International

Noboa sends to Parliament reform to re-establish foreign military bases in Ecuador

The president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, sent this Thursday to the National Assembly (Parliament) the constitutional reform project to open the door to the re-establishment of foreign military bases in Ecuador, prohibited by the Constitution promulgated during the term of former President Rafael Correa (2007-2017), which forced the United States to leave the Manta base in 2009.

Noboa had already announced last September its intention to promote this constitutional reform to allow the installation of foreign permanent military bases in the country again, as part of its actions in the “internal armed conflict” that it declared at the beginning of the year against organized crime.

The National Assembly must process the constitutional reform project, which if approved must be endorsed in a referendum whose celebration could coincide with one of the voting dates of the general elections scheduled for early 2025.

The reason for the re-establishment of foreign bases in Ecuador

The Presidency of Ecuador assured in a statement that it has the favorable resolution of the Constitutional Court so that this change in the magna carta is processed as a partial reform, considering the court that it does not restrict constitutional rights and guarantees, but refers only to security in Ecuador.”

“Now the process will pass into the hands of the Legislature, who must decide which side of history it will be on regarding the proposal that will strengthen international cooperation in the fight against terrorism and crime,” said the Secretariat of Communication of the Presidency.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

Following the announcement of this approach made by Noboa, the United States Embassy in Ecuador clarified in September that its Government does not plan to request authorization to establish a permanent military base in the Andean country.

Agreements between Ecuador and the United States

Ecuador and the United States currently maintain maritime cooperation agreements for the capture of vessels that transport large amounts of cocaine from the Ecuadorian coast to North America.

Some of these prohibitions have been made in recent days by the United States Coast Guard in international waters, to later hand over the detainees and narcotics to the Ecuadorian authorities within their jurisdictional waters, as the Ecuadorian Navy pointed out in a recent statement.

Likewise, both countries also recently signed a commitment act for the delivery to Ecuador of two 33.5-meter-long patrol boats of the United States Coast Guard, on the condition that Ecuador takes charge of their reconditioning and transport.

Noboa’s strategy

Since the beginning of the year, Noboa raised the fight against organized crime to the category of “internal armed conflict”, with which he went on to catalog these gangs as terrorist groups and non-state belligerent actors, while decreeing a state of emergency with which, among other actions, he militarized the prisons controlled by these organizations, which he also points out for being related to drug trafficking.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

Surrounded by Colombia and Peru, the world’s two largest producers of cocaine, with several ports on its coasts, such as Guayaquil, and a dollarized economy, Ecuador has become in recent years an important step for the trafficking of that drug that is mainly directed to Europe and North America.

Ecuador is listed as the third country in the world that confiscates the most drugs – only behind Colombia and the United States – with about 200 tons of narcotics per year that have been seized in each of the last three years, while in 2024 it has already exceeded that figure.

At the same time, Ecuador was positioned in 2023 as the country with the most homicides per capita in Latin America, with a rate of 47.2 per 100,000 inhabitants, while in 2024 the authorities claim to have reduced homicides by 18%.

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.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

“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.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

“I am an artist who has taken a step into politics to bring peace to my country,” Álvarez told reporters while surrounded by supporters.

International

FBI: Man who attacked Michigan synagogue died from self-inflicted gunshot

The man who died during Thursday’s attack on a synagogue in the United States suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to the FBI.

FBI agent Jennifer Runyan told reporters that the suspect, identified as 41-year-old Lebanese citizen Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, shot himself at some point during the confrontation.

“At some point during the shooting, Ghazali suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head,” Runyan said during a press conference.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed the suspect’s identity.

Authorities said Ghazali drove a truck into the Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield, located in the state of Michigan, on Thursday.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

According to Michael Bouchard, sheriff of Oakland County, synagogue security personnel noticed the vehicle and confronted the suspect with gunfire.

Investigators said it would be premature to speculate about the motive for the attack, although reports indicate Ghazali recently lost relatives during Israeli strikes in Lebanon earlier this month.

“It would be irresponsible for me to speculate about his motive,” Runyan said.

Ghazali arrived in Detroit in 2011 on a spouse visa for U.S. citizens and obtained American citizenship in 2016, according to reporting by The New York Times.

He was the father of two teenagers, divorced from his wife in 2024, and had recently been working as a waiter.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

The newspaper also reported that Ghazali attended a memorial service in the nearby city of Dearborn for relatives killed in the recent conflict, alongside other grieving family members from the Lebanese town of Machghara.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation said the incident is being investigated as an act of violence targeting the Jewish community.

A source from Michigan’s Lebanese-American community told CBS News that several of Ghazali’s relatives had been killed roughly ten days before the attack, leaving him deeply devastated.

International

Mexican Navy Ships Deliver Third Shipment of Humanitarian Aid to Cuba

Two logistics support vessels from the Mexican Navy — the ARM Papaloapan and the ARM Huasteco — docked again on Friday in the bay of Havana carrying a third shipment of humanitarian aid for Cuba.

The vessels had previously arrived on the Caribbean island on February 28 with a second cargo that included 1,200 tons of food, sent to help alleviate the country’s ongoing crisis, which has worsened following the U.S. oil restrictions affecting fuel supplies to the island.

Cuba’s deputy foreign minister Josefina Vidal confirmed the new shipment in a social media post.

“Two ships carrying a third shipment of aid from the Government and the people of Mexico for the Cuban people are now arriving at the port of Havana. Thank you Mexico for your solidarity with Cuba,” she wrote.

Previous aid shipments

During the second shipment, the Papaloapan transported 1,078 tons of beans and powdered milk, while the Huastecocarried 92 tons of beans and 23 tons of assorted food products collected by social organizations with support from the government of Mexico City.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

In recent months, Mexico has become the largest provider of humanitarian aid to Cuba, sending around 2,000 tons of supplies, mostly staple foods and hygiene products, in the two shipments prior to Friday’s delivery.

The first shipment alone included 814 tons of food.

Cuba praises Mexico’s support

Hours before the ships arrived, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel highlighted Mexico’s support during a televised appearance, describing the country as “a friendly and brotherly nation that has shown tremendous solidarity,”particularly praising Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Díaz-Canel also addressed reports suggesting that Mexican donations were being resold in state-run stores, dismissing them as a “disinformation campaign” promoted by right-wing groups.