International

Group of hired assassins mistakenly murder four children in Guayaquil

Photo: Primicias

December 13 |

In Guayaquil, Ecuador, a group of hitmen broke into a house and killed four minors, leaving the mother of the children seriously injured. The police presumes that this crime was a mistake by the criminals, whose real target was the house next door.

“This is a Christian family, whose adults have no criminal record. The murdered children were only five months old, 3 years old, 5 years old and 7 years old. The mother is in the hospital with a reserved prognosis”, informed the commander of the Police in the Metropolitan District of Guayaquil, Víctor Herrera, who was dismayed by the crime.

According to the authorities, the assassins entered the house located in Guasmo Sur around 21H00 (local time) on Monday and shot without distinction against all the occupants.

The police presumes that the real target was the house next door because when they searched it they found inside elements that could be used in possible attacks, among them slow fuse, useful to detonate all types of primary explosives, including dynamite, booster, detonating cord, hydrogel and others.

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The Attorney General’s Office of that country has already opened an ex officio investigation and the Attorney General, Diana Salazar stated in a message on the social network X: “What happened to the four children in Guayas cannot be indifferent to us. It is heartbreaking that, when criminal structures do not achieve their objectives, violence escalates to this level”.

Ecuador is currently experiencing one of the biggest security crises in recent years. In the past five years, the homicide rate quintupled from 5.8 to 25.62 violent deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. Some experts consider Ecuador one of the most violent countries on the continent.

International

Paraguay summons Brazilian ambassador over Itaipú espionage scandal

Paraguay summoned the Brazilian ambassador in Asunción on Tuesday to demand “explanations” and called its own representative in Brasília for consultations following Brazil’s acknowledgment of an espionage operation. The Brazilian government, led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, attributed the operation to the previous administration.

The surveillance effort aimed to uncover Paraguay’s position in now-suspended negotiations with Brazil regarding the pricing of electricity from the binational Itaipú hydroelectric plant, according to reports in the Brazilian press.

The Brazilian government “categorically denied any involvement in the intelligence operation,” stating in a Foreign Ministry communiqué on Monday that the espionage was carried out under former President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration (2019-2023).

“The operation was authorized by the previous government in June 2022 and was annulled by the interim director of the (state intelligence agency) ABIN on March 27, 2023, as soon as the current administration became aware of it,” Brazil’s government asserted.

Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez announced that Brazilian Ambassador José Antonio Marcondes de Carvalho was summoned “to provide detailed explanations” regarding the operation. Additionally, Paraguay recalled its diplomatic representative in Brasília “to report on aspects related to the intelligence activity conducted by Brazil regarding Paraguay’s government affairs.”

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International

Elon Musk to step down as government advisor, per Trump insiders

President Donald Trump has informed his inner circle that Elon Musk will be stepping down from his role as a government advisor, according to a report by Politico today.

Citing three individuals close to Trump, Politico states that the president is pleased with Musk’s leadership at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he has implemented significant budget cuts. However, both have agreed that it is time for Musk to return to his businesses and support Trump from a different position outside the government.

A senior administration official told Politico that Musk will likely maintain an informal advisory role and continue to be an occasional visitor to the White House. Another source warned that anyone thinking Musk will completely disappear from Trump’s circle is “deluding themselves.”

According to the sources, this transition is expected to coincide with the end of Musk’s tenure as a “special government employee,” a temporary status that exempts him from certain ethics and conflict-of-interest regulations. This 130-day period is set to expire in late May or early June.

International

Milei vows to make Argentina so strong that Falkland Islanders “choose” to join

Argentine President Javier Milei reaffirmed his country’s claim over the Falkland Islands (known as the Islas Malvinas in Argentina) and praised the role of the nation’s armed forces during a ceremony marking the “Veterans and Fallen Soldiers of the Malvinas War Day,” commemorating 43 years since the 1982 conflict with the United Kingdom.

Argentina continues to assert sovereignty over the islands, arguing that Britain unlawfully seized them in 1833.

“If sovereignty over the Malvinas is the issue, we have always made it clear that the most important vote is the one cast with one’s feet. We hope that one day, the Malvinas residents will choose to vote with their feet and join us,” Milei stated.

“That is why we aim to become a global power—so much so that they would prefer to be Argentine, making deterrence or persuasion unnecessary. This is why we have embarked on a path of liberation, working to make Argentina the freest country in the world and once again the nation with the highest GDP per capita on the planet,” he added.