Latest news with #Ecuadorians
UPI
21-07-2025
- Politics
- UPI
Notorious Ecuadorian gang leader extradited to U.S.
July 21 (UPI) -- Notorious Ecuadorian gang leader Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar has been extradited to the United States, where he is expected to make his first court appearance on Monday. President Daniel Noboa of Ecuador confirmed late Sunday that Macias, leader of the Los Choneros gang and who is also known as Fito, has arrived in the United States. "Goodbye forever, Fito," Noboa said in a statement to social media. "Fito is now in the USA." The U.S. government has yet to confirm Macias' extradition. Hasta nunca, Fito. Fito ya está en EEUU. Esto es gracias a ustedes, ecuatorianos, que dijeron sí a la consulta popular. Espero con gusto las teorías creativas que dirán que no. Interceptamos también 14 toneladas de droga, eso es 560 millones de dólares menos para el... Daniel Noboa Azin (@DanielNoboaOk) July 21, 2025 Macias was recaptured in late June amid a controversial crackdown on gang violence in the country, conducted by Noboa using recently acquired powers granted to him by the National Assembly to combat internal armed conflict. Macias was serving a 34-year sentence for a slew of crimes, including murder, when he escaped from Guayaquil's regional prison in January, as gang violence was erupting in prisons across the nation. In response to the violence, Noboa declared the country was in the midst of an "internal armed conflict" and launched a nationwide law enforcement effort targeting drug cartels and gangs after declaring them terrorists. Macias was then sanctioned by the U.S. State Department in February and charged in a seven-count indictment with drug trafficking-related offenses in Brooklyn, N.Y., in April. If convicted in the United States, he faces up to life in prison. Noboa described Macias' extradition as validation of his crackdown that has received international criticism from human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, over concerns that the new powers pose to the rights of Ecuadorians. "This is thanks to you, Ecuadorians, who said yes to the referendum. I eagerly await the creative theories that will claim otherwise," he said.
News18
17-07-2025
- Politics
- News18
UK Allows Teens To Vote: Here's A List Of Nations With Lowest Minimum Voting Age
In Brazil, the voting age is 16 years old. However, for citizens aged 16 and 17, and for those over 70 years old or illiterate, voting is optional, while for literate citizens between the ages of 18 and 70, voting is compulsory. (BBC) In Cuba, the voting age is 16 years old. This makes it one of the countries with the lowest voting age globally for national elections. (NBC News) In Ecuador, the voting age is 16 years old. However, similar to Brazil, there's a distinction regarding compulsory voting. For citizens aged 16 and 17, and for those over 65 years old, voting is optional. This also applies to members of the Armed Forces and National Police, persons with disabilities, and Ecuadorians living abroad. For literate citizens between the ages of 18 and 65, voting is mandatory. (AS/COA) In Nicaragua, the voting age for all national elections is 16 years old. This makes it one of the countries with the lowest voting age in the world. (ShareAmerica)
Fox Sports
14-07-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
U.S. Men Will Face Top 25-Ranked Australia, Ecuador in October Friendlies
The United States men's national team's pre-World Cup schedule is coming into ever-sharper focus. The U.S. Soccer Federation on Monday announced that coach Mauricio Pochettino's squad will face Australia and Ecuador in a pair of October exhibition games. Both matches will be held stateside; the Americans will take on the Ecuadorians Oct. 10 at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas. Four days later, they'll host the Socceroos in the Denver, Colorado suburb of Commerce City. Combined with the previously announced September friendlies against South Korea and Japan, the U.S. will meet four of FIFA's Top-25-ranked national teams this fall. All four have also already qualified for the 2026 World Cup, which is being co-hosted by the U.S. and neighbors Canada and Mexico. The U.S. still has two more dual-match FIFA fixture windows to fill, in November and next March, before Pochettino names his final 