International

Luisa González, Correa’s bishop who seeks revenge against Noboa

Luisa González, the bishop of the former president of Ecuador Rafael Correa (2007-2017), once again personifies the hope of the correismo to return to govern the country after eight years away from power and to be the first Ecuadorian woman to win a presidential election.

González (Quito, 1977), a lawyer with peasant roots on the Ecuadorian coast, was on the verge of achieving it in 2023, when she was surpassed in the second round of the extraordinary elections by the current president, Daniel Noboa, who now seeks his re-election and once again profiles himself as the greatest rival of the correísmo.

This 47-year-old single mother with two children, a woman of Correa’s absolute confidence, accepted the challenge of seeking her particular revenge and returning to being the candidate of the Citizen Revolution led by the former president, who is disqualified from being a candidate for the sentence of eight years in prison for bribery he received in 2020 and he considers “lawfare”.

Although he was born circumstantially in Quito when his parents visited the capital, González defines himself as an “authentic manaba”, originally from the coastal province of Manabí, where he grew up in Canuto, a lavish agricultural land where the “montubios” the tough peasants of the coast are also forged.

He worked in the field with his grandfather, who taught him to temper his character, to ride a horse, to handle the machete and perform the hard tasks entrusted to the mountaineer. Emerging from that rural and challenging environment, González proudly claims to be a woman who has managed to make herself and get her children ahead.

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With a strong Catholic conviction, a crucifix hangs from González’ neck and on her skin she has tattooed pink paths since she was a twenty-year-old that symbolize her commitment to the Lord, one with a stem formed by the words of a fragment of the Bible.

His positions against the total decriminalization of abortion have also cost him criticism from leftist groups in his time as an assemblyman.

González studied at the International University of Ecuador, where she received a lawyer’s degree, but also has a master’s degree in Economics and Development at the Complutense University of Madrid.

He is a lover of Manabita cuisine, one of the most precious in Ecuador, as well as sports and animals, to the point that he has two dogs at home.

He was linked to Correísmo from the beginning, when Rafael Correa began his political life and quickly reached the Presidency of the Republic in 2007. She is faithful to the former president, of whom she was his coordinator of Strategic Agenda (2010), a key and close position that allowed her to understand the twists and turns of power.

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She also served as Deputy Minister of Tourism Management (2014), Secretary General of the Presidential Office (2015) and National Secretary of Public Administration (2017).

She served as vice-consul of Ecuador in Madrid (2011) and consul in Alicante (Spain) in 2017, as well as general secretary of the Intendencia de Compañías de Quito.

After concluding Correa’s mandate in 2017, she launched into active political life and in 2021 she was elected as a member of the National Assembly (Parliament), where she held a strong critical position against the Government of conservative President Guillermo Lasso (2021-2023), whose early departure led to the extraordinary elections of 2023.

His name began to sound just after Lasso invoked the so-called “cross death”, a constitutional mechanism that allowed him to dissolve Parliament and call new elections to complete the period that did not end (2021-2025).

After the 2023 elections, she remained as the president of the Citizen Revolution, which gave her strength to be the presidential candidate again against other possible candidates of the Correísmo such as Paola Pabón, Augusto Verduga and Gustavo Jalkh.

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On this occasion he accompanies González as a candidate for vice president Diego Borja, instead of Andrés Arauz, who was the presidential candidate of the correísmo in 2021.

The Citizen Revolution appeals to the stability enjoyed by Ecuador during the decade that Correa ruled the country, which the presidential candidate wants to “revive”, as she repeatedly mentions in her campaign interventions, which happens to a large extent by appeasing the crisis of violence that affects the country due to the rise of organized crime gangs.

International

Mexico and Guatemala Agree on Five-Point Binational Plan for 2027

Mexico and Guatemala agreed Tuesday on a 2027 Binational Plan built around five areas of cooperation, along with a schedule of meetings and initiatives aimed at making progress by the end of 2026 on security, border infrastructure, human mobility, development and technical and social cooperation.

The agreement was announced by the foreign ministers of both countries following a meeting in Mexico City.

Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco said the plan will establish the “direction and priorities” of bilateral relations for next year. His Guatemalan counterpart, Carlos Ramiro Martínez, said the meeting allowed both governments to make decisions, schedule activities and revitalize bilateral cooperation mechanisms.

