On Tuesday, Brazil’s military police detained three individuals for operating a drone over the Brazilian national team’s training session at CT do Caju in Curitiba, the training facility of first-division clubAtlético Paranaense.
The men, who are from Ecuador, Venezuela, and Brazil, were taken in for questioning.
The authorities have not ruled out the possibility of espionage, although no formal arrests have been made at this time.
“Initially [the accusation against the suspects] is of exposing others to a health risk or endangerment, but we will investigate whether they were not using this drone to illegally capture images to make some kind of sale or something like that,” Lt. Everton Taborda of the Curitiba MPs reported to have revealed.
Taborda stated that the police have not yet been able to access the images captured by the drone or review the data stored on the seized computer.
He also mentioned that no criminal charges will be filed against the drone’s owner unlessAthletico-PR decides to lodge an official complaint.
Maduro and other presidents in a virtual meeting supported Mexico’s request to kick Ecuador out of the United Nations because of the raid on April 5th. But Maduro was the only one who said he would close embassies and bring back staff.
“Everyone has strongly condemned Ecuador’s move,” Maduro said. “No one is defending this cruel act in the world today. ”
Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa told police to go to the Mexican Embassy to capture their ex-Vice President Jorge Glas, who broke the law and had been hiding there since December. Mexico gave him permission to stay just a few hours before the police found Glas in a bedroom and took him out by force.
The very unusual use of force was strongly criticized by governments worldwide because diplomatic buildings are seen as foreign territory and should not be violated according to the Vienna treaties.
Noboa did not go to the meeting on Tuesday. He said last week that he allowed the raid to protect national security. His government says that Glas was wanted for his criminal convictions, not for political reasons. They also accused Mexico of breaking the Vienna treaties by giving Glas asylum.
Mexico stopped talking to Ecuador after the raid and told its diplomats to come back home. It wanted to get support from the CELAC meeting to help with its case at the UN and in front of the International Court of Justice.
Honduras President Xiomara Castro, who is in charge of CELAC, started the meeting on Tuesday by reading a suggested message criticizing Ecuador’s actions. Then she showed a video of Ecuadorian officials entering Mexico’s Embassy, with exciting music playing.
The President of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, said again that Ecuador should be kicked out of the United Nations until it says sorry and promises not to do it again.
Lopez Obrador said that if we don’t do this, we won’t be able to live in a world with rules and laws. “We would be living in a world with gorillas. ”
The president of Mexico said that even Augusto Pinochet, who was the leader of Chile from 1973 to 1990, did not attack Mexico’s embassy when Chilean people who opposed him went there for safety. Lopez Obrador said that Pinochet was too scared to attack our embassy, the scary ruler.
Maduro said he has asked all diplomats to come back to Venezuela until international law is back in Ecuador.
Maduro said that Glas, who is currently in a very secure prison in the port city of Guayaquil, should be taken back to the Mexican embassy and given asylum because of his political beliefs.
Noboa got more criticism for not showing up at CELAC’s online meeting. While leaders were unsure about his choice, he shared a video on Instagram talking about making law enforcement better. He also posted another video declaring an emergency for the country’s electricity sector during long power outages in Quito.
Maduro said that he should have come and taken responsibility for himself in front of Ecuador, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the world, but he did not show up. “I’m from Venezuela and I can tell you that he’s hiding. The people of Ecuador need to know this. ”
The Venezuela Embassy in Quito looked shut on Tuesday. People waiting outside, along with reporters, couldn’t get answers from embassy staff while trying to take care of paperwork.
During Maduro’s 11 years as president, over 7. 7 million people from Venezuela have moved out of the country. Many of them have gone to live in other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Ecuador has the sixth-most Venezuelan migrants.
“Ecuadorian leaders and groups that help migrants believe that there are 475,000 people from Venezuela living in Ecuador. ” More than 231,000 people live in Ecuador legally. This information is from the 2023 census.
Leaders from other countries are upset with Ecuador because the police in the capital city entered the Mexican Embassy to arrest a former vice president who had been given permission to stay there for political reasons.
The raid on Friday made the Mexican President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and his government break off relations with Ecuador. They also plan to challenge the move at the World Court in The Hague.
The police forced their way into the embassy in Quito to arrest Jorge Glas, who had been living there since December. He asked for protection because he was accused of doing something wrong, and he got it a few hours ago.
Many people were very upset about the break-in.
The Organization of American States told its members not to use their own country’s laws as an excuse to not follow their international duties. This applies to countries like Ecuador and Mexico.
The Spanish government said on Sunday that breaking into the Mexican Embassy in Quito is against the rules for diplomatic relations. We want Mexico and Ecuador to follow international laws and get along with each other. They are like brothers to Spain and are part of the Ibero-American community.
Matthew Miller, who speaks for the US State Department, said that the United States doesn’t like it when the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations is broken. It’s important for countries to follow the law and not interfere with diplomatic missions. He wants both countries to figure out their problems.
Honduran President Xiomara Castro said the raid was a very bad thing for the world. It broke the rules of Mexico and international law because it didn’t respect the right to asylum.
Embassies are like another country and the police of the host country can’t go in without the ambassador’s permission. People who need help and protection have stayed at embassies in different countries for different lengths of time. For example, Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, lived at the embassy of Ecuador in London for seven years because British police couldn’t arrest him there.
Alicia Bárcena, who works for Mexico’s government, wrote on the app X that some diplomats got hurt during the break-in.
On Saturday, Glas was moved from the attorney general’s office in Quito to a high-security prison in the port city of Guayaquil, where he will stay in custody. The crowd cheered “strength” as the prosecutor left with police and military cars.
Sonia Vera, a lawyer for Glas, said that the police entered his room and he fought back when they tried to make him put his hands behind his back. She said the police pushed him down and kicked him in different parts of his body, and when he couldn’t walk, they dragged him away.
Vera said the defense team couldn’t talk to Glas when he was at the prosecutor’s office, and now they are trying to file a petition to have him released.
Officials are looking into Glas for possible problems during his handling of rebuilding efforts after a big earthquake in 2016 that caused the deaths of many people. He was found guilty of taking bribes and being dishonest in other situations.
Ecuador’s Foreign Minister, Gabriela Sommerfeld, said on Saturday that President Daniel Noboa decided to go into the embassy because they thought Vice President Glas might try to run away, and they had already tried talking with Mexico a lot.
Mexico said yes to letting Glas stay there to be safe, just hours before the raid happened. Sommerfeld said that people who have been found guilty of regular crimes and by a proper court cannot be given asylum.
NoBoa is running for re-election.
Noboa became the president of Ecuador last year while the country was dealing with a lot of crime connected to drugs. He said the country was in a war in January and called 20 drug gangs terrorist groups. He authorized the military to stop them according to international laws.
Will Freeman, who knows a lot about Latin American studies, said sending police to Mexico’s embassy makes people worried about what Noboa is willing to do to get elected again. His time in office will finish in 2025 because he was chosen to complete the term of former President Guillermo Lasso.
“I hope Noboa doesn’t start to act like Bukele,” Freeman said. Bukele, the president of El Salvador, has been criticized for his strict crime policies by human rights groups. “In other words, he is willing to break the rules to become more popular before the election. ”
Freeman said that if Glas was using diplomatic protection incorrectly, it’s a different problem from sending police to the embassy.
“He said we often see politicians in Latin America using embassies and foreign countries to avoid being held accountable, instead of running away from being prosecuted. ”
The police are protecting the Mexican Embassy in Quito because there has been a lot of tension between Mexico and Ecuador.
Vera’s lawyer, Glasâ, said she’s worried something bad might happen to him in jail because lots of people have died in riots there. Some people who were in jail have died, including some people who are suspected of killing a candidate for president last year.
“Vera said that in Ecuador, going to jail is like being sentenced to death. ” “We believe that President Daniel Noboa Azín is responsible for the safety and well-being of Jorge Glas. “
Government workers are in danger because the government is trying to stop criminal groups. In January, President Daniel Noboa said that there was a very serious problem and he made a special rule for the whole country, calling it a state of emergency. He also said that 22 gangs were very dangerous and they were like terrorists. This happened after some men with guns attacked a TV station in Guayaquil and took more than 100 prison guards as hostages.
