International

The president of Mexico asks Celac to join in his complaint before the ICJ against Ecuador

The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, asked on Tuesday at the summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) to join his complaint against Ecuador in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) after the assault on the Mexican Embassy in Quito.

“We appreciate the solidarity of most of the peoples and the Governments of Latin America and the Caribbean, and we also want to propose to them, if they consider it feasible and feasible, that they accompany us by signing the complaint in the international court of justice,” the president declared in his initial message.

López Obrador reaffirmed that his complaint seeks “an expulsion from Ecuador from the United Nations, as long as there is no apology and an offer of non-repetition, never again to make a scoundrel” such as the raid on Mexico’s diplomatic headquarters on April 5.

The Mexican ruler expressed earlier to his peers that he considers a “afflance” and a “flagrant violation” of Mexico’s sovereignty and international law the raid carried out by the Ecuadorian Police at the Embassy to take former Vice President Jorge Glas (2013-2017), sheltered there in the face of a corruption process.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro was categorical in stating that “Ecuador and Israel practically shaking hands in the competition for barbarism. I invite you to deepen the inter-American human rights system.”

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For his part, the president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, said that the assault on the Mexican embassy in Ecuador is “unacceptable,” “affects everyone” and that something similar did not happen even in “the gloomy times of dictatorships.”

Lula considered that “a formal request for apology from Ecuador” would be a “first step in the right direction,” according to the speech disseminated by the Presidency.

Cuba was not far behind and President Miguel Díaz-Canel stressed his country’s rejection of the “unacceptable” police raid on the Mexican embassy in Ecuador and reiterated his “firm support” for the North American country.

“Mexico has our firm support in the actions they take in the face of this unacceptable breach of international law,” Díaz-Canel said.

Uruguay will not participate in the Celac Summit, understanding that it suffered a change in the “rules of the game” and stopped working supported by consensus, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the South American country, Omar Paganini, said on Tuesday.

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International

Peruvian presidential candidate Napoleón Becerra dies in campaign road accident

Presidential candidate Napoleón Becerra, representing the Partido de los Trabajadores y Emprendedores (PTE) in Peru, died in a traffic accident while traveling to a campaign event, local authorities confirmed Sunday.

Becerra, who also served as president of the centrist political party, ranked among the lowest in opinion polls in a crowded field of more than 30 candidates competing in the presidential election scheduled for April 12.

Recent surveys place Rafael López Aliaga at the top of voter preferences.

The accident occurred near the town of Ayacucho, in southern Peru, when the vehicle carrying the candidate overturned for reasons that remain under investigation.

“The candidate Becerra has died,” Balvin Huamani, mayor of the district of Pilpichaca, told RPP radio.

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According to Huamani, he personally transported the 61-year-old candidate to a local health center, where doctors confirmed his death.

The Jurado Nacional de Elecciones (JNE) expressed condolences over Becerra’s passing and wished a speedy recovery to the three people who were traveling with him and were injured in the crash.

International

Noboa intensifies anti-cartel crackdown as violence persists in Ecuador

A close ally of Washington, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has pursued a hardline security strategy against cocaine cartels for more than two years, yet homicide, disappearance and extortion rates remain high across the country.

Between Sunday night and the morning of March 31, Ecuador’s armed forces will launch a “very strong offensive” with “advisory support” from the United States, Interior Minister John Reimberg announced Tuesday.

The government has kept details of the operation confidential and has not confirmed whether U.S. troops will be deployed on Ecuadorian soil, as has occurred at times during Noboa’s administration.

As part of the security measures, residents in the coastal provinces of Guayas, Los Ríos, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, and El Oro will be subject to a nightly curfew from 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. local time for the next two weeks.

“We are in a war,” Reimberg said, urging citizens to remain indoors. “Do not take risks. Stay home and allow the security forces and our allies to do the work that must be done.”

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Although Ecuador does not produce cocaine, it has become a major departure point for drugs heading to the United States. Meanwhile, the violence associated with trafficking has increasingly affected the local population.

Bordering the world’s largest cocaine producers, Colombia and Peru, Ecuador has gone from being considered a relatively peaceful country to recording one of the highest homicide rates in Latin America—52 killings per 100,000 inhabitants—according to the **Observatory of Organized Crime.

International

Peruvian presidential candidate proposes death penalty amid crime surge

Peru is facing an unprecedented surge in crime ahead of its presidential election scheduled for April 12, with violence fueled by extortion networks and a wave of contract killings linked to organized crime.

Police data show that 2,200 homicides tied to organized crime were recorded in 2025, while extortion complaints increased by 19%, underscoring the growing security crisis in the South American nation.

Amid this backdrop, presidential candidate Álvarez has proposed reinstating the death penalty if elected, arguing that extreme measures are needed to curb the violence.

To implement the proposal, Álvarez said Peru would withdraw from the American Convention on Human Rights—also known as the Pact of San José—which the country signed in 1978. The agreement prevents member states that have abolished capital punishment from reinstating it.

Currently, Peruvian law only allows the death penalty in cases of treason during wartime.

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“We have to leave the Pact of San José and apply the death penalty in Peru because those miserable criminals don’t deserve to live,” Álvarez told AFP during a campaign stop at a market in Callao, the port city neighboring Lima.

“An iron fist against those criminals,” he added, proposing to declare hitmen as military targets.

During the campaign event, Álvarez walked through stalls selling vegetables, groceries, and fish, greeting vendors while musicians played cumbia music nearby.

The 62-year-old candidate, who spent more than four decades working in television as a comedian, is a newcomer to politics and is running for president under the País para Todos party.

Polls place him fifth in voter preference with nearly 4% support in a fragmented race featuring 36 candidates.