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Ecuador doubles prison guards to quell violence

| By AFP |

Ecuador nearly doubled its number of prison guards on Monday as it tries to crack down on brutal violence between drug gangs that has left some 400 dead behind bars since 2021.

A battle for control of the drug trade in the small country has played out in its prisons, mainly in the port city of Guayaquil, which has become a new nerve center in the global drug trade.

Authorities announced the deployment of 1,461 new prison guards joining the current crop of about 1,500 officers, who at times have been severely outnumbered in a country with 32,000 inmates.

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“We are almost doubling the human resources needed for the professional, serious, and technical management of all of Ecuador’s detention centers,” said President Guillermo Lasso during the graduation ceremony of the new officers.

Since February 2021, Ecuador has experienced eight prison massacres that left about 400 dead in grisly scenes where many were beheaded or burnt.

Lasso said the deployment of the new guards was part of a plan to restore control of the country’s 36 prisons and “put an end to the acts of violence that have taken place there recently.”

Lasso plans to improve conditions in prisons, notably by reducing the inmate population via pardons and a prison census.

He said that overcrowding had gone from 26 percent to six percent since his election in May 2021. 

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While Ecuador does not have large drug production or cartels, it has become a significant conduit for cocaine from neighboring Colombia and Peru, due to weaker controls at its main port and its dollar economy.

Mexican, Colombian and Balkan mafia are all involved in the trade, pitting local gangs against each other as they jockey for alliances and control of the drug route.

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International

President Boric announces curfew following triple police homicide in Chile

Chile offers residency and Chilean nationality to Nicaraguan opponents

Chilean President Gabriel Boric has implemented a nighttime curfew in three municipalities of the Biobío region following the murder of three police officers. The Chilean leader emphasized that “criminals will answer to Chile and its justice system.”

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Boric stated that he made the decision “after discussing with the General Director of the Carabineros, the Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces, the Head of National Defense, and the Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, having also considered various alternatives and taking into account the needs of the ongoing investigation.”

He further detailed that “I have instructed to decree a curfew in the municipalities of Cañete, Contulmo, and Tirúa from midnight to 7:00 AM. Additionally, police and military presence will be intensified to our utmost capacity with joint patrols in the area.”

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International

President López Obrador meets with Astros and Rockies ahead of Mexico City Series

Last Friday, before the 2024 Mexico City Series between the Astros and Rockies at Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium in Mexico City, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador met with representatives from both teams.

Through his social media, the President shared his interaction with executives from the Houston and Colorado teams, as well as with Astros’ Mexican pitcher, José Urquidy.

“Yesterday (Friday), before starting the tour, I had breakfast with executives and friends from the Houston Astros and the Colorado Rockies. There’s increasingly more baseball fever in our country,” López Obrador wrote.

The photos also featured former Mexican major leaguers Vinicio “Vinny” Castilla and Jorge de la Rosa, both of whom played for the Colorado team.

On Saturday night, the Houston Astros won the first game in the “capital inferno,” home of the Mexico City Red Devils, with a commanding score of 12 to 4.

This Sunday, the second game of the series will take place at AHH, with both teams arriving in Mexico on a losing streak. Another great Major League celebration is anticipated at the “fire diamond.”

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International

Social media star Om Fahad fatally shot in Baghdad

An Iraqi TikToker, previously sentenced to prison last year for posting content deemed “indecent” on social media, was fatally shot in Baghdad on Friday, according to two security officials.

Om Fahad, who had tens of thousands of followers on TikTok and Instagram, gained fame for her videos featuring her in tight outfits dancing to Iraqi music, in a country that is predominantly conservative and patriarchal.

The young woman was shot by an assailant on a motorcycle while she was in her vehicle outside her home in central Baghdad, two security officials reported anonymously to AFP.

In February 2023, a court initially sentenced Om Fahad to six months in jail for “publishing various videos with indecent intentions that violate modesty and public morals.”

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