Weekly World News: January 14, 2024
Ecuador's growing crisis is echoing throughout the Americas:
This is the Weekly World News from Anthropological Inquiry, highlighting news stories from around the world that are being under-reported in American media, through local reporters and sources expressing their own perspectives in their own words.
In the second week of January, 2024, the American media has been covering the growing conflict in the Middle East, the Presidential election, and the Boeing Airplane Blowout but at the same time the once peaceful nation of Ecuador is descending into tragic violence, and this is contributing directly to the wave of legal asylum seekers at the American border. So this week we’re going to take a deep dive on the emergency in Ecuador, a major crisis affecting you right now, even if you haven’t heard about it.
SOUTH AMERICA:
Deepening Crisis in Ecuador
Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city, has been rocked by unprecedented violence in what President Noboa has declared an Internal Armed Conflict. Photo by Natalia Cartolini, Wikimedia Commons, used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license.
In Brief
Ecuador, once a bastion of stability in South America, over the last year has been spiraling into chaos, culminating in the declaration this week of a state of “Internal Armed Conflict.” An unprecedented gang crisis has collided directly with an unprecedented political crisis. It began when leaked financial documents linked President Guillermo Lasso to potential embezzlement. Protests ensued, the government cracked down, and that inspired more protests, and more crack downs. Congress began an impeachment inquiry into Lasso, but rather than face removal, he declared a state of emergency and evoked an emergency clause of the constitution known as the “Muerte Cruzada” wherein both the Presidency and the Congress were dissolved and new elections were called. During those elections, one of the leading candidates, moderate Fernando Villavicencio, was assassinated by a squad of hitmen which Ecuador claimed were linked to Colombian drug cartels.
In the wake of the assassination, the election was thrown into chaos, and the 35 year old Daniel Noboa was elected. He fits within the broader trend of Latin American countries electing unorthodox, often young, often libertarian, outsider candidates in recent years. He has resisted left-right categorization, and has worked with Chilean President Gabriel Boric, a 37 year old Libertarian-Socialist, as well as being one of the few regional leaders to embrace Argentina’s Chainsaw Libertarian President Javier Milei. (If you want to learn more about the many different types of libertarianism, you can read my recent article explaining it all in ten key books.)
Since being elected, Noboa has tried to address the country’s many problems, such as prison overcrowding, but when José Adolfo “Fito” Macías, leader of the notorious drug gang Los Choneros, disappeared from prison, and is widely believed to be organizing the current wave of violence. This violence burst onto national television Wednesday when armed gunmen seized control of a news station and held its staff hostage, live on air.
The crisis in Ecuador is impacting countries throughout the region. Ecuadorian refugees have been arriving at the American border at record levels, and even after the US government has taken special measures to help them immigrate, thousands remain in limbo. At the same time, Ecuador is trying to reduce its overcrowded prison population by deporting convicted foreign nationals to their countries of origin. The first batch is already on its way to Colombia, but Colombia says it does not have the prison capacity to accept them, ensuring more chaos is likely to ensue.
Qué es la muerte cruzada, el decreto de Guillermo Lasso que disuelve el Congreso y convoca a nuevas elecciones en Ecuador
What is the “Muerte Cruzada,” the decree by Guillermo Lasso that Disolved the Congress and is Triggering New Elections in Ecuador
May 17, 2023 | El Pais | Spain
En medio del juicio político en su contra por un presunto delito de malversación, el presidente de Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, decretó la disolución de la Asamblea Nacional y con ella, el fin de su gestión al frente del ejecutivo. La muerte cruzada, como se conoce popularmente a esta figura legal, es un mecanismo que permite al ejecutivo y legislativo disolverse mutuamente y de forma anticipada para llamar a elecciones. El decreto de disolución de Lasso se sustenta sobre una “grave crisis política y conmoción interna”, una de las tres causas que, de acuerdo con la Constitución vigente, permite invocar a la muerte cruzada y la única que no requiere del dictamen de la Corte Constitucional.