Last weekend, the problem got worse when the bodies of Brigitte Garcia, who was the 27-year-old mayor of San Vicente, and Jairo Loor, her communications director, were discovered in a car in the province of Manabi. Both were killed by gunshots, according to the police.
Garcia, who was the mayor of a city on Ecuador’s coast, was the second mayor to be killed since 2023.
Agustin Intriago, who was the mayor of Manta, was shot and killed while visiting a neighborhood in the city in July, 2023. This happened about two weeks before the presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated in Quito, the capital. Villavicencio said he would fight against corruption when he ran for office.
Galo Meza, the mayor of Balzar, in Guayas province, asked for police help. On Tuesday, he told the news that people with guns shot 65 times at his house on Monday night. His wife and son were at home at the time.
“It’s a very complicated situation,” Castanier said in an interview. Mayors(A mayor is in charge of a city or town) People are risking their lives, wearing special jackets that protect them from bullets, and they are surrounded by guns.
The mayors in Ecuador are getting threats and violence from organized crime groups. These groups have spread throughout the country and mayors in coastal areas are in more danger of being attacked.
The country’s ports, including the one in Guayaquil, the biggest city, are being used for smuggling drugs.
“Right now, it’s crucial to do a risk assessment for all the mayors in the country. We can use early warnings to stop attacks,” said Castanier.
Noboa, who became the leader last year after winning an election, said on Monday that Garcia’s killing shows that drug dealers have infiltrated public institutions.
Officials said the men tried to control the building, where one of their gang members was getting help.
The police said that the intruders wanted to protect the patient from possible attacks by their enemies.
In the past, gang members have been attacked while in the hospital.
In 2022, seven armed men were caught after they attacked a hospital in Chone looking for a rival gang member who was very sick.
During that bad situation, the nurses and hospital workers were captured by the men while they fought with the police.
We still don’t know which gang attacked the Yaguachi hospital on Sunday, or who the injured man they were trying to protect was.
The police said he came to the hospital early on Sunday with gunshot wounds. He passed away from those injuries, they said.
After making the hospital safe, the security forces also searched a nearby “rehabilitation center”.
Gangs often use drug rehab centres as a cover. Authorities said this place was used as a command center for their illegal activities, and also as a brothel.
The police are doing a big operation because there is a lot of crime and violence in the area.
The president did something surprising because some gunmen took the people at a TV station as hostages while they were on live TV.
Since then, soldiers have been sent to help police stop the fighting, which had moved from the prisons to the streets of Ecuador’s big cities.
Based on the government, 201 prison guards and workers who were kept as hostages by rioting inmates have been released.
However, it seems like the gangs have increased their attacks.
In a very surprising event, a prosecutor looking into the attack on the TV station, César Suárez, was killed while on his way to a hearing in the city of Guayaquil on Wednesday.
Ecuador’s newest president has only been president since November, but now he has to deal with the country’s biggest problem in recent history.
There were some bad days when two gang leaders got away from jail, prison guards were kept as hostages, and bombs were set off in many cities in the country.
The day after Mr. Noboa declared a state of emergency, some men with guns entered the TC television studios in Guayaquil and threatened the staff while the TV show was on.
In an interview with the BBC during his first visit to Guayaquil since the violence, the president admitted that it will be very difficult to restore peace to the country.
“He says he didn’t expect it to be easy when he signed up for this, and now he’s at the conflicted port city’s waterfront. ”
“We can’t keep playing this game that these terrorist groups are trying to start. ”
“Now, he says that changes are happening. ” He said that there is a serious problem with violence in the Andean nation because drug gangs are fighting each other.
And Washington is willing to help. A group of people from the US government, including police, soldiers, and diplomats, will be coming to Ecuador soon. His critics think the US is getting involved too much, but President Noboa supports the decision.
“He’s happy to see that other countries are starting to notice what’s happening here. ” He smiled”It has an impact all over the world: the drug terrorists here also operate in Europe and the US. ”
“We have to fix the problem from the beginning, and the beginning of the problem is here,” he says.
There are still some big problems after the chaotic and violent scenes.
First, about 180 prison officers are still being held by criminal gangs inside different prisons. Their families are feeling more and more worried and have protested in the capital, Quito.
I asked Mr. Noboa what his government was doing to get the hostages back since he has said that he won’t negotiate with the gangs because hostage-taking is the “ugly side of war. ”
“I can’t tell you exactly what we’re going to do,” he says, “but we’re always talking to the military and the police. ” We will try our best to bring those people back home.
Another question is where a well-known drug gang leader named Adolfo Macias Villamar, also known as Fito, is. The leader of the Choneros gang escaped from prison earlier this week and it seems to have caused a lot of the fighting after that.
President Noboa admitted that his forces do not know where he is yet.
At the moment, we are searching for him. We are following up on some clues with the military and getting help from other countries.
His government says they will keep searching for the leader who ran away and for Fabricio Colon Pico, the head of another gang who is also on the run, until they find them.
This week has shown that Ecuador has some serious problems. Criminal groups in Ecuador are working with powerful Mexican gangs to sneak lots of cocaine out of the country and into the US and Europe through ports like Guayaquil.
Finding drugs in the shipping containers is not enough. President Noboa wants to improve the checks in the country’s ports.
The gangs have made a lot of money and used it to influence the courts, politicians, and prisons. The president wants to make big changes in the next few years. His critics think he’s trying to do something very difficult with not much experience in politics.
“I think we can win,” he said, “and I’ll keep fighting until we do. ”
The president’s team is sharing a cool new tourism campaign for Ecuador. It’s meant to convince people from other countries to come see the beautiful mountains of the Andes.
The world has seen a bad side of the country this week as it continues to have more fighting and less stability. A country that might be becoming a “narco-state” and failing.
President Noboa disagrees with that idea, and he is determined to prevent it from happening.
“We are working hard every day to prevent this place from becoming controlled by drug criminals. ”
To do that, even his biggest fans would agree that he has a lot of work to do.
Slowly and with nervousness, things are starting to get back to normal in Guayaquil.
Only a few people in the city have fully recovered from the shock and chaos of this week. It was a very unforgettable moment for everyone in the city.
But Dina Moreno can’t stay at home anymore because she doesn’t have enough money. She sells phone accessories at the big market in Guayaquil. Like others, she has opened her business to start working again.
“I have never seen anything like it,” she remembers with a shiver. “When we saw trouble at the TV station and heard gunshots, everyone panicked and closed their shops to go home. ”
As Dina talks, her seven-year-old son plays with some phone covers. City schools are still closed because of gang violence. Dina didn’t make any money for two days, so she had to bring her son to work.
The same thing is happening in other parts of the big market. Street food sellers, delivery boys, and a person reading from the Bible are making the place noisy and busy again. This hasn’t happened since the attack.
The threat of drug-gang violence is still present. One seller, Jorge, said that the stall owners were all taking care of each other under the big white covers of the market, looking for any hint of trouble or the return of armed men to the streets.
“I’m not afraid of dying,” he said confidently. “I want Ecuador to be peaceful again. ”
However, Andres is not able to go back to his usual business in Guayaquil, even though other small businesses are trying to. His brother is one of 178 prison workers, most of them guards, who are still being held captive by the gangs.
“We have only heard from the guards who were able to escape. ” “They are the only ones who have said that our family members are alright,” he says to me from outside the Ambato prison, where he has been waiting for hours to hear any updates.
The police will let the worried family know they are waiting for permission to go into the prison. Andres says he hasn’t seen them do anything for days.
He says that the guards had told them something bad was going to happen in the prison, but the people in charge didn’t listen.
The government says the country is in a war with the gangs and won’t give in to threats from inside or outside the prisons. “President Daniel Noboa said that taking people as hostages is a terrible part of war. ”
But Andres is not comforted by that. He says the government is not doing enough and has forgotten about his brother.
“I just hope they don’t use them as disposable soldiers,” he says.
During a very chaotic situation, the most bold act of gang violence happened in the TC television studio in Guayaquil. Armed men held the staff hostage and showed their weapons to the journalists while they were on live TV.
During the scary situation, the host Jose Luis Calderon told the gang members to stay calm, even though they were holding a shotgun to his head and putting dynamite in his pocket.
