International
Ecuador quake leaves 14 dead and more than 400 injured
March 20 |
The strong 6.8 tremor that shook Ecuador left 14 dead and 446 people injured in at least two provinces, the country’s authorities reported on Sunday. At least one death was reported in bordering Peru.
A day after the earthquake, the most recent official reports show that 180 houses were affected and 5 bridges were destroyed, according to the Ecuadorian Risk Management Secretariat.
In Peru, Prime Minister Alberto Otárola reported that a 4-year-old girl died in a hospital in the Tumbes region, bordering Ecuador. The minor suffered an encephalocranial traumatism after her house collapsed due to the earthquake in Ecuador, which was also felt in Peru.
The Peruvian civil defense said that due to the tremor four houses were uninhabitable in the Tumbes region.
Ecuadorian rescue forces are still working in the areas affected by the quake, which according to Ecuador’s Geophysical Institute had its epicenter about 29 kilometers from Balao, in the Guayas region, about 80 kilometers south of Guayaquil, Ecuador’s second largest city.
Early Sunday, rescuers and volunteers traveled to the island of Puná, on Ecuador’s southern coast, to assess damage and offer aid to the victims. President Guillermo Lasso called on Ecuadorians to remain calm and expressed his solidarity with the families of the deceased and those affected.
The expressions of support to the victims and relatives of the victims began to arrive after the earthquake.
Pope Francis offered prayers on Sunday for the victims of the earthquake. During his weekly midday blessing, Francis recalled that the tremor “caused deaths, injuries and enormous damage.”
“I am close to the Ecuadorian people and I assure them of my prayers for the dead and for all those who suffer,” the pope added.
The U.S. ambassador in Quito, Michael J. Fitzpatrick, offered via Twitter “sincere condolences” for the deaths and assured that the U.S. “joins the people of Ecuador in this difficult situation.
Deaths and damages
One of the people who lost his life in Saturday’s earthquake was in the city of Cuenca. The victim was trapped inside a vehicle on which the facade of a house collapsed, informed the Secretariat of Risk Management.
In the province of El Oro, the collapse of a house resulted in the death of three people. In the area of Jambelí, the collapse of the camera tower of the Integrated Security Service ECU 911 was reported.
The airport in the Santa Rosa canton was slightly damaged as a result of the earthquake.
At the moment, two aftershocks have been registered after the tremor. One of magnitude 4.8 at a depth of 24 kilometers, and another of magnitude 3.7 at a depth of 23 kilometers. Both with epicenter about 23 kilometers from Balao, Guayas.
In Guayas, authorities reported multiple material damages. Including the collapse of 10 houses that left several injured.
In Machala canton, the tremor caused the collapse of a two-story house leaving people trapped inside, authorities reported. They also reported the collapse of telephone lines and lack of electricity in several sectors of the province, and the collapse of the old coastal dock.
Firefighters immediately launched rescue efforts for people trapped under the rubble.
President Guillermo Lasso called for calm and to “be informed through official channels”, in a message on his social networks. Lasso said that he communicated with the Secretariat of Risk Management “to evaluate the effects” of the earthquake that occurred in Balao, Guayas.
The president and his cabinet activated the National Emergency Operations Committee in Guayaquil to evaluate the effects caused by the tremor.
International
Trump says GOP ‘learned a lot’ after democratic election wins
U.S. President Donald Trump said that he and the Republican Party “learned a lot” from the Democratic victories in Tuesday’s state and local elections. He also compared Democrats to “kamikaze pilots” over the ongoing budget standoff.
Speaking at an event with Republican senators on Wednesday, Trump described the results as an unexpected setback.
“These were very Democratic areas, but I don’t think it was good for Republicans. In fact, I don’t think it was good for anyone. But we had an interesting night and we learned a lot,” he said during remarks broadcast by the White House.
Trump agreed with pollsters that two key factors led to Republican losses in New York’s mayoral race and the gubernatorial contests in New Jersey and Virginia.
International
Bolivia’s Jeanine Áñez freed after Supreme Court annuls her conviction
Former Bolivian interim president Jeanine Áñez was released from a women’s prison in La Paz on Thursday, where she had spent more than four and a half years for an alleged coup, after her conviction was annulled, AFP journalists confirmed.
Dozens of supporters and family members gathered outside the facility to celebrate her release. Áñez left the prison waving a Bolivian flag around 15:00 GMT.
“It is comforting to see that justice will once again prevail in Bolivia. She was the only woman who took on the role with bravery and courage,” said Lizeth Maure, a 46-year-old nurse who had come to show her support.
Áñez, a 58-year-old lawyer and conservative politician, governed Bolivia for nearly a year until November 2020, when she handed power to leftist leader Luis Arce.
She was arrested in 2021 and sentenced the following year to 10 years in prison for “resolutions contrary to the Constitution,” accused of illegally assuming the presidency after Evo Morales resigned in 2019 amid social unrest.
Her sentence was overturned on Wednesday by the Supreme Court of Justice, Bolivia’s highest judicial authority.
The court ruled that Áñez should have been subjected to a “trial of responsibilities” before Congress— a constitutional process reserved for sitting presidents, vice presidents, ministers, and top judges — rather than prosecuted in an ordinary criminal court.
As she was welcomed by relatives and supporters upon release, Áñez declared:
“I feel the satisfaction of having fulfilled my duty to my country, of never having bowed down. And I will never regret having served Bolivia when it needed me.”
International
Peru declares Mexico’s president Persona Non Grata over political asylum dispute
Peru’s Congress declared Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum persona non grata on Thursday, accusing her of “unacceptable interference in internal affairs” after granting political asylum to former Peruvian Prime Minister Betssy Chávez.
The motion, introduced by right-wing parties, passed with 63 votes in favor, 33 against, and two abstentions. Lawmakers argue that Sheinbaum has maintained a hostile stance toward Peru since taking office.
Peru severed diplomatic relations with Mexico on Monday following the asylum decision. Chávez, who is facing charges for her alleged involvement in former President Pedro Castillo’s failed coup attempt in December 2022, remains under protection at the Mexican embassy residence in Lima.
Following the diplomatic break, interim President José Jerí said on X that Mexico’s chargé d’affaires in Peru, Karla Ornela, has been notified by the foreign ministry that she must leave the country within a strict deadline.
The Mexican government condemned Lima’s decision as “excessive and disproportionate,” asserting that offering asylum to Chávez is a legitimate act grounded in international law and does not constitute interference in Peru’s domestic matters.
Trump says GOP ‘learned a lot’ after democratic election wins
Bolivia’s Jeanine Áñez freed after Supreme Court annuls her conviction
Peru declares Mexico’s president Persona Non Grata over political asylum dispute
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