
Ecuadorian president offers carte blanche to police and military after attack kills 22 in Guayaquil
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has granted preemptive pardons for police and military personnel responding to an armed attack that killed at least 22 in the southern city of Guayaquil yesterday.
'We need you to act decisively and without fear of reprisal,' Noboa wrote in a post on X on Friday morning. 'Defend the country, I will defend you.'
It's not the first time the increasingly hardline Noboa has offered pardons to security officers fighting crime in Ecuador, even before they have been deployed or accused of wrongdoing.
CNN en Español has reached out to the president's office for clarification on the extent of the pardons.
The attack in Guayaquil unfolded across three locations in the city on Thursday afternoon and left at least 22 people dead and six injured, authorities told CNNE.
'Preliminary reports' suggest that the attack arose out of a profit-sharing dispute between different factions of the Los Tiguerones criminal gang, according to a police statement shared with CNNE.
'Among the deceased and injured, several have a history of robbery, drug trafficking, and weapons possession,' police wrote.
Ecuadorean authorities raided 'several homes' overnight and early in the morning after the attack, arresting 14 individuals and seizing weapons and ammunition, Ecuador's Ministry of Defense announced in a post on X on Friday.
Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city, has suffered grievously in the country's ongoing drug-fueled violence epidemic. In 2024, the city recorded nearly 2,000 homicides, government statistics show.
Noboa has sought to crack down on Ecuador's spiraling security crisis since becoming president in 2023, declaring several states of emergency and designating 22 criminal organizations as terrorist groups, moves that have prompted criticism from some rights groups domestically and abroad.
Instability in Ecuador, fueled by the international drug trade, has been the backdrop of Noboa's campaign for a second term this year. He fell short of securing an outright majority in the first round of voting in Ecuador's general election last month.
A second-round vote in the coming months will decide if the Latin American country will stick with Noboa's approach or seek an alternative voice in leftist candidate Luisa González.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Yahoo
The Mexican flag has become a defining symbol of the LA protests
Mexico's red, white and green flag has become a defining symbol of the protests in Los Angeles. Demonstrators have waved flags from Mexico and other Latin American countries, as well as US flags, to express solidarity with immigrants and denounce the Trump administration's raids, provoking the ire of Trump's supporters. Los Angeles has been roiled in protests since Friday, when ICE officers raided several workplaces in the city's garment district. While the protests began peacefully, they have since led to dozens of arrests and some violent clashes. President Donald Trump deployed thousands of National Guard troops and Marines, outraging Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, who in a complaint defined the mobilization of the California guardsmen an 'illegal takeover' and on social media called the potential use of the Marines 'a blatant abuse of power.' The Mexican flag has long been a mainstay at immigration-related demonstrations, particularly in LA, which has deep cultural and economic ties to Mexico and is seen as the capital of the Mexican diaspora in the US. More than 3.4 million people of Mexican heritage or born in Mexico live in Los Angeles County, according to Census data, more than any other county in the US. But images and video showing flag-waving protesters facing off with police have drawn anger from Republican officials. 'They were literally out there protesting, carrying a foreign flag. That is absolutely insane. They're not just peaceful protesters. These are illegals,' Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin told CNN's Dana Bash, while defending Trump's decision to deploy the National Guard to LA. 'Insurrectionists carrying foreign flags are attacking immigration enforcement officers,' Vice President JD Vance posted on X Saturday. The Department of Homeland Security has shared on social media several photos and videos of the protests where, amid chaotic scenes, the Mexican flag is featured prominently. Trump's deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller described the protesters on social media as 'foreign nationals, waving foreign flags, rioting and obstructing federal law enforcement attempting to expel illegal foreign invaders.' Waving a foreign flag – or even destroying an American one – is legal under freedom of expression rights protected by the Constitution's First Amendment. Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda, associate professor of Chicana, Chicano and Central American Studies at UCLA, said invoking flags to demonize protesters is a 'well-documented move on the part of the Trump administration, knowing that every single demonstration of this type brings out the Mexican flag.' The current Mexican flag was officially adopted by the country in 1968, though variations have been used since Mexico's war of independence from Spain in the early 1800s. The brandishing of it and other Latin American flags to defend the rights of immigrants in the US has a long and complex history. The Mexican flag was a lightning rod during the 1994 movement against California's Proposition 187, which sought to bar undocumented immigrants from accessing education, health care and social services. The flags, waved by protesters to show pride, were seen by many as symbols of anti-American defiance. In LA, some have argued waving the Mexican flag risks undermining the protesters' cause by alienating people and shifting attention away from immigration policy. Waving the Mexican flag 'transforms what should be a debate about American constitutional rights and due process into a conversation about foreign loyalty and cultural assimilation,' Mike Madrid, a Republican strategist focused on Latino voting trends wrote in the Sacramento Bee. But the waving of foreign flags speaks to the generations of people from Mexico and other Latin American countries who have called the US, and particularly California, home, Hinojosa-Ojeda said. 'The flags mean their families. The flags mean their communities. It's not about having an international invasion,' he added. The flags are a 'mechanism of pride and identity that is under attack,' Hinojosa-Ojeda added. Antonio Rodriguez, an organizer with the Brown Berets immigration advocacy group, said the Mexican flag at the protests is a symbol of unity, not division. 'I don't necessarily think just because somebody has pride in their culture that they're un-American,' Rodriguez said. 'Waving a Mexican flag, for us, is showing pride in our culture and our family.'


Newsweek
15 hours ago
- Newsweek
More Hispanics Disapprove of Los Angeles Protests Than Approve—Poll
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. More Hispanic Americans disapprove than approve of the Los Angeles protests over President Donald Trump's mass deportations, according to a new poll. Why It Matters U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have conducted raids across the country and have faced large protests in Los Angeles, as Trump's administration pledged to carry out the largest mass deportations in U.S. history. While most protesters were peaceful, there has been violence on the ground. Trump has deployed California's National Guard to assist in quelling the violence, despite objections from Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, and other local officials who said bringing in the National Guard would only escalate the situation. While the raids are following legal directive from federal authorities, protests have erupted amid reports that detainees were being held in the basement of a federal building. ICE denied these allegations, with a spokesperson previously telling Newsweek the agency "categorically refutes the assertions made by immigration activists in Los Angeles." What to Know The protests have drawn national attention and divided Americans as immigration remains a major issue facing the country. Protesters have raised concerns about migrants—many of whom, but not all, are from Latin American countries—facing deportation regardless of whether they have committed violent crimes under Trump's policies. The Mexican flag has emerged as a symbol of the protests. A demonstrator waves a Mexico flag during anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles on June 9, 2025. A demonstrator waves a Mexico flag during anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles on June 9, 2025. RINGO CHIU/AFP via Getty Images A new poll from YouGov reveals how Americans view the protests. A plurality of all Americans, including Hispanic Americans, view the protests negatively. Forty-four percent of Hispanic respondents said they disapprove of the protests, while 39 percent said they approve of them. An additional 17 percent were unsure how they felt. Across all racial and ethnic groups, 45 percent disapproved and 36 percent approved of the protests, according to the poll, which surveyed 4,231 U.S. adults on June 9, 2025. The pollster also found that 38 percent of Americans believe the protests have been mostly peaceful, while 36 percent say they have been mostly violent. Twenty-six percent said they were not sure. Still, 50 percent of Americans—including 55 percent of Hispanic Americans—said they disapprove of Trump's handling of deportation. Thirty-nine percent of Americans, including 35 percent of Hispanic Americans, approve of his handling of deportations. What People Are Saying Governor Gavin Newsom posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday: "I have formally requested the Trump administration rescind their unlawful deployment of troops in Los Angeles County and return them to my command. We didn't have a problem until Trump got involved. This is a serious breach of state sovereignty—inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they're actually needed. Rescind the order. Return control to California." President Donald Trump, in a post to Truth Social on Tuesday: "If I didn't "SEND IN THE TROOPS" to Los Angeles the last three nights, that once beautiful and great City would be burning to the ground right now, much like 25,000 houses burned to the ground in L.A. due to an incompetent Governor and Mayor." What Happens Next As protests continued, U.S. Marines were also expected to head into Los Angeles on Tuesday following an order from Trump. Coordinated nationwide protests against Trump and his administration's policies are also planned to take place in cities in all 50 states on the president's birthday on June 14.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Mexican flag becomes L.A. protest symbol: What to know