“He said he felt surprisingly relaxed even though he knew we were in danger,” he remembered when we saw him later. Jose Luis told how he and some coworkers hid in a bathroom because they heard shouting and gunshots. However, they were quickly found and forced to join the rest of the staff on the set at gunpoint.
“They sent children, heavily armed, to make people scared, unsure, and worried, and to cause chaos,” he says. “They were there to show that they can come in and control one of the largest media companies in the country. ”
The police have arrested many gang members. During the night, not many people are on the streets of Guayaquil because of a curfew. But during the day, more people are out and about, going about their usual business.
As the days go by after a very scary event, it seems like Ecuador is going back to normal.
The danger is that it is rapidly heading towards a long-lasting armed fight and getting closer to becoming a complete “narco-state”.
Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa has told gangs to fight the military instead of hurting civilians. Soldiers were sent to stop the gangs.
MrNoboa said there is big trouble in the Andean country because of gangs. He said this on Monday.
During a live TV show, some men with guns burst into the station and scared the workers.
Over 300 people have been arrested during the state of emergency.
Mr Noboa sounded strong and confident during a radio interview on Wednesday.
The 36-year-old president, who has been in power for only two months, stood up to the gangs. “He encouraged them to be strong and stand up against the soldiers. He pointed out that the gangs mainly attack people who are not armed or soldiers. ”
At least 14 people have been killed in the past few days. Gang members have been using bombs, burning cars, and kidnapping police officers on duty.
One hundred and twenty-five prison guards and 14 prison workers have been taken hostage by inmates, officials have confirmed. A military leader said on Wednesday that none of the hostages have been killed yet.
President Noboa said Ecuador is going through a really hard time, but he promised that his government will be strong against the gangs and anyone in the legal system who supports them.
The recent increase in attacks seems to have started when they tried to move the gang leader “Fito” from a jail he controlled to a safer prison.
However, when the police went into his room at the jail on Sunday, they saw that it was empty.
The news that he escaped caused riots in another jail. Fabricio Colón Pico, a leader of the Los Lobos gang, also escaped during the riots.
Fito, whose real name is Adolfo Macías Villareal, and Colón Pico have not been found yet. The government of Ecuador has offered a prize for any information that can help find and catch them. They are also giving prizes to 17 more gang leaders.
Ecuador used to be a safe country, but now the number of murders has gone up a lot. This happened because criminal gangs involved in drug trafficking have become stronger.
President Noboa said that 22 groups were “terrorist gangs” and stated that his country was in the middle of an “internal armed conflict”.
Ecuador’s Congress agreed on a new law that lets soldiers go out on the streets to look for weapons and people they think might have committed a crime.
The BBC’s Will Grant is in Guayaquil, the city that was most affected by the recent violence. He says the people there are still trying to understand why the gang violence happened.
A journalist who was there when the TC television studios in Guayaquil were taken over by gunmen, told an Ecuadorean news site called Primicias about how they threatened her and her coworkers.
She explained how the men with weapons told the person on TV to make a statement while the show was being broadcasted.
“They asked my coworker to say the mafia is in control and the president can’t defeat us. But she said the gunmen didn’t have any specific requests besides that. ”
The police caught the gang and arrested 18 people.
Soldiers are patrolling the streets in many cities in Ecuador because the country is dealing with a very violent day.
Armed men wearing masks entered a TV studio in Guayaquil while a live show was on, and bombs exploded in different parts of Ecuador on Tuesday.
Inmates in five jails have taken more than 130 prison staff as hostages.
A state of emergency started on Monday because a dangerous criminal disappeared from his prison cell.
It’s not clear if the attack on the TV studio in Ecuador’s biggest city is connected to the disappearance of the leader of the Choneros gang, Adolfo Macías Villamar, also known as Fito.
President Daniel Noboa said that things were very bad because there were a lot of fights and people escaping from jails, so he made a special rule to help stop the problem.
He commanded that criminal gangs be stopped and said there was a war happening within the country.
The government says that the violence is happening because people are upset about President Noboa’s plan to build a new, very secure prison for gang leaders.
On Wednesday, the president announced that Ecuador will send foreign prisoners, especially those from Colombia, back to their own countries to lower the number of inmates.
Esteban Torres Cobo, who works for President Noboa, said that fighting against armed gangs could lead to a lot of people being killed or injured.
“It’s going to be tough, but this change is necessary for a better future. We can’t keep putting off this decision. We need to make it now,” he said on the BBC’s Newshour program.
He said gang leaders wanted to talk things out, but the government won’t negotiate with them.
A representative for the United Nations leader, Antonio Guterres, said he is very worried about the worsening situation and how it is affecting the lives of people in Ecuador.
At the same time, a person at the White House said the US is very against the recent attacks. Another person from the National Security Council said the US wants to help keep Ecuador safe and help them do well.
A few hours after the most bold of the attacks, Guayaquil was like a city that just woke up from a weird bad dream.
In recent years, the security situation has gotten worse. But it was still surprising to see the TV anchor with a gun pointed at him during a live broadcast.
Police have arrested 70 people since Monday, including those who stormed the TV station.
The attack has made people scared and they are still hiding, even a day later. There are not many people on the streets today, even though it’s a weekday. Many people think that the situation is similar to the time when Covid was happening.
Many soldiers are walking around Guayaquil and Quito, some in tanks.
Schools all around the country are shut down, and students are having their classes on the internet.
China, who gives a lot of money to Ecuador, said it was closing its embassy and consulates for a little while.
In Guayaquil, some businesses are still open and have security guards who are anxious and keeping the doors closed. They only let people inside carefully.
Eduardo works for a big clothing company. He was outside getting coffee when everything started to get crazy. When he got back to the office, his coworkers were already getting ready to go.
“He said that today, everyone is working from their houses. ”
The SNAI prisons agency in Ecuador said that around 125 prison guards and 14 office workers are being kept as hostages.
Four police officers were taken by bad guys and are still being kept. Three more policemen were released on Tuesday night.
The police say that there is still violence happening in Guayaquil. On Tuesday, criminal gangs attacked and killed eight people in the city. Three others were hurt. In a nearby town, two police officers were killed by armed criminals.
The police are trying to figure out who the three people are who were found dead in a car that was on fire in the south of the city last night.
This is a very unusual situation for the people of Guayaquil. They have seen protests and violence before, but nothing as scary as what happened on Tuesday.
The students were scared and ran away when gunmen came into their university and set off bombs in different parts of the country. People were worried that the attacks were planned together.
People who have to go out for work or to see their family are very scared and worried. The past day in Ecuador’s biggest port has been tiring and upsetting.
A rule that says people have to stay inside at night to stop fighting and crime.
In the past few years, there have been a lot of fights between different gangs in Ecuador’s prisons. These fights have led to many inmates being killed.
President Noboa declared a state of emergency and said that the Choneros gang, along with 21 other gangs, are responsible for the recent violence.
The new rule started after the state of emergency was announced on Monday. It says that people have to stay inside at night to try to stop violence after Fito ran away. The police are working to make things calm again in six jails where riots happened on Monday.
Fito getting away is really bad for Mr Noboa. He’s only been president for seven weeks.
President Noboa became the youngest leader of Ecuador when he was 36 years old. He won the election, but it was a sad time because another presidential candidate and journalist, Fernando Villavicencio, was killed.
Villavicencio told people he was going to be killed by Fito. Then he was shot and killed after a campaign event in Quito.
Security forces in Ecuador are working to bring order back to six prisons where there were riots on Monday.
Prisoners have taken some guards captive and said they will hurt them if soldiers try to take back control of the prisons.
Four police officers were also taken away after President Daniel Noboa said that there was a serious situation.
The trouble started when the famous gang leader Fito escaped from jail.
Authorities stated that Fito, also known as Adolfo Macías Villamar, was not in his cell when the police came to take him to another jail in the same area on Sunday morning.
They looked in the high-security area where he was kept but did not find him yet.
Government spokesperson Roberto Izurieta said that Fito, the leader of the Los Choneros gang, was warned that he was going to be transferred from La Regional jail. He lived in a big cell with bright colored paint and murals.
It’s believed that he ran away just before he was supposed to be moved. Two prison guards are being held because they might have helped Fito escape.
