometimes outside the law, as the Constitutional Court has ruled in several controversies, such as irregularly promulgating by decree a rule that had previously been denied by the National Assembly (Parliament).

Thus, last April he ordered the police assault on the Mexican Embassy to arrest former Correísta vice president Jorge Glas, who had received diplomatic asylum by declaring himself politically persecuted for the convictions and processes for corruption that he has accumulated since 2017 in Ecuador.

This led to a serious crisis with Mexico, whose government unsuccessfully asked for the delivery of Glas, currently in prison to serve a pending prison sentence.

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Far from doing something to ease the tension, Noboa recently announced that it will impose tariffs of 27% on Mexico.

Another controversial episode is his particular confrontation with his vice president Verónica Abad, who has accused him of harassment to force her to resign. Abad and the Government have counterclaimed for alleged political gender violence, which can even be punished with dismissal from office.

In his pulse with Abad, Noboa has made it clear that he is a “terrible enemy to have” – as he said of himself during a public act – and has found ways to keep her away from office.

First he sent her to Israel as ambassador, then the Government suspended her from office, which was annulled by the Justice, and then appointed by decree a “vice president in charge” to delegate the Presidency during the election campaign, something recently declared unconstitutional by the constitutional court.

With his first wife, Gabriela Goldbaum, from whom he is divorced, he is judicially confronted for the custody of his firstborn and before being president he confronted the Spanish insurer Mapfre for an alleged leak of bank data in his divorce process.

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His detractors call him capricious and speak of dictatorial attitudes, but he has also demonstrated political cunning to apply, without social revolts, measures that made other Governments stagger, such as the increase in VAT and the reduction of gasoline subsidies.

Noboa is a man of few words. His speeches last a few minutes and he hardly lavishes himself in interviews with the media.

As a ‘millennial’ (born between the early 1980s and early 2000s), he speaks mainly through social networks. His style of communication has misseted more than one.

With pieces that last seconds and phrases as short as they are sharp, he has often left politicians whom he cass in “old Ecuador” and links with corruption or drug politics without a response capacity.

Raised in a house where politics was breathed, he trained in prestigious foreign institutions and was focused on family businesses before making the leap to the political arena as an assemblyman in 2021.

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Daniel Noboa was born in Miami (United States), just like, as a ruler, Furio, his third child and the second of his marriage to the ‘influencer’ and nutritionist Lavinia Valbonesi, with whom he shares a taste for sport. On social networks he shows off his gym routines and wears recent tattoos of the phoenix, as his safety program for the country is called.

He usually dresses in youthful fashion but imposing style, with jeans, shirts, leather jacket and polarized sunglasses, and he is not afraid to be the target of memes when combining a formal suit with imposing Prada platform shoes, as he did in his investiture.

His distance from the protocol was evident when he received the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, in the Galapagos Islands with a white shirt and bermuda shorts in a shing color.

International

Two killed in shooting at restaurant near Frankfurt Airport

Two people were shot dead early Tuesday at a restaurant in Raunheim, near Frankfurt Airport, according to local police.

Preliminary findings indicate that an armed individual entered the establishment at around 03:45 local time (02:45 GMT) and opened fire on the victims, who died at the scene from their injuries.

The suspect fled and remains at large, while the motive behind the shooting is still unclear, German media reported. Authorities have launched a large-scale search operation.

International

U.S. counterterrorism chief resigns over opposition to war in Iran

Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced Tuesday that he has resigned from his post, citing his opposition to the ongoing war in Iran.

In a post on X, Kent said he could not, “in good conscience,” support the conflict, arguing that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the United States. He also claimed that the war was driven by pressure from Israel and its lobbying influence in Washington.

In a resignation letter addressed to Donald Trump, Kent alleged that at the start of the current administration, senior Israeli officials and influential figures in U.S. media carried out a disinformation campaign that undermined the “America First” platform and fostered pro-war sentiment aimed at triggering a conflict with Iran.

Kent further stated that he could not support sending a new generation of Americans to “fight and die in a war that provides no benefit to the American people and does not justify the cost in American lives.”

Since the United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran on February 28, at least 13 U.S. service members have been killed, while 10 others have been seriously wounded and around 200 have sustained minor injuries, according to a report published by The Wall Street Journal.

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International

German president warns Iran war could spread and disrupt Strait of Hormuz

The president of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, warned Monday that the war involving Iran could expand and further disrupt shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. He urged a swift end to hostilities between Iran, United States and Israel.

Speaking in Panama City during a joint appearance with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, Steinmeier said available information suggests Iran has significant capacity to disrupt maritime traffic through the key oil route.

“Iran has considerable potential to interfere with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,” Steinmeier said through an interpreter. “We should therefore reach an end to the hostilities as soon as possible and call on all parties involved to make that happen.”

The remarks came during Steinmeier’s visit to Panama, the first by a German president to the Central American nation.

The German leader described the possibility of the conflict spreading as “very dangerous,” saying recent developments indicate that such a scenario cannot be ruled out.

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Over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump urged allied nations to help ensure safe passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran moved to block the waterway in response to U.S. strikes. However, several allies—particularly in Europe—have shown little support for the proposal.

“Some are very enthusiastic, others are not, and some are countries we have helped for many years,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We have protected them from terrible external threats, and they’re not that enthusiastic. And the level of enthusiasm is important to me.”

Meanwhile, Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, said the Strait of Hormuz falls “outside NATO’s scope” and stressed that “the war involving Iran is not Europe’s war.”