Ecuador's 48th president, businessman and youngest elected leader in decades
Argentine president Javier Milei has insulted Brazil’s president and a top Brazilian judge while attending an event in São Paulo that confirmed Flávio Bolsonaro’s presidential candidacy. Brazil has recalled its ambassador to consult with Brasília after diplomats said Milei attacked Brazil’s government, people and democracy; Lula has vowed to lead without outside interference.
Keiko Fujimori has been sworn in as Peru’s president, vowing a hardline approach to crime and instability after a tumultuous decade of leadership. She pledges military involvement in high-crime areas during emergencies and seeks to bolster ties with the United States while addressing El Niño impacts and inequality.
A truck bomb has detonated outside a police headquarters in Cúcuta, on the Venezuela border, injuring eight officers and three civilians. Defence Minister Pedro Sánchez has blamed the National Liberation Army and offered a reward; authorities have deployed extra security as Colombia prepares for Abelardo de la Espriella’s inauguration in Cali next week.
Petro has claimed thousands of tally sheets were manipulated after counts were transmitted to Colombia’s election agency. Officials and observers reject the fraud claims, and Abelardo de la Espriella is set to be sworn in this week, as Colombia prepares for a tightly watched transition.
Israeli Foreign Minister Sa’ar has travelled from Miami to Quito, marking the first Israeli foreign ministerial visit to Ecuador in 44 years. In Quito, he will meet Ecuador’s foreign minister and President Noboa, before heading to Colombia for the president-elect’s inauguration. The trip follows a shift in Colombia’s stance toward Israel and signals broader Latin American realignment.
A Eurocopter EC130 B4 has gone down in Samburu County, Kenya, killing seven people on board, including five Americans and Ecuador’s intelligence chief Michele Sensi-Contugi. Investigators say the cause is not yet established and recovery efforts face rugged terrain.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has completed a three‑country tour of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru to expand military and counter‑drug cooperation with right‑wing governments. Washington has pledged funding, vessels and designations of gangs as foreign terrorist organisations while US forces have intercepted and sunk vessels linked to Ecuadorian criminal groups.
The United States is strengthening security ties with Colombia, Ecuador and Peru as right‑wing leadership grows in the region. Washington has designated cartels as foreign threats and seeks closer military and economic cooperation, while regional partners push back on violence tied to narcotics networks.
The United States reports a new deportation of a Nicaraguan dissident who was released after protests in 2018. He has been deported to Managua and detained again in the same prison where fellow critics were tortured. Human rights groups say the crackdown has driven hundreds of thousands to flee, while Washington presses for accountability amid ongoing expulsions.