International
Ecuador bloodbath: Deadly unrest in Latin America’s jails
AFP
At least 118 inmates died in rioting in an Ecuador jail this week before police regained control Thursday. Following the latest carnage, here is a look at the deadliest clashes in recent years in Latin America’s notoriously overcrowded prisons.
– Deadliest –
Over the past three decades, there have been several massive prison riots that left more than 100 inmates dead.
In 2005, a fire ripped through an overcrowded prison in the Dominican Republic’s eastern city of Higuey after a dawn riot, leaving at least 135 people dead.
In 1994, 121 inmates were killed after prisoners set fire to three prison blocks during a riot at Sabaneta prison in Venezuela’s northern city of Maracaibo.
In 1992 in Brazil, 111 prisoners were killed when security forces put down a riot at the enormous Carandiru jail outside Sao Paulo.
The massacre was later portrayed in an acclaimed 2003 film, “Carandiru.”
– Ecuador’s ‘war’ –
Tuesday’s bloodshed in Guayaquil is believed to be linked to a “war” between Mexican drug gangs. It is the fifth major incident in the port city’s prison in just over a year.
In all, some 200 inmates have died in violence in Ecuador’s jails so far this year as they have become a battleground for thousands of prisoners with ties to powerful Mexican cartels.
More than 100 died in clashes last year — with many beheaded — with corruption allowing inmates to smuggle in arms and ammunition.
Ecuador’s prison system has 65 facilities designed for about 30,000 inmates but a population of 39,000, watched over by 1,500 guards — a shortfall of about 2,500, according to experts.
– Bloody Brazil –
Deadly riots are frequent in Brazil’s overcrowded prisons, which roughly hold twice the number of inmates they were built for.
With more than 702,000 prisoners, Brazil has the world’s third largest prison population after China and the United States.
In late May 2019, at least 55 prisoners were killed in several jails over two days in the northwestern state of Amazonas.
Two months later 57 died in a battle between rival gangs in a prison in Altamira in northern Brazil.
On April 11, 2018, at least 21 died in an attempted breakout from a prison near the northern city of Belem.
In early 2017, deadly riots left around 100 prisoners dead in the space of a month — many were decapitated and even disemboweled.
– Venezuela –
Venezuela also has a long and bloody history of prison unrest, almost matching Brazil’s grisly record of 756 deaths since 1992.
In May 2020, 47 prisoners died after a riot sparked by food shortages in a jail in the western city of Guanare.
In May 2019, at least 29 prisoners were killed in clashes at a jail in the western town of Acarigua.
March 28, 2018 saw one of the worst prison riots in Venezuela, with 68 people dying in a blaze in a police station jail in the northern city of Valencia.
In August 2017, 37 were killed in a jailhouse in the southern Venezuelan state of Amazonas.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
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