Ecuador mounts anti-drug op overseen by Blackwater founder / Photo: Gerardo MENOSCAL - AFP
-
Le Pen slams 'witch hunt', vows not to give up at Paris rally
-
Liverpool's rare loss delays title march, Southampton relegated
-
World scrambles to temper Trump tariffs: White House
-
Southampton relegated from Premier League in record time
-
Fulham end Liverpool unbeaten league run to delay title party
-
Torrential rains kill dozens in DR Congo capital
-
Pogacar wins Van der Poel duel at cycling's Tour of Flanders
-
Djokovic plays down Monte Carlo hopes after eye infection
-
Israel targets Hezbollah in south Lebanon as US envoy visits
-
Bumrah 'available' for Mumbai's IPL clash with Bengaluru
-
Bordeaux book Champions Cup quarter-final with victory over Ulster
-
Israel's Netanyahu ends Hungary visit, heads to US
-
Fiji and New Zealand seal sevens wins in Singapore
-
Le Pen invokes Martin Luther King ahead of far-right Paris rally
-
Zelensky says attacks 'increasing' as 2 killed in missile and drone attacks
-
Vietnam seeks US tariff delay as economic growth slows in first quarter
-
Recovering Pope surprises crowd at Vatican square
-
UK readies to protect industry as US tariffs upend global order: Starmer
-
Tsunoda has 'mixed feelings' after 12th-place Red Bull debut
-
France's far-right, leftwingers rally supporters after Le Pen conviction
-
Hamilton says Ferrari still off the pace in Japan
-
Vietnam economic growth slows in first quarter as US tariffs loom
-
Record-breaker Antonelli aims higher after hitting front in Japan
-
Chennai brush aside talk of Dhoni's IPL retirement
-
Foreigners run in N.Korea's first Pyongyang Marathon for six years
-
Verstappen to 'keep grinding' after Japan win closes gap to Norris
-
Missile strike on Kyiv kills one amid 'massive' attack
-
UK readies to protect industry as US tariffs upend old order: Starmer
-
Research on multiple sclerosis wins 'Oscars of science'
-
Artist of 'distorted' portrait says Trump complaint harming business
-
India's Modi praises close Sri Lanka ties at holy tree
-
Verstappen wins Japanese GP to close championship gap on Norris
-
Red Bull's Verstappen wins Japanese GP from Norris
-
US storms, 'severe' flooding death toll climbs to 16
-
Rain complicates recovery in quake-hit Myanmar as death toll rises
-
Explosions as Ukraine capital under missile attack
-
The scientist rewriting DNA, and the future of medicine
-
'Anxious': US farmers see tariffs threaten earnings
-
Nostalgia fuels UK boom in vintage video game repairs
-
Snappy birthday: Germany's Leica camera turns 100
-
Bucks clinch playoff berth as West battle tightens
-
Czech beer culture eyes UNESCO listing as pubs take hit
-
Explosions as Kyiv under missile attack, says mayor
-
Weary Boutier still alive in LPGA Match Play after 45-hole day
-
Artificial glaciers boost water supply in northern Pakistan
-
Brooksby upsets Paul to reach Houston final
-
Thomas, Bednarek hit jackpot at Grand Slam Track meet
-
Whittier Street Health Center in Boston is Expanding Its Health on Wheels Program
-
Breaking: DEA Attorney in MMJ Marijuana Case Lacks Good Standing in Bar, Raising Ethical Concerns
-
Rodman on target as USA beat Brazil in Olympic rematch
NYSE - LSE
| RBGPF | 100% | 69.02 | $ | |
| BCC | 0.85% | 95.44 | $ | |
| BTI | -5.17% | 39.86 | $ | |
| RELX | -6.81% | 48.16 | $ | |
| SCS | -0.56% | 10.68 | $ | |
| RIO | -6.88% | 54.67 | $ | |
| NGG | -5.25% | 65.93 | $ | |
| GSK | -6.79% | 36.53 | $ | |
| CMSC | 0.13% | 22.29 | $ | |
| CMSD | 0.7% | 22.83 | $ | |
| JRI | -7.19% | 11.96 | $ | |
| AZN | -7.98% | 68.46 | $ | |
| RYCEF | -18.79% | 8.25 | $ | |
| BCE | 0.22% | 22.71 | $ | |
| BP | -10.43% | 28.38 | $ | |
| VOD | -10.24% | 8.5 | $ |
Ecuador mounts anti-drug op overseen by Blackwater founder
Ecuadoran security forces mounted an operation against drug gangs Saturday overseen by ministers and with the founder of divisive US security contractor Blackwater Erik Prince in attendance, ahead of a knife-edge run-off election on April 13.
The operation, involving 650 police and military personnel, saw raids on homes and drug addiction rehab centers where residents were allegedly forced to extort others, said Pablo Davila, police chief in the country's largest city Guayaquil.
Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa announced during his election campaign a "strategic alliance" with the founder of Blackwater, whose mercenaries killed and injured dozens of civilians in Iraq, as he seeks to vanquish leftist rival Luisa Gonzalez.
Images of the operation showed Prince, a former Navy SEAL, accompanying Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo and Interior Minister John Reimberg while travelling in an armored vehicle.
The so-called "Security Block" -- made up of police, soldiers, and Prince -- "are already on the ground confronting narcoterrorism", the Defense Ministry said on social media.
Prince, whose company was renamed Academi after being involvement in a massacre in Baghdad, is close to US President Donald Trump, to whom he has offered help in the mass deportation of undocumented migrants.
He said in a clip posted by the Defense Ministry on X that "we are here to help combat the gangs and to provide the tools for the government to restore law and order, peace and prosperity."
Ecuador, through which 73 percent of the world's cocaine transits according to official figures, was until a few years ago a peaceful oasis between Colombia and Peru, the largest producers of the drug.
Facing surging drug violence, Noboa declared an internal armed conflict in 2024 and has kept the military on the streets since then.
After a record 47 murders per 100,000 people in 2023, the rate dropped to 38 in 2024.
This year started as the most violent in recent history with over 1,500 homicides in January and February alone.
L.Harper--AMWN