International

Former Vice President Glas leaves the hospital and returns to Ecuador’s maximum security prison

Former Vice President of Ecuador Jorge Glas, arrested last Friday after a police raid on the Mexican Embassy in Quito, was imprisoned again after recovering in a hospital from a decompensation that a police party attributes to a possible overdose of medicines and that the penitentiary authorities relate to his refusal to eat food.

The National Service of Integral Care for Adults Deprived of Liberty (SNAI), the state’s prison agency, indicated that it “has just entered the Deprivation of Liberty Center” of La Roca, the country’s maximum security prison.

The former vice president was under observation at the Naval hospital in the city of Guayaquil, according to the SNAI in its statement.

According to the evaluations carried out, “at the moment it has stable health parameters and within the normal range, so you can receive the corresponding medical discharge,” he said in the letter.

The penitentiary agency had advanced that in the course of this Tuesday, in “strict compliance with security protocols,” Glas will return to La Roca, where he was detained after his detention at the Mexican embassy.

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Glas’s lawyer, Andrés Villegas, considered the SNAI statement succinct and complained about the lack of official information about the real situation around Glas’s health breakdown that occurred on Monday.

This is because a police party – to which Glas’s defense had access – mentions an alleged drug poisoning, while the SNAI refers to a decompensation for the lack of food intake.

Villegas told EFE that they expect to receive official information about the situation of Glas, who was a minister and vice president during the presidential term of Rafael Correa (2007-2017), with whom he has been friends since his youth. He was also vice president of Lenín Moreno (2017-2021) in the first months of his term.

Glas, who had entered the Mexican Embassy in Quito last December, asked the Mexican State for asylum, which granted it last Friday, and hours later the president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, ordered the police assault on the diplomatic headquarters to stop him, which caused the breakdown of relations by Mexico.

The assault on the embassy has received international condemnation. Ecuador justifies its action for the fight against corruption.

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Glas is being prosecuted for embezzlement of funds in a case about the reconstruction of Manabí. In addition, he must complete an eight-year sentence for two other cases, after having been in prison for nearly five years between 2017 and 2022.

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.

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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.