Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa announced on Friday, through an executive decree, a referendum for citizens to decide on the creation of a Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution—without first obtaining prior approval from the Constitutional Court, as normally required by law.

“The obstruction that certain politicized bodies try to impose on the change the country needs will not stop the will of the Ecuadorian people,” the Presidency stated in a press release.

The decree also confirmed the president’s decision to bypass the constitutional court, with which he is in conflict over limitations imposed on several government laws and actions that have faced challenges for alleged violations of fundamental rights.

According to the Constitution, a popular consultation can only be called after the high court issues a favorable ruling on the constitutionality of the proposed questions—a step Noboa has not taken, as he did not submit the referendum question to the Court.

However, in Friday’s executive decree, Noboa cited another constitutional article stating that a Constituent Assembly can only be convened through a popular vote, which may be requested by the president, by two-thirds of the National Assembly, or by 12% of registered voters.

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“The aforementioned provision is clear, specific, and special within the constitutional framework, prevailing over any general provision or contrary pronouncement, constituting an explicit and clear mandate for all state powers and bodies,” Noboa wrote in the decree.

He added that “the will of the constituent body not to establish additional requirements beyond those contemplated” in this article—which also details the method for electing representatives and the rules of the electoral process—“leaves no room for doubt regarding its application, making it unnecessary to employ other methods of interpretation.”

A group of 185 Venezuelan migrants arrived in their home country on Friday on a flight from Texas, United States, the Ministry of Interior and Justice reported.

According to an Instagram post by the ministry, the group includes 151 men, 30 women, two girls, and two boys.

The plane—operated by the U.S.-based Eastern Airlines, according to official images—landed at Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, serving Caracas in La Guaira state (north). Venezuelans were assisted by officials from the Scientific, Penal, and Criminal Investigations Corps, the Bolivarian Intelligence Service, the Bolivarian National Guard, and the National Bolivarian Police, the ministry added.

According to figures from Nicolás Maduro’s government, more than 13,000 migrants have returned to Venezuela since the beginning of the year, after Caracas and Washington signed a deportation agreement, despite not having diplomatic relations since 2019.

Relations between Caracas and Washington have become tense in recent weeks following a U.S. naval deployment in the Caribbean near Venezuelan waters, officially part of an anti-drug operation, which Maduro condemns as an attempt to provoke a “regime change.”

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On Monday, the Venezuelan president stated that communications with the United States are “broken” due to the naval deployment, adding that there is only a “basic line” with the acting U.S. chargé d’affaires in Colombia, John McNamara, to coordinate the return of migrants.

A U.S. federal judge has dismissed President Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, ruling that the filing failed to meet the basic standards of civil procedure.

Judge Steven Merryday of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida described the complaint as “decidedly improper and inadmissible,” stating that it “unequivocally and inexcusably contradicts” the requirements set forth by federal rules. He emphasized that such filings must consist of a “short, plain, and direct statement of factual allegations.”

The judge granted Trump’s legal team 30 days to refile the lawsuit, limiting the complaint to a maximum of 40 pages—less than half the length of the original 85-page submission. Merryday also stressed that the document must not serve as “a public forum for vituperation and invective” or “a megaphone for public relations,” according to CNN.