The 44-year-old is the leader of a strong prison gang called Los Choneros. It is believed that this gang is responsible for a lot of the violent fights and riots in Ecuador’s prisons in the last few years.
Despite their leader being in prison, the Los Choneros gang still has a lot of influence outside of Ecuadorean prisons. Gang members also do illegal things like killing people for money, making people pay them for protection, and selling drugs in different parts of the country.
The group has teamed up with a strong drug gang in Mexico called Sinaloa. They work together to bring cocaine from Colombia through Ecuador’s port cities to the US and Europe.
Fito became the new leader of the gang when the old boss, Jorge Luis Zambrano, was killed in 2020.
He used to stay hidden, but then he sang a song that bragged about his crimes, and it seemed like he was trying to challenge the authorities. The song was released in September.
In the video, two singers and Fito’s daughter sing about the boss’s love for his family and his loyalty to those who support him. They say that he is unfairly criticized.
The secret video, made in spite of a rule against using electronic devices in jail, also shows Fito in the prison yard hanging out with other prisoners and petting a rooster.
His getaway is bad for President Noboa’s government. President Noboa had just taken office in November after winning an election that was marred by the killing of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.
Villavicencio said he got death threats from Fito, and then he got shot and killed after a campaign event in Quito.
Mr Noboa announced that there will be a state of emergency all over the country for two months. There will also be a curfew at night to try to stop the violence caused by Fito’s escape.
Three police officers are missing after they were taken by men in an unmarked car while working in Machala. Another policeman was taken away in the main city, Quito.
There have been explosions in the city of Cuenca and notes left behind asking for prison transfers to stop.
An emergency was announced because a dangerous criminal escaped from his prison cell. It’s not clear if the incident at the TV studio in Guayaquil is connected to the disappearance of Adolfo Macías Villamar, also known as Fito, the Choneros gang boss, from a prison in the same city.
On Tuesday, President Noboa said that there is a war happening inside the country. He is sending the military to stop crime and terrorism.
The government of Peru sent police to the border quickly to stop any trouble from coming into the country.
The US is against the bold attacks in Ecuador. They are working closely with President Daniel Noboa and his government and are ready to help.
Ecuador sends out lots of bananas to other countries. They also sell oil, coffee, cocoa, shrimps, and fish products to other places. An increase in fighting and violence in the Andean country, both in and outside of its prisons, is because of battles between drug gangs from different countries and local ones. They are fighting to control the routes for bringing cocaine to the US and Europe.
On Tuesday, during the attack at the TV station, a person with a shotgun pointed it at the head of one of the captives. The captive was also threatened with a revolver.
According to the AFP news agency, a woman was begging not to be shot, and someone else was heard screaming in pain.
A TC employee sent a message on WhatsApp saying that someone came in to hurt us. “Please, God, don’t let this happen. ” The criminals are on the run.
A cameraman got shot in the leg, and another one broke his arm in the attack, according to the deputy news director.
“Producers told us through our earpieces to be careful because someone was trying to enter, steal and mug us,” said Jorge Rendon to Reuters news agency.
“The doors in the studio are really thick, almost like they can stop bullets. They were trying to get in because they wanted to enter the studio and make us say whatever they wanted us to say,” he explained.
The police said that they arrested the suspects and posted a video of them and their weapons on social media. They also said that the suspects would be punished for their terrorist acts.
Emergency situation
President Noboa made a decision to declare a state of emergency in response to a series of riots and escapes from prisons, as well as other violent activities that were caused by criminal gangs.
He made a law that included the Choneros and 21 other gangs. The Choneros are named after the town of Chone in Manabi Province.
The order was made because of a state of emergency and it means there will be a curfew at night to stop the violence after Fito’s escape. The police are working to calm down the situation in six jails where there were fights on Monday.
On Tuesday, in Guayaquil, eight people were killed and three were hurt in attacks by criminal gangs. In the nearby town of Nobol, two police officers were also killed by armed criminals.
In Riobamba, a city in Ecuador, about 40 prisoners, including a drug lord, escaped from jail.
At least seven police officers were taken by force and there is a video going around on social media that shows three of the kidnapped officers sitting on the ground with a gun pointed at them. In the video, one of the officers is being made to read a statement directed to President Noboa, according to AFP.
The officer said, “If you start a war, you’ll have to deal with a war. ” You said there is an emergency. We say that police, civilians, and soldiers are the things that are taken as a result of war.
The police told everyone to leave the government building in Quito because they are worried about safety.
People in Quito told Reuters that the city was very chaotic after they heard about the attack at the TV station in Guayaquil.
Mario Urena said there are too many people feeling nervous in the city. “People are leaving work earlier. ” All the people are going away, there is a lot of traffic and alarms all around. There is a lot of confusion.
Some people in Cuenca were surprised when they saw the TV station taken over. They told AFP about their shock.
Francisco Rosas said that in Ecuador, they have never seen something like a channel being taken over and a show starting with shootings and kidnappings. “How safe are we right now. If a TV station can be robbed, then restaurants and shops are also at risk. ”
In the last few years, the prisons in the country have had a lot of fighting between gangs. This has led to many prisoners being killed in gang fights.
The Choneros are a tough gang in prison that is believed to be responsible for a lot of the violent fights and riots in Ecuador’s jails.
Fito is believed to have run away just hours before he was supposed to move. Two prison guards have been arrested for possibly helping him to get away.
His getting away also hurts the government of President Noboa. He became president in November after winning an election that was affected by the killing of presidential candidate and journalist Fernando Villavicencio.
Before he was killed while leaving a campaign event in Quito, Villavicencio had told people that he was getting death threats from Fito.
Gunmen wearing masks have entered a TV studio in Ecuador and scared the people working there.
Workers were made to lie down on the floor by the public TV channel TC in the city of Guayaquil before the live broadcast ended.
The police let all the staff go and arrested 13 people later. The station said that two workers got hurt.
At least 10 people have died since a 60-day state of emergency started in Ecuador on Monday.
A dangerous criminal escaped from his jail cell, so an emergency was called. It’s not clear if the TV studio incident in Guayaquil was connected to the boss of the Choneros gang, Adolfo Macías Villamar, who is also known as Fito, going missing from a prison in the same city.
In Peru, the government sent police to the border right away to stop any problems from coming into the country.
The US is strongly against the bold attacks in Ecuador and is working closely with President Daniel Noboa and the Ecuadorean government. They are also prepared to help if needed.
Ecuador sells a lot of bananas to other countries. They also sell oil, coffee, cocoa, shrimp, and fish. An increase in fighting in the Andean country, both in and out of its prisons, has been connected to battles between drug groups, from other countries and from the country itself, over who gets to control the paths for moving cocaine to the US and Europe.
On Tuesday, during the attack at the TV station, a person with a shotgun pointed the gun at the head of one of the hostages. The hostage was also threatened with a revolver.
According to AFP news agency, a woman was begging, “Please don’t shoot,” and someone was screaming in pain.
“Please help, someone came in to hurt us,” said a TC employee in a WhatsApp message to AFP. “Please don’t let this happen, God. ” The criminals are being watched on TV.
One person with a camera was shot in the leg, and another person’s arm was broken during the attack, the deputy director of news explained.
“Jorge Rendon told the news agency that the producers warned us through our earpieces that someone was trying to break in, steal, and rob us. ”
“The doors in the studio are really strong, almost like they can stop bullets. They were trying to break in because they wanted us to say what they wanted us to say,” he said.
The police said they would punish the suspects for their terrorist actions and share their arrest and weapons on social media.
President Noboa said that there is a fight happening inside the country, and he is sending the army to stop crime and terrorist groups.
He was reacting to a lot of fights and escapes from jails that have been happening lately. Authorities say it’s because of gangs.
He made a list of 22 gangs, including the Choneros, named after a town in Manabi Province. Some of the other gangs on the list were Aguilas, AguilasKiller, AK-47, Caballeros Oscuros, ChoneKiller, Covicheros, Cuartel de las Feas, Cubanos, Fatales, Ganster, Kater Piler, Lagartos, Latin Kings, Lobos, Los p. 27, Los Tiburones, Mafia 18, Mafia Trebol, Patrones, R7 and Tiguerones.
The new rule says there must be a curfew at night to stop violence after Fito escaped. Police and prison guards are working to bring back calm in six jails where there were riots on Monday.
