Meet the US’s drug running friends: A history of narcotics involvement
Trump claims to be cracking down on drug gangs in Venezuela but pardoned a Honduran drug lord serving time in the US.
![A demonstration against the Contras, the US intervention in Nicaragua, Central America and Honduras [File: Rick Maiman/Sygma via Getty Images]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/GettyImages-1039970092-1764842063.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
Trump claims to be cracking down on drug gangs in Venezuela but pardoned a Honduran drug lord serving time in the US.
![A demonstration against the Contras, the US intervention in Nicaragua, Central America and Honduras [File: Rick Maiman/Sygma via Getty Images]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/GettyImages-1039970092-1764842063.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)








The country’s largest Indigenous group, CONAIE, has organised protests against Noboa’s decision to cut a fuel subsidy.
A minister claimed the attack was an assassination attempt, but protesters said they were targeted with violence, too.
This is the second deadly prison riot in Ecuador this week.
Ecuador’s prisons see another violent riot, with explosions and shootings in Machala.

Protests over rising fuel prices in Ecuador turned violent on Tuesday as demonstrations spread across the country.
The US diplomat suggested continued action against Latin American gangs while in Ecuador, days after a strike on a boat.
Activists in Rio Blanco expelled a mine company from their community. But the move sparked tensions between neighbours.
The South American nation has reeled under a substantial increase in violent crime over the last several years.
Adolfo Macias, who was recaptured in June after escaping from prison last year, will appear in New York court on Monday.
Notorious gang leader has agreed to be extradited to the United States to face cocaine and weapons smuggling charges.