International
Gunmen kill head of Ecuador prison where deadly riots broke out
| By AFP | Santiago Piedra Silva |
The warden of an Ecuadoran prison where deadly riots broke out two weeks ago was killed by gunmen on Thursday, the federal prisons agency announced.
Retired police colonel Santiago Loza took up his post as head of Quito’s Pichincha 1 prison on November 9.
But just over a week later, on November 18, riots broke out after gang leaders were transferred to another facility, with ten prisoners dying in the brawl.
Loza “has been the victim of a deadly attack” on a side road in Quito, the SNAI federal prisons agency said in a statement.
Witnesses said Loza was driving his car when people on a motorcycle shot and killed him, the police said.
Since February 2021, more than a dozen gang-related riots have broken out at Ecuador’s overcrowded prisons, leaving some 400 inmates dead.
The SNAI has pledged to reinforce its prisons and address the overcapacity.
“We repudiate this cowardly act committed in the midst of the transformation process, which we have undertaken as an institution, for the security and control of detention centers,” added the SNAI.
On Monday, Ecuadoran authorities announced the deployment of 1,461 new prison guards joining the current team of about 1,500 officers, who at times have been severely outnumbered in a country with 32,000 inmates.
While Ecuador does not have large drug production or cartels, it has become a significant conduit for cocaine from neighboring Colombia and Peru, due to weaker controls at its main port and its dollar economy.
Mexican, Colombian and Balkan mafias are all involved in the trade, pitting local gangs against each other as they jockey for alliances and control of drug-smuggling routes.
International
Trump Raises Possibility of “Friendly Takeover” of Cuba Amid Deepening Crisis
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, reiterated Monday the possibility that Washington could pursue a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, amid the severe crisis facing the island following the oil blockade promoted by the U.S. government.
Speaking at a press conference in Miami, the president said that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is currently “negotiating” with representatives of the Cuban government, although authorities in Havana have repeatedly denied that such talks are taking place.
Trump suggested that Washington could play a more direct role in the island’s future.
“It may be a friendly takeover. It may not be a friendly takeover. It wouldn’t matter because they’re really down to, as they say, fumes. They have no energy, they have no money. They are in deep trouble on a humanitarian basis, and we really don’t want to see that,” the U.S. president said.
The president also argued that the Cuban government had long depended heavily on support from Venezuela, particularly oil supplies.
According to Trump, that support has been drastically reduced following measures adopted by Washington.
“They were living off Venezuela. Venezuela doesn’t send them energy, fuel, oil, money, or anything anymore. They couldn’t survive without Venezuela, they couldn’t have made it, and we cut everything off,” Trump said.
International
Mexico, Brazil and Colombia left out of Trump’s “Shield of the Americas” summit
Left-wing governments in Latin America, including Mexico, Brazil and Colombia, were excluded from the “Shield of the Americas” summit convened by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The meeting, held in Miami, Florida, brought together 12 presidents from across the continent to discuss strategies to combat drug cartels and organized crime.
In Mexico’s case, President Claudia Sheinbaum had recently rejected the use of military force as a solution to the drug trafficking problem. She has argued that her administration’s security strategy is producing results and emphasized that force alone is not the answer.
During the summit, Trump said that most narcotics entering the United States come through Mexico and referred to his previous conversations with Sheinbaum on the issue.
“I like the president very much, she’s a very good person,” Trump said. “But I told her: ‘Let me eradicate the cartels.’ And she said, ‘No, no, no, please, president.’ We have to eradicate them. We have to finish them.”
The remarks highlighted ongoing differences between Washington and Mexico over how to confront drug trafficking networks operating across the region.
International
Trump announces 17-nation alliance in the Americas to “destroy” drug cartels
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Saturday the creation of a 17-nation alliance across the Americas aimed at dismantling drug cartels, during a regional summit held at his golf club in Doral.
Speaking to a group of allied leaders at the Shield of the Americas Summit, Trump said the initiative would rely on military force to eliminate powerful criminal networks operating throughout the hemisphere.
“The heart of our agreement is the commitment to use lethal military force to destroy these sinister cartels and terrorist networks. Once and for all, we will put an end to them,” Trump told the assembled heads of state.
The Republican leader argued that large portions of territory in the Western Hemisphere have fallen under the control of transnational gangs and pledged U.S. support to governments seeking to confront them. He even suggested the potential use of highly precise missiles against cartel leaders.
Before making the announcement, Trump greeted the roughly twelve leaders attending the summit, including close allies such as Javier Milei, Daniel Noboa and Nayib Bukele, whom he described as a “great president.”
The meeting forms part of Trump’s broader regional strategy inspired by his reinterpretation of the Monroe Doctrine, which seeks to reinforce Washington’s influence in the Americas, strengthen security cooperation and counter the growing presence of powers such as China.
Trump pointed to recent U.S. actions in the region as examples of his administration’s approach, including the operation that led to the capture of former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro earlier this year.
The summit also takes place amid escalating international tensions following the conflict launched last week by the United States and Israel against Iran.
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