International

Ecuador military, prison heads resign after jail riot

AFP

The heads of Ecuador’s armed forces and prisons resigned Monday after weekend riots left 68 dead in the latest outbreak of violence between inmates aligned to rival gangs, the government said.

President Guillermo Lasso accepted the resignations of Vice Admiral Jorge Cabrera, head of the joint command, and Bolivar Garzon, head of the SNAI prisons agency, the president’s office said in a statement.

Fighting over the weekend between inmates armed with guns, machetes and explosives killed dozens at an overcrowded prison in Guayaquil before authorities could regain control.

Social media posts showed gruesome images of prisoners beating and setting fire to bloodied bodies.

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This year, Ecuador’s violent, decrepit and overcrowded prisons have seen some of the worst rioting in the history of Latin American penitentiaries.

More than 320 inmates have been killed so far in 2021, and the latest riot happened despite a state of emergency enforced in Ecuador’s prison system after even deadlier fighting in September.

The presidency said Lasso agreed to the resignations of Cabrera and Garzon at a meeting on measures to prevent further prison violence with his interior and defense ministers, as well as the military and police chiefs.

Lasso appointed army commander General Orlando Fuel as the new head of the joint command. Marlo Brito, who was head of the Center for Strategic Intelligence (CIES), took over from Garzon at the SNAI.

Another riot in the same prison in Ecuador’s southwest in September left 119 dead — making it the largest such massacre in the country’s history, and one of the worst in Latin America.

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Nestled between the world’s biggest cocaine producers, Colombia and Peru, Ecuador has seen a surge of violence blamed on fighting between rival drug groups.

The country of 17.7 million people is favored by traffickers because of its porous borders, a dollarized economy and major seaports for export.

Seizures of drugs, mainly cocaine, reached a record of 155 tons between January and October 2021, while street crime and warring between gang-aligned prisoners has left more than 2,000 dead so far this year.

Central America

U.S. extradites Iranian man over alleged sanctions evasion scheme

The United States has extradited from Panama an Iranian national accused of evading economic sanctions against Iran by illegally exporting U.S. technology. He is scheduled to appear this Monday before a court in Seattle.

Reza Dindar, 44, was extradited on April 17 after being detained in Panama since July 2025 on charges related to export control violations between 2011 and 2012, allegedly carried out through companies based in China.

The defendant appeared before a U.S. district court in Seattle, where he faces charges of violating sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran in 1995 during the administration of Bill Clinton. These sanctions prohibit the unauthorized export, re-export, or supply—directly or indirectly—of U.S. goods, technology, or services to Iran or its government.

According to the indictment, between 2010 and 2014, Dindar led the company New Port Sourcing Solutions in Xi’an, China, which allegedly concealed the procurement of U.S. products for shipment to clients in Iran.

International

Elon Musk skips French court appearance over X investigation

Billionaire Elon Musk did not appear this Monday before French authorities, who had summoned him for a voluntary statement as part of an investigation into his social media platform X, prosecutors told AFP.

The platform has been under investigation since early 2025 following complaints from lawmakers alleging bias in its algorithms, which may have altered its functioning and interfered in politics in France.

The probe has since expanded to include other alleged offenses, such as complicity in the distribution of child sexual abuse material, as well as the role of Grok in spreading denialist content and sexually explicit fake images.

In early February, investigators raided X’s offices in Paris. The company has denied any wrongdoing, describing the searches as “political” and “abusive.”

At that time, the Paris prosecutor’s office summoned Musk and former CEO Linda Yaccarino to provide voluntary testimony as those responsible for the platform during the period under investigation.

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Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau also stated that X employees were called to testify as witnesses between April 20 and April 24.

International

Four injured in shooting at Teotihuacán archaeological site in Mexico

Four more people were injured by gunfire during the ആക്രമ attack at Teotihuacán, one of the most emblematic archaeological complexes in Mexico, authorities confirmed.

The Secretary of Security of the State of Mexico, Cristóbal Castañeda, reported that the victims include two Colombian nationals, one Russian, and one Canadian. Additionally, two other individuals were injured due to falls, according to a statement from local authorities.

President Claudia Sheinbaum expressed concern over the incident, stating on social media that “what happened today in Teotihuacán deeply pains us.”

Federal authorities recovered a firearm, a knife, and ammunition at the scene, which remains under the protection of state police and the Guardia Nacional, according to the federal Security Cabinet.

Located about 50 kilometers from Mexico City, Teotihuacán is a major tourist destination frequently visited by both domestic and international travelers.