In the midst of the impeachment trial against him for alleged embezzlement, the President of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, declared the dissolution of the National Assembly, and with it, the end of his Presidency. The “muerte cruzada,” as it is popularly known, is a legal mechanism that permits the Executive and Legislative branches to be simultaneously dissolved, triggering new elections. Lasso’s dissolution decree was based on a “grave political crisis and internal commotion,” one of the three circumstances under which the current Constitution allows for the invocation of the muerte cruzada, and the only one that does not require an opinion from the Constitutional Court. [Translation by A.M. Kramer]
After the assassination of a candidate who took on drug cartels, Ecuador is in shock.
by Simeon Tegel
August 11, 2023 | NPR | USA
Throughout its modern history, the small South American nation has, until this year, been almost entirely free of significant political violence. That has made the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio all the more shocking and traumatic. Villavicencio, an outspoken critic of the drug trade and corruption ravaging Ecuador, was gunned down as he left a campaign rally in the capital Quito on Wednesday. … Police have arrested six men in connection with the killing and claim that all of the suspects are Colombian, like the alleged assassin.
Who is Daniel Noboa? Ecuador’s Youngest President Elect
by Alexandra Valencia
October 16, 2023 | Reuters | Global
Noboa grew up accompanying his banana baron father Alvaro during the latter's multiple failed bids to become president, and was a surprise qualifier for the second round run-off. His campaign was a shift away from his father's populist rhetoric and the cries from his rival to return to the social policies of her mentor, former President Rafael Correa. Noboa, a native of Guayaquil, has pledged to attract foreign investment and develop Ecuador's business sector.
Biden administration expanding immigration paths for Ecuadorians
by Rafael Bernal
October 18, 2023 | The Hill | USA
The Biden administration announced Wednesday the implementation of a family reunification program for Ecuador, allowing U.S.-based Ecuadorians to sponsor their immediate family members abroad to legally immigrate to the United States. … The program, which currently serves citizens of Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti and Honduras, is meant to encourage use of legal pathways to immigrate, while sidestepping the family-based visa backlogs created by annual caps. … U.S. border officials encountered more than 10,000 Ecuadorians in a single month on at least three occasions in fiscal 2023, after a relatively quiet fiscal 2022, and record-breaking Ecuadorian migration in fiscal 2021.
¿Qué motivó la supuesta evasión de ‘Fito’ de la cárcel Regional?: hay tres hipótesis, según especialista en seguridad
What motivated the alleged escape of ‘Fito’ from the La Roca Regional Prison? Security Specialists have three Hypotheses.
January 9, 2024 | El Universo | Ecuador
…en septiembre un juez acogió la solicitud presentada por sus abogados para que se respetara una decisión judicial anterior que prohibía que lo trasladaran a otra prisión por cuestiones de seguridad; y entonces él volvió a la cárcel Regional, en medio de los cuestionamientos del Gobierno y de la ciudadanía en general. Desde entonces permanecía allí, hasta que este domingo, 7 de enero, luego de un nuevo operativo de control policial y militar en ese reclusorio, surgió la alerta de la “desaparición” de Adolfo Macías Villamar. La Fiscalía abrió de oficio una investigación por la presunta evasión, y la mañana de este lunes 8 hubo una nueva incursión de las fuerzas del orden en búsqueda del cabecilla de Los Choneros, cuyo paradero es desconocido hasta ahora. Hace poco, el Gobierno de Daniel Noboa Azín acaba de decretar su primer estado de excepción en el país, que abarca al sistema carcelario e incluye toque de queda entre las 23:00 y 05:00.
…in September, a judge accepted his lawyers’ request to respect a previous court decision that barred his transfer to another prison for security reasons, and then returned him to the Regional Prison amidst questions from both the Government and the general public. Since then, the remained there until this Sunday, January 7, when, after a new police and military control operation in that prison, it was announced that Adolfo Macias Villamar had “disappeared.” The Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation into the alleged escape, and on Monday the 8th, there was a new operation by law enforcement in search of the leader of Los Choneros, whose whereabouts remain unknown. Shortly thereafter, the government of Daniel Noboa Azin declared its first state of emergency in the country, which covers the prison system and includes a curfew between 11:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. [Translation by A.M. Kramer]
Noboa enviará a 1.500 sentenciados a Colombia y esta dice que no puede recibirlos
Noboa will send 1,500 convicts to Colombia, which says it cannot receive them.
by Emilia Sanchez
January 10, 2024 | Expresso | Ecuador
Más que un problema de hacinamiento, es un tema de correcta administración, así se ha asegurado desde el gobierno de Daniel Noboa. Una vez más, el primer mandatario aseguró disminuir la población carcelaria con el envío de extranjeros sentenciados en Ecuador a sus países de origen. En primera instancia, se trata de un grupo de 1.500 colombianos en el sistema carcelario. "Empezamos esta semana. Estamos en contacto con Colombia, también tenemos venezolanos y peruanos. (Ellos son) el 90% de la población extranjera en las cárceles. No es extradición, se lo haría a través de tratados internacionales". Sin embargo, las reacciones del país vecino, no se han hecho esperar. El ministro de Justicia colombiano, Néstor Osuna adelantó que si se los envía los pondrán "en aprietos" porque no hay cupo y su población carcelaria es superior a las 100. mil reos.
