International

Violence affects resumption of classes in Ecuador’s coastal region

Photo: El Comercio

April 28 |

The high levels of violence and insecurity in Ecuador affect the restart of classes in the coastal region of the South American country, where the school year began days ago, but with students who did not join.

According to local media, hundreds of families did not send their children to classes in schools located in areas of the provinces of Guayas, Esmeraldas, Manabí and El Oro, for fear of crime, drug trafficking, hired killings and the actions of organized gangs.

The longest list of neighborhoods considered very dangerous is in the city of Guayaquil. The National Police ordered, since last Monday, that 169 schools located in the most dangerous neighborhoods of the Ecuadorian coast receive custody, for which a total of 1,172 agents were assigned.

This is in response to the Safe Schools plan, promoted by the Ministries of the Interior and Education, through which the police are mobilized in motorcycles and patrols, mainly during the hours of entry and exit to and from schools.

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In addition, the schools are monitored from the Integrated System ECU-911. For this purpose, there are eight operational rooms in the Coast and Galapagos, 1,572 officers and 901 cameras around the schools.

For his part, the president of the National Union of Educators in Guayas, Hilario Beltrán, questioned the plan; he warned that the patrols are not fully complied with. He also said that teachers and parents are concerned that students are being captured by criminal organizations for drug consumption and sale.

Last week, the official declared that the teaching units in the Coast of Ecuador have been the most affected by the winter and the earthquake of March 18; therefore, some students will not be able to return to classes due to the scarcity of resources for a distance or virtual modality.

International

Trump urges Putin to reach peace deal

On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his desire for Russian President Vladimir Putin to “reach a deal” to end the war in Ukraine, while also reaffirming his willingness to impose sanctions on Russia.

“I want to see him reach an agreement to prevent Russian, Ukrainian, and other people from dying,” Trump stated during a press conference in the Oval Office at the White House.

“I think he will. I don’t want to have to impose secondary tariffs on Russian oil,” the Republican leader added, recalling that he had already taken similar measures against Venezuela by sanctioning buyers of the South American country’s crude oil.

Trump also reiterated his frustration over Ukraine’s resistance to an agreement that would allow the United States to exploit natural resources in the country—a condition he set in negotiations to end the war.

International

Deportation flight lands in Venezuela; government denies criminal gang links

A flight carrying 175 Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States arrived in Caracas on Sunday. This marks the third group to return since repatriation flights resumed a week ago, and among them is an alleged member of a criminal organization, according to Venezuelan authorities.

Unlike previous flights operated by the Venezuelan state airline Conviasa, this time, an aircraft from the U.S. airline Eastern landed at Maiquetía Airport, on the outskirts of Caracas, shortly after 2:00 p.m. with the deportees.

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, who welcomed the returnees at the airport, stated that the 175 repatriated individuals were coming back “after being subjected, like all Venezuelans, to persecution” and dismissed claims that they belonged to the criminal organization El Tren de Aragua.

However, Cabello confirmed that “for the first time in these flights we have been carrying out, someone of significance wanted by Venezuelan justice has arrived, and he is not from El Tren de Aragua.” Instead, he belongs to a gang operating in the state of Trujillo. The minister did not disclose the individual’s identity or provide details on where he would be taken.

International

Son of journalist José Rubén Zamora condemns father’s return to prison as “illegal”

Guatemalan court decides Wednesday whether to convict journalist José Rubén Zamora

The son of renowned journalist José Rubén Zamora Marroquín, José Carlos Zamora, has denounced as “illegal” the court order that sent his father back to a Guatemalan prison on March 3, after already spending 819 days behind barsover a highly irregular money laundering case.

“My father’s return to prison was based on an arbitrary and illegal ruling. It is also alarming that the judge who had granted him house arrest received threats,” José Carlos Zamora told EFE in an interview on Saturday.

The 67-year-old journalist was sent back to prison inside the Mariscal Zavala military barracks on March 3, when Judge Erick García upheld a Court of Appeals ruling that overturned the house arrest granted to him in October. Zamora had already spent 819 days in prison over an alleged money laundering case.

His son condemned the situation as “unacceptable”, stating that the judge handling the case “cannot do his job in accordance with the law due to threats against his life.”