Security and border infrastructure

In the area of security, the two governments have nearly completed negotiations on a new memorandum of understanding for the Mexico-Guatemala High-Level Security Group (Ganseg), which was reactivated in 2025.

The countries expect to sign the agreement in the coming months to strengthen coordination and their ability to respond to shared security threats.

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Regarding their nearly 1,000-kilometer shared border, Mexico and Guatemala agreed to advance infrastructure improvements at border crossings and continue work on a joint cargo clearance program between Ciudad Hidalgo and Tecún Umán, two border areas separated by the Suchiate River.

The measures are intended to facilitate bilateral trade while making cross-border exchanges safer and more efficient.

The two governments will also continue defining a route toward a railway connection between their countries through Line K of Mexico’s Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT), with the aim of strengthening economic and community ties.

Migration and development

On human mobility, Mexico and Guatemala will maintain coordination to ensure safe, orderly and dignified returns, while strengthening protection for people in transit.

The bilateral agenda also includes a second phase of the Sembrando Vida program in Guatemala, which is expected to benefit 10,000 people across 15 departments.

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Both countries will also advance initiatives under Juntos para el Bienestar, as well as six technical, scientific and energy cooperation projects approved by the Joint Commission.

The agreements seek to strengthen bilateral ties and establish concrete priorities for cooperation between Mexico and Guatemala during 2027.

International

France to Expel Two Iranian Diplomats Over Alleged Attack on French Officials

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced Tuesday, August 18, 2026, that France will expel two Iranian diplomats in response to what Paris described as an attack on two French representatives in Iran last month.

“Two French diplomats were scandalously and deliberately assaulted on July 19. I had announced that this intolerable act would have consequences. It has now happened. Two Iranian diplomats in France will be expelled in the coming days,” Barrot said in a message posted on X.

The two Iranian diplomats have been declared persona non grata and will be required to leave France within the coming days, according to the French foreign minister.

About a month ago, Barrot said that two members of the French diplomatic staff had been detained by Iranian security forces for several hours. One of them was also subjected to harassment, he said.

The French government described the incident as an “extremely serious act of intimidation” that violated diplomatic immunity.

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The two French embassy staff members were working on programs supporting Iranian civil society, particularly initiatives involving artists and researchers.

Iran has denied France’s allegations regarding the incident. The diplomatic dispute comes amid already strained relations between Paris and Tehran.

International

Heat wave puts more than 70 million Americans under alerts as temperatures near 46°C

36 deaths reported due to heat wave in Nuevo Leon, Mexico

More than 70 million people remained under heat alerts Monday as an intense heat wave continued across the southern United States, particularly Florida and states along the Mexican border, where temperatures and heat indexes could reach as high as 46 degrees Celsius, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

Several cities recorded or tied temperature records over the weekend and into Monday, including Miami and Fort Lauderdale in Florida; Laredo, Borger and Austin’s airport in Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina; and Memphis, Tennessee.

The NWS warned that the heat wave will continue affecting the southern and southeastern United States, with maximum temperatures expected to remain near 38°C to 40°C for several days. The heat index, which combines temperature and humidity to estimate how hot conditions feel, could reach 46°C.

The extreme heat is also spreading into the Southwest, where temperatures began rising again between Monday and Tuesday. Forecast highs in the region range from about 38°C to 43°C.

Heat alerts remain in effect across Nevada, Arizona and California, including areas in southern Arizona and California near the Mexican border, as authorities warn of the risks posed by prolonged extreme temperatures.

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The NWS urged residents to limit outdoor activity, stay hydrated, ensure access to air conditioning or cooling centers, and check on vulnerable friends, neighbors and family members.

The United States is experiencing a summer marked by above-average temperatures and repeated heat waves. One of the most intense episodes occurred during the July 4 weekend, when extreme heat was blamed for roughly 30 deaths.

July was the hottest month ever recorded in the United States since measurements began, with the average temperature across the contiguous country approaching 25°C, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The combination of extreme heat and drought conditions has also fueled wildfires. Nearly 3 million hectares have burned across the country so far in 2026, making it the largest area affected by wildfires in a decade.