On Tuesday, in Guayaquil, eight people died and three got hurt in attacks by criminal gangs. Additionally, two police officers were killed by armed criminals in the nearby town of Nobol.
In Riobamba city, almost 40 prisoners, including a drug lord, escaped from jail.
At least seven police officers were taken by force. There is a video on social media showing three of the kidnapped officers sitting on the ground with a gun pointed at them. One of the officers is made to say something to President Noboa in the video.
“You started a war, so you will receive a war,” the officer says. “You said it’s an emergency. ” We say that police, civilians, and soldiers are the things that are taken in war.
Police told everyone to leave the government offices in Quito because they are worried about safety.
People in Quito told the news agency Reuters that there was a lot of disorder in the city after they heard about the attack at the TV station in Guayaquil.
“Mario Urena said there is too much anxiety in the city. ” “At work, some people are leaving earlier. ” Many people are going away, and there’s a lot of traffic and alarms everywhere. There is a lot of confusion.
More people in Cuenca were surprised when they saw the TV station taken over.
Francisco Rosas said that in Ecuador, they have never seen a channel being taken over and a broadcast starting with shootings and kidnappings. “What’s the security like here. If a TV station can be robbed like this, imagine how vulnerable restaurants or shops are. ”
Lately, the country’s prisons have had a lot of fighting between different gangs, which has led to many inmates being killed.
The Choneros are a strong prison gang that is believed to be responsible for a lot of the violent riots and fights in Ecuador’s prisons in the past few years.
Fito is believed to have run away just a few hours before he was supposed to be moved. Two prison guards have been taken into custody because they are suspected of helping him escape.
His getting away is bad for President Noboa’s government. President Noboa became president in November after winning an election that was affected by the killing of presidential candidate and journalist Fernando Villavicencio.
Villavicencio had told people that Fito threatened to kill him. Then, he was shot and killed in Quito after a political event.
Ecuador has declared a state of emergency for 60 days because a gang leader disappeared from prison.
Adolfo Macías Villamar, also known as “Fito”, is the boss of a dangerous group called Los Choneros. People believe that this group is responsible for some of the deadly fights in prison that have happened recently.
He was locked up in the highest security part of a jail in Guayaquil.
The emergency rules include stopping people from gathering and having to stay at home at night.
President Daniel Noboa, who became the second-youngest president in Ecuadorian history, made an announcement in a decree. He has only been in office for less than two months.
He won the election after a very violent campaign where another candidate, Fernando Villavicencio, was killed.
President Noboa said the emergency would let the military and police take charge of all the country’s prisons. The Choneros gang has a lot of power in La Regional prison, where Fito was kept.
“The president said that these criminal groups want to scare us and they think we will do what they want. ”
He also said, “We won’t talk to terrorists and we won’t stop until we bring back peace. ”
Fito is a well-known criminal who is believed to have been involved in the murder of Villavicencio last year. Fito had threatened to kill Villavicencio before the murder.
The police realized he was missing on Sunday and couldn’t find him in the prison area.
He doesn’t listen to the police, and recently he made a music video that makes his illegal activities look cool. He even recorded part of it in jail.
The video shows two singers from Mariachi Bravo performing with Fito’s daughter, Queen Michelle. They are praising a man they call a criminal.
“I admire you, Fito, my dad,” his daughter sings, saying that “good blood runs through his veins. ”
The video shows Fito petting a rooster and talking to other prisoners.
The video was recorded inside the jail, which means someone broke the rule against bringing electronic devices into the jail.
It’s not known if Fito escaped from the prison in the port city or if he’s hiding inside.
A police leader said he couldn’t say if the convict escaped or not, and he also couldn’t say how long the convict has been missing.
He said many police officers were looking for the prison.
The Regional jail is in a big prison with five buildings and over 12,000 prisoners. Fito has been in prison for most of the last 12 years.
In August, he was moved to a smaller jail in the same area called La Roca for a short time. This jail is thought to be safer because there are fewer prisoners there. It took many soldiers to move him.
However, the prisoner’s lawyer asked for a change in the decision to move him and was successful. Fito was taken back to La Regional after only a month.
Fito has run away from the prison before. In 2013, he and 17 other prisoners escaped from La Roca prison and ran away in boats on the River Daule, which is next to the prison.
The runaway was caught with his brother, who is also part of Los Choneros, four months later at their mom’s house in Manta.
Fito has been in jail for a long time. After Jorge Luis Zambrano was killed in December 2020, he became the leader of Los Choneros.
The gang, called Chone, is mostly involved in selling drugs and getting money from people by threatening them. They also have connections with the powerful Sinaloa cartel in Mexico.
An indigenous group in Ecuador won a court case to get back their land in the Amazon jungle. They were forced to leave 80 years ago because of a war.
An appeals court in Ecuador agreed with the Siekopai nation’s claim to Pë’këya, a diverse area in northwest Ecuador near the border with Peru. The Siekopai people were forced to leave their homes because of fighting between Peru and Ecuador in the 1940s.
In September of last year, a small community of only about 800 people sued the government of Ecuador. They said the government was not respecting their right to own land that has been in their families for a long time.
The court said the Ministry of Environment in Ecuador has 45 days to give the Siekopai people a property title for 104,000 acres of land.
Elias Piyahuaje, the President of the Siekopai Nation of Ecuador, said this is a very important time for his people. “We have always owned and will always own the land of Pë’këya. ” “We have been fighting for 80 years to get our land back. ”
This is the first time the Ecuadorian government is giving land title to an indigenous group in a protected area. It’s a big deal and can help other indigenous people get their land back too.
Piyahuaje said: “We are trying to keep our culture alive on this planet. ” “We need this land to survive as Siekopai people. “
Police in Ecuador say they have arrested an alleged leader of Los Lobos, a powerful criminal organisation specialised in drug trafficking.
The man, named only as Jaime S. C, was armed and carrying a large sum of money when police stopped his luxury car in the port city of Puerto Bolívar. Gunmen believed to belong to his gang opened fire as the officers transferred Jaime S. C to police headquarters.
One policeman was injured in the shooting. Soldiers deployed to guard the police HQ where the suspect was locked up were later also fired upon.
In a statement, police said Jaime S. C was carrying $13,5000 (£11,000) whose provenance “he could not explain. ” Los Lobos (The Wolves) is said to have 8,000 members and has become one of the Andean country’s most powerful criminal organizations.
Many of the gang’s members are in prison, but the gang continues to operate behind bars and has been accused of instigating some of the bloodiest prison riots in Ecuador.
The gang is also believed to be affiliated with Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) cartel, which smuggles cocaine from Colombia through Ecuador’s port cities to the United States and Europe.
Ecuador is suffering a wave of violence that has caused the murder rate to quadruple between 2018 and 2022. Daniel Noboa, who was sworn in as the country’s new president on Thursday, has promised to tackle drug trafficking and break the stranglehold the gangs have on the country.
On his first full day in office, he repealed a policy that allowed for the possession of small amounts of drugs, arguing that it had encouraged micro-trafficking in schools and “created an entire generation of drug-addicted children”.
On October 15, 2023,Daniel Noboa, a 35-year-old businessman and politician, won the presidency of Ecuador with 52.3% of the vote, defeating his rival, Luisa González, who also garnered 47.7%.
Daniel becomes the world’s youngest president after his win against his rival, Luisa González, the hand-picked candidate of former president Rafael Correa.
Luisa González, who ex-president Rafael Correa had hoped would succeed him. Photograph: Luisa González/Reuters
His win is said to be the fulfilment of a long-held family ambition, as Daniel’s father,Álvaro Noboa, a billionaire tycoon known for owning the world’s largest banana exporting company, ran for the presidency unsuccessfully five times.
Banana fortune heir Daniel Noboa won Ecuador’s presidential election. The 35-year-old now faces a heavy task in rebuilding the South American country, which is struggling with rising crime and a weak economy https://t.co/nqCc3adldepic.twitter.com/s5x5AdTJfW
Education: Daniel graduated from Harvard Kennedy School with a master’s degree in public administration and international development in 2012 He also has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Universidad San Francisco de Quito.
He is the driving force behind the Noboa Group, a multifaceted conglomerate engaged in diverse sectors, including agriculture, real estate, tourism, and technology.
