International

Ecuador president declares state of emergency over drug violence

AFP

Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso on Monday declared a state of emergency in the country grappling with a surge in drug-related violence, and ordered the mobilization of police and military in the streets.

“Starting immediately, our Armed Forces and police will be felt with force in the streets because we are decreeing a state of emergency throughout the national territory,” said the president in a speech broadcast by the state channel EcuadorTV.

“In the streets of Ecuador there is only one enemy: drug trafficking,” declared the right-wing leader, adding that “in recent years Ecuador has gone from being a drug trafficking country to one that also consumes drugs.”

The announcement came on the eve of an official visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Ecuador and Colombia in a bid to support and broaden ties with the Latin American democracies.

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Blinken will speak with Lasso about cooperation in matters of security, defense and trade.

Violence has been spiking dramatically in Ecuador in recent months. Between January and October this year, the country registered almost 1,900 homicides, compared to about 1,400 in all of 2020, according to the government.

The state of emergency imposed for 60 days allows the government to mobilize 3,600 soldiers and police to patrol 65 prisons nationwide. Lasso said that police will also be patrolling the streets.

Earlier Monday, Lasso named a new defense minister as the country reels from a massive prisons crisis.

The president appointed retired general Luis Hernandez to the post, citing a “inadequate public safety” in the South American nation.

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Hernandez will replace Fernando Donoso. The government did not give a reason for the shakeup.

But it comes as the country’s prison system grapples with a spate of bloody riots.

So far in 2021, 238 prisoners have died in the riots.

“Ecuador is experiencing a period of insecurity, an insecurity that has as its origin several factors, one of them drug trafficking,” said the president, adding that the Andean nation needs “stronger, more solid” armed forces.

Two weeks ago, jailed members of crime groups linked to cartels in Mexico and Colombia battled with firearms for control of a penitentiary in the southwestern city of Guayaquil. The fighting left 119 inmates dead in one of the worst prison massacres in the history of Latin America.

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Lasso pointed out that more than 70 percent of violent deaths that occur in the coastal province of Guayas, whose capital is Guayaquil, are in some way related to drug trafficking.

“When drug trafficking grows, so do the numbers of hit men and homicides,” in addition to other crimes such as robbery, the president said.

International

Brazil offers to mediate Colombia-Ecuador tensions, calls for restraint

The government of Brazil has offered to mediate in the ongoing tensions between Colombia and Ecuador, while calling on both nations to exercise restraint.

In a statement released Wednesday, Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged the parties involved to act with moderation and seek a peaceful resolution to the dispute.

“Brazil encourages all sides to act with moderation in order to find a peaceful solution to the controversy. It stands ready to support dialogue efforts aimed at preserving peace and security in the region,” the statement said.

Brazil also expressed “serious concern” over reports of deaths in the border area between Colombia and Ecuador, noting that the circumstances surrounding the incidents have not yet been clarified.

The diplomatic move comes amid rising tensions between the neighboring countries, increasing regional concern over stability and security along their shared border.

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International

U.S. lowers travel advisory for much of Venezuela but keeps high-risk zones under warning

The U.S. Department of State announced on Thursday that it has lowered its travel advisory for much of Venezuela to Level 3 (“Reconsider Travel”), reflecting what it described as improved security conditions in parts of the country.

However, the agency will maintain the highest Level 4 warning (“Do Not Travel”) for several regions, including the states of Táchira, Amazonas, Apure, Aragua and Guárico, as well as rural areas of Bolívar, citing ongoing risks such as crime, kidnapping and terrorism.

The updated advisory marks a shift from December, when the United States raised the alert for Venezuela to Level 4 nationwide, warning of severe security threats.

Despite the partial downgrade, U.S. authorities continue to urge caution, emphasizing that conditions remain volatile in certain areas and that travelers should carefully assess risks before planning any trips to the country.

International

EU lawmakers move to ban AI tools that generate non-consensual nude images

Members of the European Parliament are pushing to ban across the bloc artificial intelligence services that allow users to digitally “undress” people without their consent.

The proposal, adopted on Wednesday at committee level, aims to prohibit applications that generate non-consensual explicit images. Irish lawmaker Michael McNamara, one of the sponsors, said the measure seeks to stop tools that “have caused significant harm for the benefit of a few.”

Dutch MEP Kim van Sparrentak welcomed the move, calling it “a major victory, especially for women and children in Europe.”

The amendment, part of broader EU legislation on artificial intelligence, was approved by the Parliament’s civil liberties and internal market committees. It specifically targets systems that use AI to create or manipulate sexually explicit or intimate images resembling identifiable individuals without their consent.

The proposal will be put to a full vote in the European Parliament on March 26. If adopted, lawmakers and European Union member states will need to agree on a final version before it can take effect.

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Separately, representatives of the 27 EU countries recently backed a Franco-Spanish amendment seeking to ban AI services used to generate non-consensual sexual images or child sexual abuse material.

The initiative follows controversy surrounding a feature introduced in Grok, developed by xAI, which allowed users to create simulated nude images from real photos. The tool sparked widespread criticism and prompted an EU investigation.

In response, xAI restricted image generation features in mid-January to paying subscribers and stated it blocks the creation of sexualized images in jurisdictions where such content is illegal.