International
New clashes in violence-hit Ecuador prison: officials
AFP
New clashes were reported on Tuesday in an Ecuadoran prison where 15 people died in a riot the day before, the state prison administration authority said.
Violence in Ecuador’s prisons, where drug gangs vie for power, is often carried out with knives and sometimes involves beheadings. The unrest has left more than 400 prisoners dead since February 2021.
“There has been a new incident” in the Latacunga prison in the center of Ecuador, around 60 miles (100 kilometers) southeast of Quito, the SNAI prison authority told reporters.
The prison authority had to send in tactical units to re-establish control following Monday’s riot that left at least 15 inmates dead and 33 injured.
SNAI said the most recent clashes took place in a medium-security part of the prison that houses 4,300 inmates and is one of the largest in the country.
The authority said “detonations” had been heard but that police were “containing” the inmates. No deaths have been reported.
Administrative personnel were evacuated from the prison, said SNAI.
Following Monday’s massacre, worried relatives waited outside the prison on Tuesday hoping for information on their loved ones.
“I’m looking for my brother Carlos Bravo. I got here at 6:00 am,” one tearful woman who did not give her name told AFP.
“They told me to come and fetch my brother. I don’t know anything, there’s no list (of the dead), no-one has told me anything.”
A force of 600 police and military personnel entered the prison on Monday to try to retake control from the rioters, authorities said.
Riot sparked by inmate attack
Monday’s riot was allegedly provoked by the murder of Leandro Norero, a 36-year-old suspected drug trafficker known by the alias “El Patron” (the boss).
Norero, who had become one of the leaders of a group of inmates, was arrested last May for allegations of money laundering, in an operation in which $6.4 million, 24 gold bars, firearms and ammunition were allegedly seized.
“From what we can tell, Leandro Norero would be among the victims,” said SNAI assistant director Jorge Flores.
The prosecutor’s office said on Twitter it was working to identify the dead.
Website GK said Monday’s riot broke out after an attack “against Norero and his security, at least six prisoners,” quoting unnamed inmates.
Norero, who was also wanted by Peru, was allegedly a member of the Los Chone Killers gang.
Other gangs such as Los Choneros, Los Lobos and Los Tiguerones also have a major presence in Ecuador’s prison system, from where gang leaders manage the drug trafficking trade.
Norero’s murder could spark further clashes, the interior ministry saying said, adding “we have to be careful.”
The country’s overcrowded prisons contain about 35,000 inmates, many of them members of gangs linked to drug trafficking.
A government committee noted in April that Ecuadorian prisons “are considered warehouses of human beings and torture centers.”
Bordered by Colombia and Peru, the world’s largest cocaine producers, Ecuador serves as a departure port for drug shipments, primarily to the United States and Europe.
In a bid to improve the living conditions in Ecuador’s prisons, President Guillermo Lasso launched an inmate census in August.
During a television interview on Monday, he offered “a message of condolence and solidarity with the families of those who died today in (the prison)”.
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.
International
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Norway, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Venezuelan diplomatic mission provided no explanation for its decision on Monday.
“It is regrettable,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue with Venezuela open and will continue to work in that direction.” The ministry also emphasized that the Nobel Committee operates entirely independently from the Norwegian government.
In its announcement, the Nobel Committee stated that Machado met the criteria established by Alfred Nobel, “embodying the hope for a different future, where the fundamental rights of Venezuelans are heard.”
International
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
Thousands of military personnel and civilians in Mexico worked tirelessly on Tuesday to clear roads blocked by the torrential rains of recent days, which have left more than 300 communities cut off across central and eastern regions of the country. Authorities also launched mass fumigation efforts in several affected areas to prevent the spread of dengue fever.
The official death toll remains at 64, though dozens of people are still missing. President Claudia Sheinbaumacknowledged that the government does not yet know the full situation in many of the isolated villages, which range in population from 500 to 1,000 inhabitants.
“The reopening of roads is one of the greatest urgencies,” Sheinbaum said. “It’s essential to guarantee air bridges, food supplies, clean water, and a proper census of the isolated communities so we can determine the condition of every person living there.”
Private construction companies are also assisting the effort with heavy machinery and technical support to help reopen highways and reconnect rural areas.
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
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
-
International4 days agoMaría Corina Machado calls 2025 Nobel Peace prize a victory for venezuelan people
-
International1 day agoMexico reports 64 dead, 65 missing after devastating central region floods
-
Central America1 day agoGuatemala arrests first escaped gang member after Barrio 18 prison break
-
International1 day agoVenezuela calls for continued global pressure to secure ‘just peace’ for Palestine
-
International1 day agoPope Leo XIV to skip COP30 in Brazil but plans future visit, Lula confirms
-
International4 days agoNetanyahu says Trump deserved 2025 Nobel Peace prize
-
International3 days agoPeruvian president Jerí leads prison raids to tackle organized crime
-
International3 days agoVenezuela launches ‘Independence 200’ defense plan amid U.S. naval presence
-
Central America2 days agoFraijanes II prison in Guatemala reports gradual escape of 18th Street gang inmates
-
International3 hours agoSheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
-
International2 days agoHeavy rains leave dozens dead in Hidalgo, Puebla, and Veracruz
-
International3 hours agoArmed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
-
International3 hours agoVenezuelan media faces fresh restrictions after reporting on opposition leader’s Nobel win
-
International3 hours agoCaracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win