Also, he is the president of the National Democratic Action Party, which he founded in 2019.
Family The banana fortune heir is married to a former congresswoman and journalist, María José Carrión.
The couple has two children, a boy and a girl, namely Daniel Jr. and Sofia.
Daniel Noboa, standing next to his wife, said he would bring back smiles to Ecuadoreans’ faces
He is known for his calm and conciliatory approach,with a strong focus on job creation, economic growth, and a resolute stance against crime and drug trafficking.
Noboa in a press conference
He will be sworn in as president on November 25, 2023, five days before his 36th birthday.
He will only have 17 months in office until the next election in May 2025, due to the fact that the current election was triggered early when outgoing President Guillermo Lasso dissolved parliament amid an impeachment trial.
Noboa received 52. 3% of the votes and won the election on Sunday. He had more votes than Luisa González, who got 47. 7%. She admitted losing and praised her opponent.
The person in question is a 35-year-old member of the National Democratic Action party. He is the son of Álvaro Noboa, who has tried and failed to become president five times.
MrNoboa will be in office for only 17 months.
He will only be in charge until May 2025 because the current election happened earlier than expected. This happened because the previous president, Guillermo Lasso, dissolved the parliament during an impeachment trial.
If he wants to, he can run for president again in 2025-29.
In Ecuador, they are selecting a president while there is a lot of violence happening.
After winning the second round of voting, Mr. Noboa told his supporters that they will begin working for a new Ecuador. They will work on rebuilding a country that has been severely damaged by violence, corruption, and hatred.
In the past few years, Ecuador has experienced more gang violence. During the presidential campaign, candidate Fernando Villavicencio was killed, which caused a lot of problems. As a journalist, he worked hard to fight against corruption.
Crime has increased a lot in Ecuador, and it has also become a place where drug gangs gather. This is because it is in between Colombia and Peru, which are the top two countries that make cocaine.
MrNoboa wants to put the most dangerous criminals of Ecuador on ships outside of Ecuador’s coast. This is to stop the criminal gangs in prisons from fighting and killing each other.
He also wants to make Ecuador’s borders and ports safer by using scanners to stop drug trafficking. This will help intercept more shipments of cocaine.
He has also tried to attract voters by making a promise to increase job opportunities.
Officials in Ecuador have reported that more than 50 prison guards and seven police officers have been captured as hostages in multiple jails.
Two explosions caused by car bombs happened in the capital city, Quito. These explosions were aimed at the authority that manages the country’s prisons.
No one was harmed in the bombings and at least six individuals have been taken into custody.
Ecuador’s leader of the department in charge of security inside the country, Juan Zapata, mentioned that the government is doing something to address the situation but did not provide more information.
Mr Zapata said that we are worried about keeping our officials safe.
Some time ago, a bomb was aimed at a building in Quito that used to be used by the SNAI. The second bomb was aimed at the main building of the agency.
Police said that the second attack was done using a car that had been set up with explosives.
The Mayor of Quito, Pabel Muñoz, said that there were explosions caused by grenades in the city last night.
Drug gangs in Ecuador are causing more violence, and this is making things really hard for the prisons, which are already low on resources and have too many people in them.
In Ecuador’s overcrowded jails, many inmates have died in violent fights.
On Wednesday, a lot of police officers and soldiers looked for weapons and explosives in Cotopaxi jail in the southern city of Latacunga. They wanted to stop more violence from happening there.
Ecuador’s President, Guillermo Lasso, said that our actions, especially in the prison system, have caused violent responses from criminal groups who are trying to scare the government.
However, we are determined and will not change our mind about our goal of capturing dangerous criminals, breaking up criminal groups, and making the country’s prisons peaceful.
Ecuador has experienced the assassination of a local party leader, making two politicians in a week.
At his residence in the northern Esmeraldas province, Pedro Briones was fatally shot by motorcycle-riding assailants.
Only five days had passed since presidential contender Fernando Villavicencio was shot and killed in Quito.
As local gangs formed partnerships with global crime cartels, the murder rate in Ecuador increased.
The assassinations of leaders have shook the nation ahead of the impromptu presidential elections on August 20.
In Esmeraldas, Mr. Briones was the chairman of the left-leaning Citizen Revolution Party. Party members sent their sympathies to the man’s family.
Luisa González, the party’s presidential candidate, claimed that Ecuador was experiencing “its bloodiest period.”
The Citizen Revolution Party was created by former president Rafael Correa, who wrote: “They killed another of our compatriots in Esmeraldas. “I’ve had enough!”
Although the police have not yet made an official statement regarding the slaying, local media outlets claimed that the two shooters left on a motorbike after killing Mr Briones in San Mateo, a city south of Esmeraldas.
What the motivation might have been is still a mystery.
One of the worst affected provinces by the nationwide wave of violence is Esmeraldas, which shares a border with Colombia.
Drug traffickers who transport cocaine from Colombia via Ecuador to the US and Europe find the region attractive due to its porous border with Colombia and its location on the Pacific coast.
However, Esmeraldas has not been the only victim of the violence. The mayor of the port city of Manta in the province of Manab was assassinated last month while visiting a public works project.
Fernando Villavicencio, an outspoken journalist who exposed corruption scandals and criticised connections between organised crime and public authorities, has been the most well-known casualty to date.
Six males, all citizens of Colombia, have been detained in relation to his murder.
Sunday saw the arrival of FBI officers from the US, who are working with Ecuadorean authorities to look into the death of Fernando Villavicencio.
A politician from Ecuador who was assassinated will run for president by his running companion.
After an event in Quito for his campaign, Fernando Villavicencio was shot three times in the head. Police claim that all suspects are from Colombia.
His Constructe party announced that Andrea Gonzalez would be their nominee for president.
The party also stated that selecting a vice presidential candidate for the August 20 election was in underway.
The capital’s Sunday presidential debate will feature Ms. Gonzalez, 36, whose career has primarily focused on environmental issues.
According to the party’s social media posts, “millions of Ecuadorians will accompany her in this purpose” and she will “guarantee the legacy” of Mr. Villavicencio.
According to the party, “the most trusted of those who have shared the struggles of comrade Fernando Villavicencio” will be the candidate for vice-presidency.
As he exited a public event in the nation’s capital on Wednesday, Mr. Villavicencio, 59, a former journalist and member of the national assembly, was shot three times in the head.
In a gunfight with the police, one attacker was killed while several others managed to flee.
His passing has shaken a country that, for the most part, has avoided the decades of drug-gang violence, cartel battles, and corruption that have plagued many of its neighbours. However, crime has dramatically increased recently due to the expansion of the Mexican and Colombian drug cartels.
Mr. Villavicencio was one of just a few candidates to claim ties between organised crime and government officials in Ecuador during his campaign, which concentrated on corruption and gangs.
His widow, Veronica Sarauz, stated during a news conference on Saturday that she held the government accountable for her husband’s passing.
His personal guards didn’t do their duty, according to the woman, and the state still needs to provide numerous explanations for all that occurred.
“I don’t want to believe they sold my husband to be killed in this notorious way,” she said.
Ms. Sarauz also expressed her disappointment that Ms. Gonzalez had been chosen to run for president in place of her husband.
Six Colombians who belonged to organised criminal organisations have reportedly been detained, according to Interior Minister Juan Zapata.
The FBI has been requested by Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso to assist in the investigation of Mr. Villavicencio’s death.
Meanwhile, three criminals from a maximum security prison in the port city of Guayaquil who were deemed to be very dangerous by Ecuadorian officials have been transferred.
Among them was Jose Adolfo Macias, or “Fito,” the head of one of Ecuador’s most important organised criminal organisations, from whom Mr. Villavicencio claimed he had received death threats.
Despite not being in the lead and polling in the centre of the pack, Mr. Villavicencio, a married father of five, was one of eight candidates in the first round of voting.
“This crime can’t go unpunished,” his sister Patricia Villavicencio remarked. There is no justice, no protection, and we are in pain with a damaged soul.
An operation to move a notorious gang leader to a maximum security prison was carried out in the morning with the assistance of thousands of Ecuadorian soldiers and police.
Jose Adolfo Macias, better known as “Fito,” allegedly threatened to kill Fernando Villavicencio, the assassinated candidate for president of Ecuador.
