International
Noboa assures that Ecuador has a new face with more security after six months in office
The president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, assured this Friday in his first report to the nation that, in the six months of his mandate, he has achieved a country with a new face thanks to efforts to combat insecurity and for the recovery of institutionality.
In his message to the National Assembly (Parliament), a day after having served six months as head of state, Noboa asserted that he received a country “with fear and without hope,” so he had to take “hard” decisions that other administrations did not dare, in search of a safe country, open to investments, job creation and to “guaranteee the future of all.”
The president said that last January 9 will be a date that the country will not forget, having revealed the scope of “the horror of terrorism”, with a series of attacks and violent actions of organized crime such as the taking of the TC Televisión channel by a group of armed men and simultaneous riots in various prisons with about 200 hostages.
That day, on which he again denounced an attempted coup d’état against him, Noboa declared the “internal armed conflict” against 22 criminal gangs linked to drug trafficking, whom he called terrorists.
The actions of the Government, he said, seek to “start building a country where tranquility and progress are the norm and not the exception.”
He highlighted the commitment and sacrifice of the security forces to fight the mafias that “have accomplices and allies, at all levels of the country: public institutions, public companies, local governments, in our neighborhoods, they are everywhere.”
Despite the changes he reported about, Noboa said that the fight for “the ‘New Ecuador’ has only begun,” he pointed out that social transformation and security are also achieved “with employment, education, with services and empathy” with social actions that reveal “the face of a new Ecuador that grows.”
In that line, he also mentioned the efforts in the energy field of his Government, which in April had to face blackouts in the face of a serious electricity crisis, due to the drought of one of the main hydroelectric complexes in the country.
“We are working very hard to solve the energy crisis, in such a way that Ecuadorians, in the future, do not have to go through more energy rationing. In other words, we are cleaning up what those of the past mudded,” he said.
In the economic area, Noboa mentioned the existence of 105,000 young employment places, the ratification of two trade agreements (with China and Costa Rica) and the reduction of 1,000 points in the risk premium.
Noboa claimed to have recovered the country’s institutionality by asserting that “the new Ecuador does not deal with drug trafficking, drug policy, terrorists or any of its historical costumes.”
“The new Ecuador also does not give in to external pressures or even from citizens who call themselves Ecuadorians and even want their country to be sentenced,” he said, without referring to any specific person, although the day before he sent on social networks “to cry to tears” to former President Rafael Correa for his statements regarding the crisis with Mexico.
Noboa did not speak in his speech about the assault on the Mexican Embassy in Quito in April, to capture Jorge Glas, former vice president of Rafael Correa, which caused the breakdown of relations with the Mexican Government, as well as the almost unanimous condemnation of the international community.
After that assault, Correa considered that the country should receive pressure from the international community at the political and legal level as a precedent so that a similar situation does not happen again.
Noboa committed himself to his compatriots to “not go back” and “never stay in the problem or in the comfort of the excuse,” but to move forward to “find and travel clean roads that allow the problems of Ecuadorians to be solved.”
And he explained that he follows the lessons that formed his generation: “to be strong so that no one defeats you, to be noble so that no one humiliates you, to be humble so that no one offends you and to continue to be you so that no one forgets you.”
“In just six months we are achieving what other governments did not do in two, nor four, or ten years,” he said.
International
Spanish Government Targets ‘Big Tech Impunity’ in AI Image Scandal
The Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, announced Tuesday that his government will ask prosecutors to investigate X, Meta and TikTok over the alleged creation and distribution of sexually explicit images involving minors generated through artificial intelligence.
In a post on X, Sánchez said the government would formally request that the Public Prosecutor’s Office examine potential crimes that these platforms may have committed by allowing or facilitating the use of AI tools to generate such content.
“These platforms are harming the mental health, dignity and rights of our children,” Sánchez wrote, adding that “the impunity of the giants must end.”
