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.
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.
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
Mexico and Guatemala launch joint security operation after Agua Zarca border attack
The Government of Mexico announced on Tuesday that it has strengthened coordination with Guatemala following an armed confrontation in the community of Agua Zarca, in Guatemala’s Huehuetenango department, where a soldier was wounded in an attack attributed to organized-crime groups operating on both sides of the border.
The Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, Omar García Harfuch, confirmed that Mexico is exchanging information with Guatemalan authorities and that Mexican Army units have been deployed along the border to reinforce surveillance and assist in reconnaissance operations.
The attack, Guatemala’s Defense Ministry stated, reflects the “criminal dynamics” dominating that border region, where different groups compete for drug and arms trafficking routes.
According to Guatemala’s Defense Ministry, the clash left a soldier wounded in the leg after suspected criminals crossed from Mexico and opened fire. The wounded soldier is reportedly in stable condition. Authorities also seized high-caliber weapons, explosives, tactical gear and drones, which were handed over for forensic analysis.
Mexican Defense Secretary General Ricardo Trevilla Trejo announced that a coordinated plan of operations will be launched involving both Mexican and Guatemalan forces along the border to counter these criminal networks.
Harfuch emphasized that the violence is not isolated but symptomatic of the ongoing struggle between criminal organizations for territorial control, and reiterated Mexico’s commitment to bilateral security cooperation and its intention to strengthen institutional presence in vulnerable border zones.
International
Zelensky meets Pope Leo XIV as review of U.S. peace plan continues
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met on Tuesday with Pope Leo XIV in Italy, after pledging to deliver a response to the United States regarding the proposed peace plan aimed at ending the war with Russia.
The meeting with the pontiff took place at the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, where Leo XIV “reiterated the need to continue dialogue and renewed his urgent hope that the ongoing diplomatic initiatives may lead to a just and lasting peace,” the Vatican said in a statement.
His visit to Italy follows Monday’s meetings with European leaders in London and Brussels, amid pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to agree to a peace plan that Zelensky said he is still reviewing.
According to Zelensky, the plan presented by Washington—originally consisting of 28 points—was reduced to 20 after discussions between Ukrainian and U.S. representatives over the weekend. “We are going to work on those 20 points. We are not completely satisfied with the proposals from our partners,” Zelensky said during an online press conference on Monday.
International
Japan lifts tsunami alert after strong 7.6-magnitude earthquake hits northern coast
A powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck Japan’s northern coast on Monday, triggering several tsunami waves of up to 70 centimeters, authorities said. The tsunami alert was lifted in the early hours of Tuesday.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the quake occurred at 11:15 p.m. local time (14:15 GMT) off the coast of Misawa, at a depth of 53 kilometers. Japan’s Meteorological Agency (JMA) immediately issued a tsunami warning. The first wave reached a port in Aomori Prefecture at 11:43 p.m. (14:43 GMT), followed by others measuring up to 70 centimeters.
Public broadcaster NHK reported that an employee at a hotel in the city of Hachinohe confirmed that several people were injured. Live footage showed shattered glass scattered across roads, while many residents evacuated to the city hall seeking shelter.
The strong tremor was also felt in Sapporo, where emergency alerts were sent to residents’ mobile phones. A reporter in Hokkaido described a horizontal shaking that lasted around 30 seconds, making it difficult to stay standing.
Before the alert was lifted, the JMA had warned of the possibility of tsunami waves up to three meters high along Japan’s Pacific coast. Government spokesperson Minoru Kihara urged residents to remain in safe areas until the warning was officially lifted.
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