The anti-corruption campaigner was shot three times in the head on Wednesday after leaving a protest.
Prior to his passing, Fito allegedly threatened Mr. Villavicencio.
If I keep bringing up Los Choneros [the gang], they’re going to break me,” he claimed.
His passing has shaken a country that, for the most part, has avoided the decades of drug-gang violence, cartel battles, and corruption that have plagued many of its neighbours. However, crime has dramatically increased recently due to the expansion of the Mexican and Colombian drug cartels.
In Mr. Villavicencio’s place, his Construye party declared Andrea Gonzalez, his vice presidential running mate, as its nominee on Saturday.
The party claimed that Ms. Gonzalez would “guarantee the legacy” of Mr. Villavicencio despite the fact that she has mostly focused her career on environmental problems.
In the meantime, Mrs. Villavicencio’s widow Veronica Sarauz said that the government was to blame for her husband’s passing and expressed displeasure with Ms. Gonzalez’s selection to run in his place.
The main topics of Mr. Villavicencio’s campaign were narcotics and corruption. He was the lone candidate to suggest ties between members of organised crime and Ecuadorian government figures.
He protested to the Public Prosecutor’s Office the day before his murder about alleged irregularities in oil contracts negotiated under previous president Rafael Correa’s administration that had cost the nation US $9 billion (£7 billion).
Seven Colombians were slain in a gunfight, and six of them have been detained in connection with the crime. Who funded and hired the hitmen has not been disclosed by the authorities.
Videos shared by security forces showed gang leader Fito being relocated to a different institution while being handcuffed and wearing only his pants. Fito had been detained in Guayaquil’s Prison 8 since 2011.
Guillermo Lasso, the president of Ecuador, announced that Fito had been transferred to La Roca, a maximum security facility within the same complex that can house 150 inmates.
Authorities have revealed that six of the individuals detained in connection with the murder of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio are citizens of Colombia and are members of gangs. This comes as a former vice president has called for action to stop the country’s spiralling violence.Villavicencio, a legislator and anti-corruption activist who frequently spoke out against the carnage brought on by drug trafficking in the nation, was fatally shot on Wednesday during a campaign rally in the nation’s capital Quito.Ten days prior to the first round of the presidential election, the 59-year-old was assassinated. As Ecuador’s violence has increased in recent years, Villavicencio’s campaign promises to crack down on crime and corruption.
After exchanging gunfire with security forces, the alleged shooter passed away in police custody, according to Ecuador’s Attorney General’s Office on Wednesday.
Six other people were detained in relation to the murder. Juan Zapata, the interior minister for Ecuador, stated during a news conference on Thursday that there is early evidence the suspects are associated with organised crime gangs.
A rifle, a machine gun, four handguns, three grenades, two rifle magazines, four boxes of ammo, two motorcycles, and a stolen car suspected to have been used by the guys were discovered by officials during nocturnal raids, according to Zapata.
Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso tweeted that a mission from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation would soon be arriving in the nation after the attack prompted him to ask for assistance.
In addition, Lasso declared a 60-day state of emergency, an immediate nationwide mobilisation of the military, and three days of national mourning.
The assassination sparked a global outcry of disapproval, notably from the UN Human Rights chief, the United States, and the European Union.
In an exclusive interview with CNN on Thursday, former vice president of Ecuador and current presidential hopeful Otto Sonnenholzner claimed that the degree of violence in Ecuador is “something we have never seen before.”
It’s a novel idea. Maybe a year and a half or two years ago, it began. It’s an uncontrollable spiral of violence that needs immediate government response, but we aren’t seeing it, Sonnenholzner added.
The Andean country, which was previously relatively quiet, is currently affected by a deepening security crisis brought on by drug trafficking and a turf war between competing criminal organisations.
As criminal organisations compete for possession and distribution of narcotics, mainly cocaine, violence has been most pronounced along Ecuador’s Pacific coast.
Additionally, the nation no longer has authority over its overcrowded jails, which are frequently run by criminal gangs. Between these opposing groups, horrific prison riots have claimed the lives of hundreds of prisoners.
Sonnenholzner claimed that “the gangs are controlling crime in the streets from the jails.” “There is a lot of influence of drug dealers and traffickers in different institutions in the country,” he added, adding that corruption has a negative impact on the judiciary, some police, and even local administrations in Ecuador.
According to Sonnenholzner, Villavicencio had received threats from Ecuadorian organised criminal groups two weeks prior, but he had not been shielded.
According to interior minister Zapata, Villavicencio did have a security detail at the time of the incident that included five police officers, numerous patrol cars, and his own armoured vehicle, however he pointed out that the armoured vehicle was not deployed in Quito.
According to local media, Zapata said earlier this week that seven of Ecuador’s eight presidential contenders were being guarded by police.
Every day, gun control fails totally. The offenders’ firearms are comparatively recent. The six attackers who were caught yesterday had grenades and machine guns, and Ecuador has historically been a fairly peaceful nation,” Sonnenholzner added.
Sonnenholzner announced that he had stopped participating in public campaign events “for the next few days” and hired his own private protection.
Sonnenholzner claimed that in order to give Villavicencio’s political party, Movimiento Construye, time to locate a replacement candidate, he has asked that the Sunday, television-only presidential discussion be postponed.
Villavicencio, he pointed out, had originally come to prominence as an investigative journalist who campaigned against power abuse and corruption.
Sonnenholzner declared that his “fight against corruption should be his legacy.”
Previously discovered to be alive in a coffin during her own wake, the woman from Ecuador has since gone away.
Gilbert Barberán, the woman’s son, reports that Bella Montoya, 76, passed away on Friday after being hospitalised for a week in critical care in the seaside city of Babahoyo.
When Montoya was discovered alive after beating on her own coffin at the wake in Babahoyo, she was swiftly sent to the Martin Icaza General Hospital.
“During her hospital stay, she received comprehensive medical care and periodic evaluation by hospital specialists. Likewise, the respective medical audit was carried out for this case,” Ecuador’s Ministry of Public Health said in a statement.
Montoya initially entered the hospital for a stroke and was reported dead once before.
Barberán told CNN that he has to register his mother’s death on the civil registry for a second time.
Montoya’s daughter, Zeneida Leal, said her mother’s condition had been worsening.
“The doctor said that my mom was sick, that she was very delicate, that she was suffering from kidney failure, that she couldn’t be saved because everything was getting complicated and she went into respiratory arrest,” Leal told CNN.
The Ministry of Public Health has said an investigation is underway into the events leading up to her presumed death.
Bella Montoya, a 76-year-old woman from Ecuador, tragically passed away days after a shocking incident at her funeral.
Initially, a doctor at a Babahoyo hospital had pronounced her dead. However, during her wake, mourners were startled to hear knocking sounds coming from inside her coffin, prompting an immediate rush to return her to the hospital for further treatment.
After spending seven days in intensive care, the Ecuadorian health ministry sadly confirmed that Bella Montoya passed away on Friday due to an ischemic stroke. Throughout her hospitalization, she had been under constant observation by medical professionals.
In an interview with a local newspaper, Gilbert Barbera, Bella Montoya’s son, expressed his grief, saying, “This time my mother really did die. My life will never be the same.”
Following her passing on June 16th, Bella Montoya’s body was returned to the same funeral home before being laid to rest in a public cemetery, as reported by local media.
Reports suggest that Bella Montoya suffered from catalepsy, a condition characterized by seizures, loss of consciousness, and rigidity of the body.
In response to this unique case, the Ecuadorian health ministry has formed a commission of experts to thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding her situation.
Ms Montoya was placed in a coffin and taken to the funeral parlour in Babahoyo, south-west of capital Quito, after being declared dead on 9 June.
But after almost five hours inside, the woman gasped for air after her relatives opened the coffin to change her clothes for the funeral.
Minutes later, she was stretchered out by fire fighters and transferred back to the same hospital.
Bella Montoya is not the only person to “come alive” after being officially declared dead.
In February, an 82-year-old woman was found to be breathing while lying in a funeral home in New York State. She had been pronounced dead three hours earlier at a nursing home.
Senegal have qualified for the first knockout stage of the 2022 FIFA Qatar world cup. The teranga lions beat Ecuador 2-1 in a pulsating encounter that is arguably the best showing of the African champions at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar.
