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After almost 18 months on the run, Ecuador’s Los Choneros gang’s leader has been recaptured, according to President Daniel Noboa.

In January of this year, Jose Adolfo Macias, also known as “Fito,” escaped from Guayaquil Prison, where he was serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking and murder.

Noboa announced on Wednesday on the X social media platform that Macias will now be extradited to the US after being charged with drug trafficking and smuggling. He was charged with those crimes in a federal court.

Noboa had previously offered $1 million to assist in finding Macias after thousands of police officers and members of the armed forces were dispatched to his location.

“My sincere gratitude to the military and police who participated in this operation. More will fall, and we’ll regain our country. No agreement, Noboa claimed on X.

Due to the necessity of the Leyes of Solidaridad and Inteligencia, Fito was captured and is now a member of the Bloque of Seguridad.

I extend my condolences to the officers and soldiers who participated in this operation. Caerán más, …

Authorities have not yet explained how Macias managed to escape before moving him to a maximum-security facility.

According to the US government, the successful escape “spreads widespread riots, bombings, kidnappings, the assassination of a prominent prosecutor, and an armed attack on a TV network during a live broadcast,” leading Noboa to declare a 60-day state of emergency in Ecuador.

Additionally, the president of Ecuador referred to 22 gangs as “terrorist groups,” including Los Choneros.

In February 2024, the US Department of Treasury issued separate sanctions against both Macias and Los Choneros for causing violence in Ecuador and trafficking drugs.

Ecuador was once one of Latin America’s most tranquil nations, but because of its proximity to Peru and Colombia, two of the world’s top cocaine exporters, criminal organizations have become increasingly interested in its exports.

After signing a deal with the Council of Europe to establish a special tribunal to prosecute Russian officials, including Putin, for the invasion of Ukraine, Zelenskyy called late on Wednesday.

After signing the agreement with Council of Europe Secretary-General Alain Berset, Zelenskyy said, “We must show clearly that aggression leads to punishment, and we must force it all over Europe.”

Every Russian war criminal, including Putin, will need strong political and legal courage, Zelenskyy said.

For the alleged war crime of illegally removing children from Ukraine, Putin is already facing an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

The ICC is authorized to investigate war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, but it is not authorized to investigate “crimes of aggression” or the use of force against another state.

The “crime of aggression” against Russia for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 is the subject of the creation of the special tribunal. In theory, the tribunal could trial prominent Russian figures, including Putin.

Although it is not yet known where the tribunal’s location will be, Zelenskyy claimed the ICC’s home would be “perfect.”

The Council of Europe, the continent’s top rights body, is the first organization to establish such a tribunal.

The special tribunal will “give Ukraine a path to justice for the top-level decision to invade its territory,” according to Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.

The proposed tribunal, according to the European Council, could be used to prosecute those who aided Russia in the invasion of North Korea and Belarus.

The Council of Europe, which has 46 members, is not a member of the European Union, and includes important non-EU countries like Turkiye, the UK, and Ukraine. Following its invasion of Ukraine, Russia was removed from the body.

Trump made the call on Wednesday on behalf of a close friend of an Israeli official who was charged with bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in Israel in 2019.

Netanyahu’s trial began in 2020 and entails three criminal cases. He has entered a not-guilty plea and denied the allegations.

Trump used the name “Bibi Netanyahu” to refer to the Israeli leader’s trial as “a Great Hero who has done so much for the State (of Israel), and that he should have his trial cancelled IMMEDIATELY or get a pardon given to him.”

Trump continued, “This is a WITCH HUNT, for a man who has given so much,” adding that it is “unthinkable.”

According to Israeli media reports, Netanyahu’s cross-examination in a Tel Aviv court started on June 3 and was scheduled to last about a year.

Netanyahu’s pardon is “not currently on the table,” according to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who has the authority to do so.

Herzog added that, according to the reports, “no such request had been made”

Trump added that “the United States of America saved Israel, and it is going to be the United States of America that saved Bibi Netanyahu.”

What could Trump or the US government do to stop Netanyahu’s corruption trial was a mystery.

Trump’s words of support for Netanyahu contrasted with his eminently public rebuke of Netanyahu on Tuesday over Israel’s post-ceasefire attacks on Iran.

“Israel came out as soon as we made the deal, and they dropped a lot of bombs, the likes of which I’ve never seen before.” the most severe load we have ever witnessed. Trump initially expressed his dissatisfaction with Israel to reporters.

On Thursday, June 26, 2018, the situation is as follows:

Fighting

• According to the Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russian forces have taken control of the settlement of Yalta in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine.

diplomacy and politics

NATO allies have pledged to increase annual defense spending by 2035, to a total of 5% of GDP. The transatlantic military bloc reiterated its commitment to collective defense in light of Russia’s military threat, stating that “an attack on one is an attack on all.”
• Trump added that he will discuss ending the war with Putin “soon.” Putin may have territorial ambitions outside of Ukraine, he added.

• Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, stated that he and Trump had a discussion about possible drone production together during their meeting on the day of the NATO summit.
• Zelenskyy claimed that every Russian “war criminal faces justice,” including Russian President Putin, was required after the signing of the agreement in Strasbourg.

• Due to an outstanding arrest warrant against him by the International Criminal Court, Putin, according to Yuri Ushakov, a Kremlin aide for foreign policy, will not attend the BRICS summit in Brazil next week.
• Boris Pistorius, the German minister of defense, emphasized the importance of the US involvement in the Ukraine conflict and said allies were working to stop Washington from losing interest, according to comments made by the ARD broadcaster.