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
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
International
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
The Colombian government stated on Thursday that it would have no reason to reject a potential asylum request from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro should he leave office, as regional tensions persist over the deployment of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean since August.
“In the current climate of tension, negotiations are necessary, and if the United States demands a transition or political change, that is something to be assessed. If such a transition results in him (Maduro) needing to live elsewhere or seek protection, Colombia would have no reason to deny it,” said Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio in an interview with Caracol Radio.
However, Villavicencio noted that it is unlikely Maduro would choose Colombia as a refuge. “I believe he would opt for someplace more distant and calmer,” she added.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro also commented on Venezuela’s situation on Wednesday, arguing that the country needs a “democratic revolution” rather than “inefficient repression.” His remarks followed the recent detention and passport cancellation of Cardinal Baltazar Porras at the Caracas airport.
“The Maduro government must understand that responding to external aggression requires more than military preparations; it requires a democratic revolution. A country is defended with more democracy, not more inefficient repression,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter), in a rare public criticism of the Venezuelan leader.
Petro also called for a general amnesty for political opponents and reiterated his call for forming a broad transitional government to address Venezuela’s prolonged crisis.
Since September, U.S. military forces have destroyed more than 20 vessels allegedly carrying drugs in Caribbean and Pacific waters near Venezuela and Colombia, resulting in over 80 deaths.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that attacks “inside Venezuela” will begin “soon,” while Maduro has urged Venezuelans to prepare for what he describes as an impending external aggression.
International
Cuba battles out-of-control dengue and chikungunya epidemic as death toll rises to 44
Cuba is facing a severe dengue and chikungunya epidemic that has already claimed at least 44 lives, including 29 minors, according to the Ministry of Public Health (Minsap). The outbreak—now considered out of control—has expanded across the entire country amid a critical shortage of resources to confront the emergency.
Authorities report more than 42,000 chikungunya infections and at least 26,000 dengue cases, though they acknowledge significant underreporting as many patients avoid seeking care in health centers where medicines, supplies, and medical personnel are scarce. The first cluster was detected in July in the city of Matanzas, but the government did not officially use the term “epidemic” until November 12.
Chikungunya—virtually unknown on the island until this year—causes high fever, rashes, fatigue, and severe joint pain that can last for months, leaving thousands temporarily incapacitated. Dengue, endemic to the region, triggers fever, muscle pain, vomiting, and, in severe cases, internal bleeding. Cuba currently has no vaccines available for either virus.
Minsap reports that of the 44 deaths recorded so far, 28 were caused by chikungunya and 16 by dengue.
The health crisis unfolds amid deep economic deterioration, marked by the absence of fumigation campaigns, uncollected garbage, and shortages of medical supplies—conditions that have fueled the spread of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the primary vector for both diseases. “The healthcare system is overwhelmed,” non-official medical sources acknowledge.
Beyond the health impact, the epidemic is heavily disrupting economic and family life. The intense joint pain caused by chikungunya has led to widespread work absences, while hospital overcrowding has forced relatives to leave their jobs to care for the sick. In November, authorities launched a clinical trial using the Cuban drug Jusvinza to reduce joint pain, though results have not yet been released.
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
Cuba battles out-of-control dengue and chikungunya epidemic as death toll rises to 44
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
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