In recent weeks, the Spanish leader has publicly clashed with tech figures such as Elon Musk and Pavel Durov after announcing on February 3 his intention to ban social media access for minors under the age of 16.
Sánchez also signaled plans to amend legislation so that platform executives could be held legally responsible for certain violations committed on their websites.
According to figures released Tuesday by the government, one in five young people in Spain — particularly girls and teenage minors — say they have experienced the circulation of AI-generated fake nude images of themselves while underage.
International
Father Faces Murder Charges in Georgia School Shooting Case
Colin Gray, 55, appeared in court Monday facing charges of murder and involuntary manslaughter in connection with the September 4, 2024, shooting at Apalachee High School, carried out by his son, Colt.
Two 14-year-old students and two teachers were killed, and nine others were injured in the shooting in Winder, Georgia. Colt Gray, who was 14 at the time and is now 16, has been charged as an adult and is awaiting a trial date.
During opening statements, prosecutors alleged that Gray gave his son the AR-15-style rifle used in the attack as a Christmas gift in 2023, despite prior warnings that the teenager had threatened to carry out a school shooting.
According to the FBI, local authorities interviewed Colt and his father in May 2023 after receiving anonymous reports about online threats made by the teen.
“This case is about this defendant and his actions—allowing a minor in his custody to have access to a firearm and ammunition after being warned that the minor intended to harm others,” said Brad Smith, the Barrow County prosecutor.
Defense attorney Brian Hobbs told jurors that Colin Gray was unaware of his son’s intentions and had sought help for the teenager’s declining mental health.
School shootings remain a recurring issue in the United States, where firearms outnumber people and regulations governing the purchase of even high-powered, military-style rifles are relatively permissive.
Central America
Guatemala’s Attorney General Consuelo Porras Loses Bid for Constitutional Court Seat
Guatemala’s attorney general, Consuelo Porras, who has been sanctioned by the United States over corruption allegations, lost a key vote on Monday in which a public university selected two of the 10 magistrates for the country’s highest constitutional court. However, she could still seek a seat through another nominating body.
The election of five full magistrates and five alternates to the Corte de Constitucionalidad (CC) is taking place gradually over more than two months and is considered crucial in the ongoing struggle for control of Guatemala’s judiciary, which critics say has long been influenced by a political and economic elite accused of corruption.
According to results announced at a press conference, the governing council of the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC) rejected Porras, who had applied as either a full or alternate magistrate, and instead chose two candidates aligned with the university rector. The vote was held at a hotel in Antigua, about 35 kilometers from the capital.
Despite the setback, Porras — whose term as attorney general ends on May 16 — could still be nominated to the Constitutional Court by the Corte Suprema de Justicia, which appoints two magistrates. The remaining six are selected by the president, the bar association and Congress.
“It’s always a possibility,” the 72-year-old lawyer said days earlier when asked by reporters whether she would seek nomination through another institution if she lost the USAC vote.
Porras has been sanctioned by Washington and the European Union for allegedly attempting two years ago to block the inauguration of President Bernardo Arévalo and for pursuing legal actions against anti-corruption prosecutors, judges, journalists and social leaders since taking office in 2018.
The USAC vote was controversial because most members of the university’s governing council are serving beyond the expiration of their terms. Students, academics and social activists staged protests against Porras’ candidacy.
Spanish Government Targets ‘Big Tech Impunity’ in AI Image Scandal
Father Faces Murder Charges in Georgia School Shooting Case
Guatemala’s Attorney General Consuelo Porras Loses Bid for Constitutional Court Seat
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
Central America3 days agoGuatemala’s president denounces MP raids during Constitutional Court election
-
Central America2 days agoTeens visit ETESAL substation to learn about responsible energy use
-
International8 hours agoFather Faces Murder Charges in Georgia School Shooting Case
-
International8 hours agoSpanish Government Targets ‘Big Tech Impunity’ in AI Image Scandal
-
Central America1 day agoGuatemala’s Attorney General Consuelo Porras Loses Bid for Constitutional Court Seat