The important win ensured Senegal got six points, enough to sit second place in group A where Netherlands led with seven, having easily gone past hosts Qatar in a 2- 0 win,- a match played simultaenously with that of Senegal against Ecuador.
It is the first time that Senegal have claimed back-to-back World Cup victories and.the third time the reigning Africa Cup of Nations holders have reached the knockout phase of the World Cup. Previous occasions were by Nigeria, when they reached the last 16 in 1994 and 2014.
For hosts Qatar, it was a sad ending. Though it was well known the show was over for the team, after been eliminated Friday when they lost to Senegal 3-1, their play for pride did not produce a result they had hoped for as Netherlands proved to good to beat or salvage anything from.
FIFA’s disciplinary committee has opened an investigation over alleged homophobic chanting from Ecuador fans during their opening World Cup match against Qatar.
The South Americans were 2-0 victors against the hosts on Sunday, where it has been reported homophobic chants were directed towards rivals Chile.
Chile had accused Ecuador of fielding an ineligible player, Byron Castillo, during qualification for the tournament, with the 27-year-old left out of Ecuador’s squad to prevent any further controversy.
Ecuador retained their spot at the World Cup but were issued a fine and handed a points deduction for their qualifying campaign for the 2026 tournament.
The are now also facing a FIFA investigation.
“The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has opened proceedings against the Ecuadorian Football Association due to chants by Ecuadorian supporters during the Qatar v Ecuador FIFA World Cup match played on 20 November,” a statement read.
“The proceedings were opened on the basis of article 13 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.”
LGBTQ+ rights have been at the forefront of the World Cup as homosexuality is illegal in Qatar.
Seven nations, including England and Germany, had planned for their captains to wear the OneLove armband during the tournament.
However, the decision from each of the countries was taken not to do so after FIFA threatened to book captains if they broke regulations and made their own statements on social issues, rather than following guidelines from the game’s governing body.
Cleanliness is next to godliness and Japan has proven to be closer to God than expected.
They have also made a name for themselves before their opener against Germany scheduled for Wednesday, November 23, 2022.
Japanese fans after the opener game between host nation, Qatarand Ecuador on Sunday, November 20, decided to remain at the Al Bayt Stadium to execute just one action.
When all had left their bottles and containers that carried their snacks in to beat the traffic, the Japanese fans decided to stay and clean.
According to sources, these Japanese fans came prepared with their own trash bags and cleaned for at least an hour.
Fortunately, their noble deed was filmed and all who have come across the footage have praised the heroes and heroines.
Qatar head coach Felix Sanchez says his side felt “backed and supported” despite a mass exodus from fans during a 2-0 defeat to Ecuador in their first ever World Cup match.
Enner Valencia spoiled the party with a first-half double in the opening match of the tournament at Al Bayt Stadium on Sunday.
Valencia also had an early goal contentiously disallowed by the VAR for offside, but Qatar were well beaten and failed to register a shot on target in a lacklustre display.
They become the first home nation to lose the opening match of a World Cup, and many members of the crowd were clearly not impressed as they made an early exit in the second half.
Sanchez is focused on trying to made Qatar more competitive rather than bemoaning fans not sticking with their side, with Group A encounters against the Netherlands and Senegal to come.
“Truth be told, I have enough work to do to take a look at it,” the Spaniard said.
“We felt backed and supported and we hope for the next game, people will feel prouder and keep supporting us to the end of the tournament.
“The atmosphere was great, people were very much looking forward to this game.”
“We knew [a loss] could happen and the result can sometimes be difficult. We will try to learn from today and I’m completely sure we will make people feel more happy with our performance.”
Qatar never got going and Sanchez offered no excuses for such a flat performance.
“There’s no excuse, we want to congratulate our opponents, they deserved to win,” he added.
“There is a lot of room for improvement. Maybe the responsibility and nerves got the best of us. We didn’t start well. It was a terrible start.”
There has been a huge amount of focus on Qatar over recent weeks and months — but almost none of it has been on their football side.
But later today, they will make their World Cup debut as hosts with a long-awaited clash against Ecuador.
Ranked 50th in the world and with a squad who all play in the Qatari top-flight, what can we expect from the hosts?
Long preparation
Given it is 12 years since they were named as the 2022 host, Qatar’s preparation has been the longest on record.
The Qatar Super League was suspended in mid-September to give boss Felix Sanchez plenty of time with his squad.
They have played seven friendlies in the past three months, more games than any other international side, as they try to give their players the best chance of succeeding.
They have beaten Albania and Guatemala, drawn with Jamaica and Chile and lost to Canada in those games.
Whipping boys?
Qatar won the 2019 Asia Cup by beating Japan in the final
In a group with Netherlands, Senegal and opening day opponents Ecuador, Qatar look out of their depth.
But they are not the lowest-ranked side in the tournament — Saudi Arabia are 51st to the hosts 50th — and they have shown they may spring a surprise or two in recent years.
Their biggest success was winning the 2019 Asia Cup — shocking South Korea in the quarter-finals and Japan in the final.
But they also picked up one point from three games when they were invited to the Copa America in 2019, only losing 1-0 to Colombia and 2-0 to Argentina, before reaching the semi-finals of the 2021 Gold Cup.
Though there is not a single household name in their squad, they have plenty of technically talented players.
Defensive efforts
Operating in either a 3-5-2 or 5-3-2 formation, expect Qatar to sit back and soak up plenty of pressure later today.
They have lost their last six games against World Cup-bound sides, so will go into none of their games as favourites.
Iraqi-born centre-half Bassam al-Rawi, 24, will be the key figure at the back, and he is one of the players to have spent time playing in Europe, with spells on loan in Spain and Belgium.
But they do have talent going forward as well.
Keep an eye out
Akram Afif is one to watch out for when Qatar take to the field against Ecuador
If Qatar are to cause a seismic shock, one of Almoez Ali and Akram Afif will likely play a big pat.
When Xavi was winger Afif’s manager, he said: “He’s an unbelievable talent, a big player. I have told him many times that he’s an amazing player.”
Striker Ali, meanwhile, was born in Sudan and scored a quite brilliant overhead kick in the 3-1 Asia Cup final win over Japan.
Both 26, Ali has 39 goals in 82 caps for Qatar, while Doha-born Afif has netted 24 in 83 internationals.
Ecuador threats
There is little doubt that both of these sides are the underdogs in Group A — the Netherlands and Senegal are expected to qualify.
But Ecuador finished fourth in the notoriously tough South America qualifying and come into the tournament with the youngest of the squads from that continent.
Brighton’s Moises Caicedo is the undoubted star of the show, though their chances will be harmed by some big injuries.
Boss Gustavo Alfaro has helped turn their fortunes around in a relatively short space of time and will know that victory here is a must if they want to progress.
Ecuador have left Byron Castillo out of their World Cup squad to avoid “unfair sanctions”, despite the defender being cleared to play by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Castillo was the subject of a long-running dispute after Chile and Peru complained to FIFA that he was ineligible to play for Ecuador in their successful qualifying campaign.
The Federacion de Futbol de Chile provided proof that Castillo was born in Colombia and not Ecuador, as stated on his official documents.
FIFAdismissed all charges in June and again in September when the fresh evidence came to light, but Chile and Peru took the case to CAS with a further appeal.
However, this month’s hearing adjudged “no violation of the rules on eligibility has occurred”, leaving Ecuador and Castillo free to compete in Qatar.
But Ecuador, who face host nation Qatar in the opening game of the tournament on Sunday, did not include Castillo in their 26-man squad on Tuesday.
The Ecuadorian Football Federation said in a statement: “The process we’ve had to endure has not been easy to navigate, much less for the player, who is part of our family.
“In order to avoid further unfair sanctions, the Ecuadorian Football Federation feels obligated to not include Byron Castillo Segura in the final list that was submitted to FIFA.”
Castillo appeared eight times in qualifying for Ecuador, who finished in the fourth and final automatic qualification spot.
Peru finished fifth and were beaten 5-4 on penalties by Australia following a goalless draw in the intercontinental play-offs, while seventh-placed Chile missed out entirely.
Ecuador follow up their curtain-raising showdown against Qatar with games against the Netherlands and Senegal in Group A.
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