More than just a problem of overcrowding, it is a matter of proper administration, according to the government of Daniel Noboa. The President has once again promised to reduce the prison population by sending foreigners sentenced in Ecuador back to their countries of origin. The first batch will be a group of 1,500 Colombians in the prison system. “We started this week. We are in contact with Colombia, and we also have Venezuelans and Peruvians. [They are] 90% of the foreign population in prisons. It is not extradition, it would be done through international treaties.” However, the reactions from neighboring countries have not been slow in coming. The Columbian Minister of Justice, Nestor Osuna, said that if these prisoners are sent, it will be a “trouble” because Colombia does not have the the capacity to accept them, with its own prison population already more than 100,000 inmates. [Translation by A.M. Kramer]
Ecaudor.-Ecuador se sume en el caos ante el imparable auge de los grupos crimanles
Ecuador: The Unstoppable Rise of Criminal Gangs Plunges Ecuador into Chaos
January 10, 2024 | Notiecuador | Ecuador
La declaración formal de que Ecuador vive un "conflicto armado interno", tal como decretó el martes el presidente Daniel Noboa, ha evidenciado hasta qué punto los grupos criminales han extendido su poder y su presencia, palpable tanto en el sistema penitenciario como en las calles de algunas ciudades como Guayaquil, y que se ha traducido en niveles de homicidios sin precedentes históricos.
The formal declaration of a state of “Internal Armed Conflict” in Ecuador by President Danile Noba on Tuesday shows the extent to which criminal gangs have grown to become a palpable presence not only in the prison system, but also in cities like Guayaquil, resulting in historically unprecedented levels of homicide. [Translation by A.M. Kramer]
Una hora y quince minutos de zozobra: así fue la operación para sacar a empleados y capturar a quienes incursionaron en TC Televisión
One Hour and Fifteen Minutes of Anxiety: The Operation to Rescue the TC Television Employees and Capture the Intruders.
January 10, 2024 | El Universo | Ecuador
Carmen estaba observando la programación regular de TC Televisión cuando se sorprendió de ver a hombres armados en la pantalla. Irrumpieron en el set de noticias, reunieron a los empleados en el centro, los amenazaron con armas... Todo eso se proyectaba en la señal abierta del canal. Ella casi se quedó paralizada por lo que estaba viendo. Una similar angustia y terror invadió pasadas las 14:00 de este martes, 9 de enero, cuando miles de ecuatorianos asistieron a una transmisión en vivo de una incursión armada. Ese acto despiadado, que el Gobierno califica de terrorismo, arrancó cuando sujetos armados entraron por uno de los accesos laterales del canal y llegaron hasta un estudio para salir en cámaras.
Carmen was watching the regular programing on TC Television when she was shocked to see armed men on the screen. They broke onto the set, gathered the employees in the center, and threatened them with weapons, all of which was broadcast on the channel’s open signal. She was almost paralyzed by what she was seeing. A similar feeling of anguish and terror swept the nation at 2:00 pm on Tuesday, January 9th, when thousands of Ecuadorians tuned in to a live broadcast of an armed incursion. This ruthless act, which the Government has described as terrorism, began when armed individuals entered through one of the channel’s side entrances and reached the studio to appear on camera. [Translation by A.M. Kramer]
On the hunt for tattoos: This is what the military checkpoints are like in Guayaquil
January 12, 2024 | Ecuador Times | Ecuador
The exhaustive search includes stripping the suspects’ shoes, socks and T-shirts in search of weapons, drugs or tattoos from declared terrorist gangs, as well as reviewing private messages on cell phones. This is how the searches were carried out in Guayaquil this Wednesday, January 10, 2024, in a new state of exception, after the declaration of internal armed conflict in the country and armed incursions that left 14 homicides, since the previous afternoon in the city. A dozen soldiers who patrolled the commercial sector of Bahía, subjected to controls men who were hanging around the corner of Malecón and Olmedo avenues, this Wednesday morning, in the heart of Guayaquil.
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