International

The Government of Ecuador decrees a curfew in six provinces during a national blackout

The Government of Ecuador decreed a curfew in six provinces and one canton (municipality) of a seventh province during the eight hours that the power outage will last throughout the country, which will begin at 22:00 local time (03:00 GMT) on Wednesday.

The curfew will govern in the coastal provinces of Guayas, Los Ríos, Manabí, Orellana, Santa Elena, El Oro and in the municipality of Camilo Ponce Enríquez, in the province of Azuay.

In these same areas there is currently a state of emergency in force to face the organized crime gangs that operate in Ecuador, mainly dedicated to drug trafficking, and whose violence has led the country to register in 2023 the highest homicide rate in Latin America, with 47.2 per 100,000 inhabitants.

The Presidency indicated that police and military will strengthen their actions to ensure citizen and country security, “with special attention to the cantons (municipalities) and parishes in which this suspension of freedom of transit governs.”

He said that, in due course, he will communicate other complementary measures that they consider necessary depending on the situation next week.

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Wednesday’s blackout was initially attributed by the Government to maintenance in the national electrical infrastructure to face a new period of electricity rationing due to lack of generation in the main hydroelectric power plants in Ecuador, before what the Executive described as the worst dry season of the last 61 years.

But on Monday night, the Administration of President Daniel Noboa anticipated that from Monday to Thursday of next week there will also be eight-hour blackouts during the nights throughout the country, due to the impossibility of supplying the national demand for electricity.

During these blackouts, the Police will deploy more than 46,000 agents nationwide to carry out patrols that will focus especially on financial institutions, residential complexes, fuel service stations and prisons.

This was anticipated on Tuesday by the Chief of Police for the Metropolitan District of Quito, Henry Román, who pointed out that there will be police controls at the entrances and exits of the main cities of the country, where all vehicles will be inspected.

For its part, it is expected that the military will take control of the Mazar reservoir, the second largest in the country, as provided by Noboa in the previous days to avoid sabotage in this critical infrastructure for the supply of national electricity demand.

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The Mazar reservoir, located in the southern Andean province of Azuay, has a capacity of 410 million cubic meters of water and serves to supply a complex of three hydroelectric plants located in the Paute River basin with an installed capacity of 1,757 megawatts.

However, in recent days the level of this water reserve has dropped drastically due to the prolonged absence of rain.

International

Marco Rubio warns Venezuela against military action against Guyana

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Venezuela on Thursday that a military attack on Guyana would be “a big mistake” and “a very bad day for them,” expressing his support for Georgetown in its territorial dispute with Caracas.

“It would be a very bad day for the Venezuelan regime if they attacked Guyana or ExxonMobil. It would be a very bad day, a very bad week for them, and it would not end well,” Rubio emphasized during a press conference in Georgetown alongside Guyanese President Irfaan Ali.

International

Ecuador oil spill worsens as containment dam collapses

The collapse of a containment dam holding back part of the 25,000+ barrels of oil spilled from a pipeline rupture nearly two weeks ago has worsened the environmental crisis in northwestern Ecuador, contaminating rivers and Pacific beaches.

The Ecuadorian government attributed the March 13 pipeline rupture—which led to the spill of 25,116 barrels of crude—to an act of sabotage. The spill affected three rivers and disrupted water supplies for several communities, according to authorities.

On Tuesday, due to heavy rains that have been falling since January, a containment dam on the Caple River collapsed. The Caple connects to other waterways in Esmeraldas Province, a coastal region bordering Colombia, state-owned Petroecuador said in a statement on Wednesday.

Seven containment barriers were installed in the Viche River, where crews worked to remove oil-contaminated debris. Additional absorbent materials were deployed in Caple, Viche, and Esmeraldas Rivers, which flow into the Pacific Ocean.

Authorities are also working to protect a wildlife refuge home to more than 250 species, including otters, howler monkeys, armadillos, frigatebirds, and pelicans.

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“This has been a total disaster,” said Ronald Ruiz, a leader in the Cube community, where the dam was located. He explained that the harsh winter rains caused river levels to rise, bringing debris that broke the containment barriersthat were holding the accumulated oil for extraction.

International

Federal court blocks Trump’s use of Enemy Alien Act for deportations

A federal appeals court upheld the block on former President Donald Trump’s use of the Enemy Alien Act on Wednesday, preventing him from using the law to expedite deportations of alleged members of the transnational criminal group Tren de Aragua.

With a 2-1 ruling, a panel from the Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals affirmed previous decisions by two lower court judges, maintaining the legal standoff between the White House and the judiciary.

On March 14, Trump invoked the 1798 Enemy Alien Act, a law traditionally used during wartime, to deport hundreds of Venezuelans whom he accused of belonging to Tren de Aragua, a criminal organization that originated in Venezuelan prisons.

The centuries-old law grants the president the power to detain, restrict, and expel foreign nationals from a country engaged in a “declared war” or an “invasion or predatory incursion” against the United States, following a public proclamation.