26-player World Cup roster. The Americans are also expected to play a pair of pre-World Cup tuneups before they kick off the main event in Los Angeles on June 12. No-25 Ecuador, one of three South American nations who have already punched their ticket to the next World Cup, joining Brazil and defending champion Argentina, is led by midfielder Moises Caicedo. Caicedo, who plays for English Premier League club Chelsea, helped the Blues win the FIFA Club World Cup on Sunday. The U.S. and Ecuador have met on 15 previous occasions, with each side posting a record of 5W-5L-5T. The two last met in 2016, when the U.S. eliminated La Tricolor in the quarterfinals of the Copa América Centenario. The U.S. hasn't faced the 24th-ranked Aussies since way back in 2010, a 3-1 win in South Africa in both countries' final tune-up before that year's World Cup in South Africa. The trip to Austin marks the sixth time the Americans have visited the Texas capital since 2021. They are a perfect 6-0 there, including last month's 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia in the Concacaf Gold Cup group stage. The U.S. is also perfect at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, going 3-0 at the home of MLS franchise Colorado Rapids. Seats for the Australia match start at just $35. The get-in price for the Ecuador game is $45, with tickets for both contests on sale to the general public starting on July 18. Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports who has covered United States men's and women's national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him @ ByDougMcIntyre . recommended Item 1 of 1 Get more from the FIFA Men's World Cup Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic
LeMonde
30-06-2025
- Politics
- LeMonde
Ecuador's ex-VP sentenced to 13 years in latest corruption case
An Ecuadorian court on Monday, June 30, handed former vice president Jorge Glas a 13-year sentence for corruption, following his arrest in a dramatic raid last year on the Mexican embassy where he had been given asylum. Glas, 55, served as vice president of the South American country under former socialist leader Rafael Correa from 2013 to 2017 and also briefly served as vice president under Correa's successor, Lenin Moreno. The latest decision marks his fourth conviction since 2017. He has yet to complete his cumulative eight-year sentence on two prior corruption cases, one relating to millions of dollars in bribes he took from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. His former boss Correa, who lives in self-imposed exile in Belgium, was sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison, for taking bribes. Both men deny the charges. The latest case against Glas revolved around the reconstruction work carried out after a devastating earthquake in Ecuador's coastal provinces of Manabi and Esmeraldas in 2016, which left nearly 700 people dead. The Supreme Court in Quito ruled that Glas did not use the millions of dollars collected from Ecuadorians towards the reconstruction for that purpose. Some of the money was used to build a bridge in a remote area far from the disaster zone. 'Politically persecuted' During his trial, Glas declared himself a "politically persecuted person," insisting he had no access to the earthquake reconstruction fund and did not manage contracts awarded by the reconstruction committee. His co-accused, former government technical secretary Carlos Bernal, was also given the maximum 13-year sentence for embezzlement and the pair were fined a combined $250 million. Glas was jailed for corruption in 2017 but was released from prison in 2022 after challenging his detention. His release was later revoked, but in December 2023, before the courts could issue an order for his rearrest, he sought refuge in the Mexican embassy in Quito, which granted him asylum. In April 2024, Ecuadorian police stormed the embassy to apprehend him, sparking a major fallout between Ecuador and Mexico. Mexico broke off ties with Quito over the incident. The staunchly anti-American Correa's rule was marked by major increases in social welfare and large infrastructure projects but also, in later years, by allegations of corruption. Last year, the United States banned both Correa and Glas from its territory over what the State Department called their involvement in "significant corruption."
