International
The director of Ecuador’s largest prison is shot dead
The director of the Litoral Penitentiary, the largest and most populous prison in Ecuador, was killed this Thursday in an attack where another prison official who accompanied her at the time of the attack was injured, according to the National Service for Comprehensive Care for Persons Deprived of Liberty (SNAI), the State penitentiary agency.
The attack against María Daniela Icaza and her companion occurred around 18:00 local time (23:00 GMT) on the road between the town of Daule and the city of Guayaquil, where the Litoral Penitentiary is located.
Icaza was heading to the Guasmo Sur Hospital, which is located in the south of Guayaquil, when according to local media, armed men intercepted the vehicle and shot at her, who was in the co-pilot’s seat.
At first, the SNAI reported that Icaza had managed to get to the hospital alive, but later confirmed his death.
This is the second murder of the highest prison authority in nine days, after Álex Guevara, director of the Lago Agrio prison, in the Amazonian province of Sucumbíos, was murdered in similar circumstances on September 3.
One of the most important prisons in Ecuador
The Litoral Penitentiary, officially known as the Guayas Male Freedom Deprivation Center Number 1, is the largest of the five prisons that make up the Guayaquil penitentiary complex, in which approximately 12,000 prisoners are detained.
More than 6,000 are in the Litoral Penitentiary, which between 2021 and 2023 was the scene of the worst massacres that occurred due to clashes between criminal gangs that disputed internal control, at least until the militarization of these centers ordered at the beginning of the year by President Daniel Noboa.
The entry of the military into the prisons took place within the framework of the state of emergency and “internal armed conflict” declared by the ruler against organized crime, which is attributed to a boom in criminal violence that has led Ecuador to be the country in Latin America with the highest homicide rate, registering 47.2 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023.
The wave of murders has also previously claimed the lives of other prison directors, as well as municipal authorities, including several mayors, and on a national scale, such as presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.
International
Judge declares Donald Trump not guilty in Stormy Daniels case
Judge Juan Merchan acquitted U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in the case involving former porn actress Stormy Daniels.
“At this moment, I am issuing this verdict to cover all 34 charges,” Merchan stated. The judge also wished Trump good luck in his second term as president.
Trump will now become the first criminal president.
Merchan declined to impose any punishment. This decision strengthens Trump’s acquittal and clears the way for his return to the White House without the threat of prison or a fine.
“Never before has this court faced such a unique and remarkable set of circumstances,” Judge Merchan said.
International
Canada imposes sanctions on 14 venezuelan officials for human rights violations
Canada imposed sanctions on 14 high-ranking officials of the Venezuelan “regime” this Friday, including prominent members of the Military Counterintelligence Directorate (DGCIM), for their involvement in human rights violations in Venezuela.
Among those sanctioned are DGCIM prosecutors Dinorah Yoselin Bustamante Puerta and Farik Karin Salcedo Mora; the director of criminal investigations at the agency, Asdrubal José Brito Hernandez, as well as its former deputy director, Rafael Ramón Blanco Marrero.
The sanctions also target several members of the Bolivarian National Guard: its general commander, Elio Ramón Estrada Paredes; the commander of the capital region, Johan Alexander Hernández Lárez, and lieutenant colonel, Alexander Enrique Granko Arteaga.
Other individuals sanctioned include the director of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN), Alexis José Rodríguez Cabello, and his deputy director, Miguel Antonio Muñoz Palacios; Brigadier General of the Bolivarian National Police, Rubén Darío Santiago Servigna, and Domingo Antonio Hernández Lárez, commander of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces.
International
María Corina Machado urges Edmundo González Urrutia not to return to Venezuela for his safety
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said on Friday that she asked Edmundo González Urrutia, former candidate of the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), not to return to Venezuela to avoid putting himself at risk.
In a video message, Machado explained that the opposition evaluated the situation and concluded that González Urrutia would be in danger if he tried to enter Venezuela as he had planned.
González Urrutia, who claims to have won the July 28 elections with the support of more than 85% of the official voting records, had announced that he would return to Venezuela on January 10 to assume the presidency.
Earlier, Nicolás Maduro, who was declared the winner of those elections, took the oath of office for a third term.
Judge declares Donald Trump not guilty in Stormy Daniels case
Canada imposes sanctions on 14 venezuelan officials for human rights violations
María Corina Machado urges Edmundo González Urrutia not to return to Venezuela for his safety
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Ecuador prison riot leaves at least 43 dead
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