International
The Vice President of Ecuador seeks to reverse the suspension imposed by the Government in Justice
The suspended vice president of Ecuador and ambassador to Israel, Verónica Abad, asked the Justice to annul the sanction imposed by the Government that prevents her from exercising office for five months and, therefore, assuming presidential functions when President Daniel Noboa must request leave for the electoral campaign of the 2025 elections, where he seeks his re-election.
The suspension was issued by the Ministry of Labor for not having traveled from Tel Aviv to Ankara within the deadline set by the Government, which considered it as a temporary abandonment of her position as vice president, within the heated confrontation between Noboa and Abad, who has denounced the president for alleged political gender violence and has accused him of leading harassment with the intention of forcing his resignation.
Distancing between the president and the vice president of Ecuador
The distance between Noboa and Abad began in the electoral campaign of the 2023 elections and was reflected when he assumed their positions, when the ruler sent her to Israel as ambassador for the country, with the aim of mediating the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis.
Abad, who returned to Quito a few days ago, personally appeared at the hearing on the protection action against his suspension, where Judge Nubia Vera heard the parties and several lawyers, women’s movements and academics, who gave their views on the relevance and constitutionality of the sanction.
The vice president had already filed an appeal for amparo when the Ministry opened the administrative summary, but another judge denied the protection.
“A historic cause for the country”
“This is a historic cause for the country, over 194 years of constitutionalism in Ecuador it is the first time that an administrative authority imposes itself before an authority of popular choice, so it is necessary to establish in this case if this administrative act is above the Constitution and prevails over rights,” said Damián Armijos, from the Abad’s legal team, at the beginning of the hearing.
The lawyer asked the judge to declare that the administrative summary violated the political rights, legal certainty, due process and the presumption of innocence of the vice president, among others, and to order that the decision be reversed.
In addition, he demanded that the Minister of Labor, Ivonne Núñez, issue a public apology through a message to the nation, among other sanctions, as part of the comprehensive reparation.
However, the Ministry’s defense insisted that Abad is a public official, so that portfolio did have the power to open an administrative summary and sanction her, and emphasized that her political rights were not violated because she is not prevented from holding public office.
No legal basis for the sanction
One of the key moments of the hearing occurred when Judge Vera asked the Ministry’s lawyer to specify in which part of the Ecuadorian legislation it is determined that the sanction that the vice president received should be 150 days.
The defense took several minutes to look for normative support and in the end admitted that, in the face of a serious offense, the Public Service Law (Losep) does not determine a limit of days of temporary suspension, so the decision was made “based on the rules of sound criticism.”
“Considering the impossibility of dismissing the vice president, the least burdensome decision has been made,” the lawyer added.
At another time, the judge asked the lawyer if the Foreign Service Law had been taken into account, which states that ambassadors have 30 days to move to their new headquarters. The lawyer answered no, because they were only competent to know summaries based on the Losep.
To replace Abad, Noboa appointed the national secretary of Planning Sariha Moya as “vice president in charge”, in an unprecedented event in the country.
International
Italian tourist dies after jet ski collision in Colombian caribbean waters
The Colombian Navy recovered the lifeless body of an Italian national on Tuesday who had gone missing in the waters of Colombia’s Caribbean on Monday afternoon after a suspected maritime incident.
Nicholas Cudini, 26, was riding a jet ski near Cholón Island, located in Cartagena, when he collided with another artisanal vessel operating in the area. The collision reportedly caused him to fall off the jet ski, according to information gathered by the Colombian Navy.
“Apparently, the person accompanying the foreigner noticed that his companion did not resurface, so he called for help from other nearby boaters, who alerted authorities to the emergency,” stated the Navy in a press release.
According to Frigate Captain Juan Felipe Portilla, commander of the Cartagena Coast Guard Station, Cudini was driving the jet ski when the incident occurred.
The search for Cudini lasted 22 hours, even continuing overnight, with specialized divers and sailors from the Caribbean Naval Force combing the area where he was last seen.
The body was recovered and later transported to a dock in Cartagena for an autopsy, conducted by judicial police.
International
Liga de Quito expresses concern over former player’s alleged kidnapping in Esmeraldas
Ecuador’s police reported on Tuesday that they are investigating the involuntary disappearance of player Pedro Pablo Perlaza.
Meanwhile, the popular club Liga de Quito, where he played four years ago, expressed concern about what it referred to as the news of the athlete’s kidnapping.
On its X account (formerly known as Twitter), the police stated that “due to the alleged involuntary disappearance” of Perlaza and Juan M. in the city of Esmeraldas, and following the formal complaint filed by their families, authorities immediately began “investigative and operational work around the incident.”
The Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Police is handling the investigation, according to the statement.
Last weekend, 33-year-old Perlaza had finished the Ecuadorian first-division season with the Delfín club and traveled to the city of Esmeraldas, located 182 kilometers northwest of the capital. His whereabouts have been unknown since Sunday. He had been part of Delfín’s 2019 Ecuadorian Championship-winning team.
Liga de Quito, in a statement on X, expressed its “deep concern and solidarity over the news of the kidnapping of our former player” and extended its solidarity to the athlete’s family and friends. Perlaza played for Liga de Quito in 2020 and the team is set to play the first of two championship matches this weekend.
Esmeraldas province, whose capital bears the same name, is considered one of the regions where criminal groups have extended their control, engaging in activities such as extortion and kidnapping. Other provinces facing similar situations include Guayas and Manabí.
Since 2021, Ecuador has been experiencing a spiral of criminal violence driven by local groups linked to drug cartels from Colombia and Mexico, seeking to control trafficking routes and territories. One of the signs of conflict between local gangs is the frequent massacres in the country’s prisons.
International
Over 1,500 migrants face blockade by mexican authorities in Chiapas
A caravan of over 1,500 migrants that set out this week from Mexico’s southern border is facing a blockade by Mexican authorities, who are preventing them from leaving the state of Chiapas, which borders Central America.
Amid pressures from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump for Mexico to control the flow of migration, the group departed at 5:00 a.m. (11:00 GMT) from the municipality of Huixtla, moving slowly, with some migrants on bicycles and tricycles, flanked by the National Guard and municipal police.
The undocumented migrants, mostly from Venezuela, told EFE that officials from the National Institute of Migration (INM) have been monitoring their movements since their arrival in Huixtla, following them along the road. On Tuesday, the authorities attempted to detain a family, but the migrants prevented it.
The migrants are calling for understanding from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who last week assured Trump in a phone call that caravans “no longer reach” the U.S. border. Meanwhile, Trump has promised to impose a 25% tariff on Mexican products if the country fails to stop the “invasion” of migrants and drugs.
“President Sheinbaum should support us in reaching Mexico City, where there are more job opportunities, so we can wait for our ‘CBP One’ appointment (to apply for asylum in the U.S.) peacefully, because other states are more dangerous,” explained Venezuelan Genaro Cárdenas.
Cárdenas, who is traveling by bicycle with a group of fellow Venezuelans, remains hopeful of reaching their destination despite the obstacles and the pressure from immigration officials to convince them to return to the southern border.
“We fear that we will be disbanded and sent back to Tapachula, but we will continue forward,” Cárdenas warned.
Italian tourist dies after jet ski collision in Colombian caribbean waters
Liga de Quito expresses concern over former player’s alleged kidnapping in Esmeraldas
Over 1,500 migrants face blockade by mexican authorities in Chiapas
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Ecuador prison riot leaves at least 43 dead
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