International

Ecuador’s President absent from impeachment trial hearing

Photo: EFE

April 26 |

The president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, will not appear before the Oversight Committee of the National Assembly (Parliament) as part of the impeachment process against him for the crime of embezzlement.

According to the schedule, this Wednesday, the president himself was supposed to present his defense. However, the legal secretary of the Ecuadorian Presidency, Juan Pablo Ortiz, said that, in principle, the president’s presence in the process will only be given if it reaches the second and final stage, when he has to make his argument before the full House.

Meanwhile, his lawyer, Édgar Neira, will intervene to try to demonstrate that there is no political responsibility in the irregularities detected in a contract between the state-owned Flota Petrolera Ecuatoriana (Flopec) and the company Amazonas Tanker.

For the questioning legislators, this agreement is the basis for the prosecution of the president for apparently knowing about the anomalies and not doing anything to stop them despite the fact that they were harmful to the country.

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With the presentation of the president’s defense, the court will conclude the phase dedicated to hearing witnesses and analyzing documents and, from that moment on, the Commission will have 10 days to conclude a report on whether or not to recommend impeachment.

The legislators requesting the trial will also present their arguments this Wednesday, something that was scheduled for the day before, but the session was postponed so that the prosecution and defense could appear on the same day.

In order to censure the head of state, the support of two thirds of the plenary of the Assembly is required, that is, 92 out of 137 parliamentarians.

International

Bolsonaro diagnosed with skin cancer amid coup conviction

Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has been diagnosed with skin cancer while serving a historic sentence for attempting a coup d’état. His medical team confirmed that the lesions have been removed and that, for now, he does not require further procedures, though he will need regular monitoring.

On Wednesday, September 17, Bolsonaro’s doctors confirmed the diagnosis. The announcement comes shortly after the former leader was convicted of orchestrating an attempted coup.

According to his physician, Claudio Birolini, Bolsonaro has “squamous cell carcinoma, which is neither the most benign nor the most aggressive form — it is intermediate.” Birolini warned, however, that this type of skin cancer “can carry more serious consequences.”

International

Milei praises Paraguay’s growth, calls Argentina’s last 20 years a ‘decline’

Argentine President Javier Milei praised Paraguay’s economic growth over the past two decades during a speech before the Paraguayan Congress on Wednesday (Sept. 17, 2025), crediting it to incentives that favored capitalism. At the same time, he contrasted that progress with what he described as Argentina’s deepening “decline” during the same period.

“If we compare the last 20 years of Paraguay with those of the Argentine Republic, we will find almost diametrically opposite results,” Milei told lawmakers during a special session of Parliament on the second and final day of his official visit to Asunción.

“While you have not stopped growing, we have deepened our decline. If we understand incentives as the engine of capitalism, Paraguay focused on preserving and strengthening them, while Argentina dedicated itself to chaining, directing, and suffocating them,” the right-wing leader stated.

International

Trump administration launches large-scale immigration operation in Chicago

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump intensified a large-scale immigration operation in the Chicago area with the arrival of additional Border Patrol agents on Tuesday and the presence of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem during a raid.

Noem posted a video on her X account showing the immigration operation, in which DHS reportedly removed “violent criminals” from the streets. The footage shows Noem observing the arrest of a man taken into custody at his home early Tuesday morning at an undisclosed location.

“I was in Chicago today to make it clear that we will not back down,” the secretary wrote. “Our work is just beginning,” she added.

The warning from Noem was echoed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Chief Gregory Bovino, who posted a video on X Tuesday showing multiple Border Patrol vehicles arriving in the city with the caption: “Chicago, we are here!”

Bovino, who led the immigration crackdown in Los Angeles implemented since last June, said the team will remain in Chicago to continue the mission they started in California.

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Operation “Midway Blitz” is currently focused on the Chicago metropolitan area and its suburbs. Activists and residents have reported sightings of masked agents and unmarked vehicles in predominantly Latino neighborhoods.