International
Ecuador mourns the deaths of four teenagers after military detention
The four Ecuadorian teenagers apprehended by soldiers and found dead near a military base were buried on Wednesday in the port city of Guayaquil, amid outrage over the incident that has “grieved” the country, according to the government.
The families of the minors, including two brothers, held their wake in their modest homes in the populous Las Malvinas neighborhood in southern Guayaquil, where they were detained by a military patrol on December 8 for an alleged robbery, and had been missing ever since.
The Prosecutor’s Office reported on Tuesday that the bodies found on December 24 near an Air Force base in the town of Taura, about an hour from Guayaquil, belonged to the teenagers apprehended by 16 soldiers, who are now in prison, initially accused of forced disappearance, a crime punishable by up to 26 years in prison. Several hundred people attended the wakes of Saúl Arboleda, Steven Medina, and the brothers Josué and Ismael Arroyo (ages 11 to 15), in their homes, from where they had left to play soccer on the day they disappeared, according to relatives.
Some young people cried around the coffins of Josué and Ismael, placed together and covered with soccer shirts of their respective teams, as observed by AFP.
The Prosecutor’s Office revealed on Tuesday the identification of the charred bodies, shortly after the 16 military personnel under investigation for forced disappearance were ordered into 90-day preventive detention by a civil judge in Guayaquil, one of the main cities affected by drug-related violence, where the government has deployed the Armed Forces in the streets.
International
Trump to build $200M ballroom at the White House by 2028
The U.S. government under President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that it will begin construction in September on a new 8,000-square-meter ballroom at the White House.
The announcement was made by Karoline Leavitt, the administration’s press secretary, during a briefing in which she explained that the expansion responds to the need for a larger venue to host “major events.”
“Other presidents have long wished for a space capable of accommodating large gatherings within the White House complex… President Trump has committed to solving this issue,” Leavitt told reporters.
The project is estimated to cost $200 million, fully funded through donations from Trump himself and other “patriots,” according to a government statement. Construction is scheduled to begin in September and is expected to be completed before Trump’s term ends in 2028.
The Clark Construction Group, a Virginia-based company known for projects such as the Capital One Arena and L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C., has been selected to lead the project.
The new ballroom will be built on the East Wing of the White House, expanding the iconic residence with a space designed for state dinners, official ceremonies, and large-scale events.
International
Three salvadorans in Florida sentenced in $146 million construction tax fraud scheme
Three Salvadoran residents living in Orlando, Florida, were sentenced for conspiracy to commit tax fraud and wire fraud involving a scheme exceeding $146 million in the construction industry, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. The sentence was handed down by federal judge Timothy J. Corrigan on Tuesday, July 29.
Eduardo Aníbal Escobar (45) was sentenced to 4 years and 9 months in prison, Carlos Alberto Rodríguez (36) to 3 years and 4 months, and Adelmy Tejada (57) to 18 months in prison, followed by 6 months of house arrest. All three pled guilty on April 3, 2025.
In addition to the prison terms, the court ordered restitution payments totaling $36,957,616 to the IRS for unpaid payroll taxes, and $397,895 to two insurers for workers’ compensation claims related to the scheme.
Escobar and Rodríguez are permanent legal residents originally from El Salvador, while Tejada is a naturalized U.S. citizen of Salvadoran origin.
International
Kremlin hails preparedness after Kamchatka quakes leave no casualties
The Kremlin expressed relief that the earthquakes that struck Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula today —the first being the strongest since 1952— resulted in no casualties, and emphasized that the region is well prepared to face such natural disasters.
“Thank God, there were no victims,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov during his daily press briefing.
The presidential representative stated that “all alert systems were activated in time, and evacuations were organized for residents in areas requiring it in response to tsunami threats.”
“Overall, the seismic resilience of the buildings proved effective (…) Therefore, we can say that the technological preparedness demonstrated a high level,” Peskov added.
Honduras sees ongoing killings of land defenders and attacks on press, warns NGO
Trump to build $200M ballroom at the White House by 2028
Daniel Ortega’s last historic sandinista ally detained in Managua
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
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