Los Angeles Times
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
California to examine its Amazon oil ties following pleas from Indigenous leaders from Ecuador
RICHMOND, California — An oil tanker sat docked at Chevron's sprawling refinery in Richmond on Thursday — a visible link between California's appetite for Amazon crude and the remote rainforest territories where it's extracted. Just offshore, bundled in puffy jackets against the Bay wind, Indigenous leaders from Ecuador's Amazon paddled kayaks through choppy waters, calling attention to the oil expansion threatening their lands. Their visit to California helped prompt the state Senate to introduce a landmark resolution urging officials to examine the state's role in importing crude from the Amazon. The move comes as Ecuador's government prepares to auction off 14 new oil blocks — covering more than 2 million hectares of rainforest, much of it Indigenous territory — in a 2026 bidding round known as 'Sur Oriente.' The Indigenous leaders say the move goes against the spirit of a national referendum in which Ecuadorians voted to leave crude oil permanently underground in Yasuni National Park. The preservation push in Ecuador comes as another South American country that includes part of the Amazon rainforest, Brazil, is moving ahead with plans to further develop oil resources. On Tuesday, Brazil auctioned off several land and offshore potential oil sites near the Amazon River as it aims to expand production in untapped regions despite protests from environmental and Indigenous groups. Juan Bay, president of the Waorani people of Ecuador, said that his delegation's coming to California was 'important so that our voices, our stance, and our struggle can be elevated' and urged Californians to reexamine the source of their crude from the Amazon — 'from Waorani Indigenous territory.' On Thursday, the Indigenous delegation joined local Californians in Richmond for a kayaking trip near a Chevron refinery, sharing stories about the Amazon and perspectives on climate threats. For Nadino Calapucha, a spokesperson for the Kichwa Pakkiru people, the visit to California's Bay Area was deeply moving. Spotting seals in the water and a bird's nest nearby felt ¨like a gesture of solidarity from nature itself,' he told The Associated Press on a kayak. 'It was as if the animals were welcoming us,' he said. The connection between the Amazon and California — both facing environmental threats — was palpable, Calapucha said. 'Being here with our brothers and sisters, with the local communities also fighting — in the end, we feel that the struggle is the same,' he said. California is the largest global consumer of Amazon oil, with much of it refined and used in the state as fuel. Ecuador is the region's top producer of onshore crude. Bay highlighted a March 2025 ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which found that Ecuador had violated the rights of the area's Indigenous groups by allowing oil operations in and around a site known as Block 43. The court ordered the government to halt extraction in protected areas and uphold the 2023 referendum banning drilling in Yasuni National Park, where the country's largest crude reserve lies, estimated at around 1.7 billion barrels. Bay appealed to the California government to reconsider if it 'should continue receiving crude from the Amazon' — or continue to be 'complicit in the violation of rights' happening on Indigenous territory. State Senator Josh Becker, who introduced the new resolution, praised the visiting leaders for defending both their land and the global climate. 'Their communities are on the front lines asserting their rights and resisting oil extraction,' Becker said on the Senate floor on Monday. 'They are defenders of a living rainforest that stores carbon, regulates the global climate, and sustains life.' Long criticized by environmental justice advocates, the refinery has processed millions of barrels of Amazon crude, fueling concerns over pollution, public health, and the state's role in rainforest destruction. The delegation also helped launch a new report by Amazon Watch, an Oakland-based non-profit dedicated to the protection of the Amazon Basin, which outlines the climate, legal and financial risks of operating in Indigenous territories without consent. Kevin Koenig, Amazon Watch's director for climate, energy and extraction industry, said the impacts of Amazon crude extend far beyond Ecuador. He joined the Ecuadorian delegation on the kayaking trip on Thursday. 'The Golden State, if it wants to be a climate leader, needs to take action,' he told AP. 'California has an addiction to Amazon crude.' Californians need to 'recognize their responsibility and their complicity in driving demand for Amazon crude and the impact that that is having on Indigenous people, on their rights, on the biodiversity and the climate,' he added. California's future is closely tied to the Amazon's — the state relies on the rainforest's role in climate regulation and rainfall, Koenig said, warning that continued Amazon crude imports contribute to the very destruction increasing California's vulnerability to drought and wildfires. He said environmental and public health damage tied to oil drilling is not confined to South America. 'We're seeing the same impacts from the oil well to the wheel here in California, where communities are suffering from contamination, health impacts, dirty water,' he said. 'It's time that California lead an energy transition.' California, one of the world's largest economies and a major importer of Amazon crude, must take stronger climate action, Koenig added and called on the state to phase out its reliance on oil linked to deforestation, human rights abuses, pollution, and climate damage. The resolution commends the Indigenous communities of Ecuador for their struggle in defending the rainforest and Indigenous rights. It also marks the first time California would examine how its energy consumption may contribute to the region's deforestation and cultural loss. The resolution is expected to be up for a vote within a few weeks, according to Koenig. Grattan and Vasquez write for the Associated Press.
