Los Rios wrestler wins Olympic silver; Venezuelan refugees face reprisals; Noboa imposes curfews in high-crime areas; Assembly ends impeachment proceedings

Lucía Yépez won the silver medal in the women’s 53kg wrestling category at the Olympic Games in Paris on Thursday. Yépez, from the province of Los Ríos, was defeated in the championship match by Japan’s Akari Fujinami. On Wednesday, Yépez reached the final with a victory over Annika Wendle from Germany.

It was the third medal won by an Ecuadorian at the 2024 Olympic Games.

Yépez’s path to the Olympics has been the subject of several international media stories. The daughter of a poor mother, she sold pencils and candy to support her family and pay for her training and travel to competitions in Ecuador. Although she qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, a training injury forced her to abandon the competition.

Olympic silver medalist Lucía Yépez

After her second place on Thursday, Yépez sent a victory message to her mother, who was unable to travel to Paris. “Mom, I am an Olympic medalist. Thanks to the money I won, you don’t have to work so hard and I will buy you a house.”

Yépez’s prize money is $125,000.

Venezuelan refugees face reprisals
According to organizations representing Venezuelan refugees in Ecuador, the government of Nicolas Marduro is punishing refugees whose families protest the results of the July 28 presidential election.

Betzabeth Jaramillo, president of the Yo Te Apoyo Foundation, claims that at least 762 Venezuelans in Ecuador have been notified that their passports and other official documents have been revoked or canceled. “The retaliatory actions include canceled passports and travel document renewals,” she said. “In all cases, these people have family in Venezuela who have participated in protests or spoken out publicly against the electoral fraud.”

In an interview with the news site Ecuadorenvivo, Jaramillo said the Venezuelan government’s actions are a continuation of “business as usual in a corrupt dictatorship.” According to Jaramillo, refugees with Venezuelan families who oppose Maduro’s government are routinely punished, with some being denied entry into Venezuela. “This is what we have come to expect,” she said. “The oligarchy punishes the poor.”

Noboa imposes curfews in high crime areas
President Daniel Noboa has imposed a curfew in 20 cities and towns with high crime rates. The curfew, which begins at 10 p.m. and ends at 5 a.m., applies to communities in the provinces of Guayas, Los Ríos, Manabí, Orellana, Santa Elena and El Oro, and to Camilo Ponce Enríquez in the western province of Azuay.

According to the presidential press office, the curfew was imposed under the July 2 state of emergency and is part of the government’s efforts to dismantle criminal gangs and cartels. “While criminal activity is decreasing, especially homicides, we continue to fight criminal organizations in Ecuador. This fight will continue until we can ensure all citizens safety in their communities,” a presidential spokesman said.

Meeting ends impeachment trial
The National Assembly voted Wednesday to end the impeachment process against Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld, who the Citizens Revolution party said had derelict in her duties but supported the April raid on the Mexican embassy to arrest former Vice President Jorge Glas.

In his motion to end the process, Assemblymember César Umaginga accused the Correistas of “wasting valuable Assembly time by supporting one of their corrupt allies,” and argued that Ecuadorian law cannot be subject to “political whims.”

The vote to end the impeachment proceedings was supported by 76 people and 44 against, all members of Citizens Revolution.