The green, white and red-striped flag of Mexico has become an emerging symbol of resistance in ongoing protests that erupted in Los Angeles over the weekend against the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Photos and videos of Mexican flag-carrying protesters demonstrating amid fires and law enforcement in tactical gear have circulated online and in traditional media, drawing the ire of key members of President Trump's administration. One prominent image shows a masked Mexican flag bearer on a dirt bike riding circles around a burning car. 'Insurrectionists carrying foreign flags are attacking immigration enforcement officers, while one half of America's political leadership has decided that border enforcement is evil,' Vice President Vance wrote on the social media platform X on Saturday. Stephen Miller, a top Trump aide and immigration hardliner, posted multiple images on social media Sunday of protesters waving Mexican flags and also described the L.A. disruption as an 'insurrection.' 'What is the correct term to describe foreign nationals, waving foreign flags, rioting and obstructing federal law enforcement attempting to expel illegal foreign invaders?' Miller wrote in one X post. 'Look at all the foreign flags. Los Angeles is occupied territory,' he added in another. Thousands of people took to the streets of L.A., a Democratic stronghold with a large immigrant population, to protest federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) workplace raids that started with about 40 arrests in the city Friday as part of Trump administration's mass deportation efforts. Trump deployed 2,000 National Guardsmen over the weekend to quell California's growing protests. The troops are scheduled to remain in L.A. for 60 days or until Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth calls them off, the White House said, and hundreds of Marines could be deployed as backup in the coming days. The president wrote in a Truth Social post on Sunday that he had directed officials in his administration to 'take all such action necessary to liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion, and put an end to these Migrant riots.' 'Order will be restored, the Illegals will be expelled, and Los Angeles will be set free,' he added. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) blamed Trump's troop deployment for the 'chaotic escalation' of tensions between law enforcement officers and protesters that erupted Sunday, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said his state will sue the federal government for deploying soldiers over his objections. Past immigration protests have urged demonstrators to carry American flags to symbolize their support for American values. But the images of Mexican flags, flags from other Latin American countries and modified Mexican flags that also feature the American flag have taken center stage in the L.A. protests and have become a frequent point of rebuke among Trump's allies. Arizona Republic columnist Phil Boas warned in an article earlier this year that Mexican flag-waving protesters could be doing a disservice to their cause. 'I understand the energy and enthusiasm of youth, but cooler heads in the Latino community in Phoenix and Los Angeles might want to stage an intervention with their young protesters,' Boas wrote when anti-ICE protests erupted shortly after Trump returned to the White House in January. 'It may feel good to wave a Mexican flag in MAGA's face, but you are not appreciating what a turn-off that is to many Americans who are not MAGA.' Others have countered that the sight of other countries flags at immigration protests is a common unifying act, though. 'Waving a foreign flag at protests is good trouble — a sign for the brave to rally together and stand tall against a commander in chief who understands nothing but chaos,' Gustavo Arellano, a columnist for The Los Angeles Times, wrote in February. Mexican leaders acknowledged in a news conference on Monday that 42 Mexicans — 37 men and five women — had been detained in the L.A. ICE raids on Friday. Four were deported, they said. 'We will continue our visits to monitor the Mexicans in detention centers in Los Angeles,' Mexico Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente said. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum condemned violence at the protests but didn't call on demonstrators to stand down. 'We call on the Mexican community to act peacefully and not fall for provocations,' she said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.