Ecuador
The use of artificial intelligence to undermine political discussion is an issue of growing concern, as content generated for malicious purposes has a greater capacity to go unnoticed by the common people. For example, appealing to technology developed by Radio y Televisión Española, EFE debunks here a manipulated video in which opposition presidential candidate Luisa González appears defending the funding of gender transition for children in Ecuador, something she has consistently opposed. The video has spread massively on major social platforms, such as Facebook, YouTube, X, and TikTok, where many people, locked in political bubbles, do not bother to independently analyze what appears on the screen. The video, manipulated based on a YouTube interview of González with an Ecuador-based Cuban, and shared below, seems to me quite convincing, and real, at first glance.
Aquí @LuisaGonzalezEc y su progresismo destructor de valores. Afirma muy suelta, que apoyarán el cambio de sexo en niños ???? Sigue nomás Lucha lo estás haciendo perfecto !!! pic.twitter.com/M5s1UKojz8
February 8, 2025— Carlos Arguello (@carguellosr)
So only the critical user, independent verifier of what he/she consumes, quite scarce, will search the official source to verify the authenticity of the alleged interview fragment. Or will be equipped with some tools available to debunk doctored videos and images. Below is a video where a fact-checking organization shows both synchronized videos, the original and the doctored ones.
🔍 #FactCheckLupa | ❌ La candidata Luisa González no propuso que el Estado financie transiciones de género para menores. Se trata de una desinformación basada en la manipulación de una entrevista de 2023.
February 14, 2025— Lupa Media (@LupaMediaEC)
🤖 En la primera vuelta electoral, el 23% del contenido viral verificado… pic.twitter.com/H5JzsBw8pR
Peru
The Attorney General of this South American nation was harsh on the state of emergency declared in the regions of Lima and Callao, which seeks to put a stop to the worrying spread of violent criminal activity. The murder of a popular singer last Sunday during an armed attack against the bus of his musical group—as they were leaving a concert and heading to another venue—was the trigger for this measure of the disputed government of Dina Boluarte, which Attorney General Delia Espinoza calls a “partial solution”. The head of the Public Prosecutor's Office defends that “it is not enough just to send the Armed Forces to the streets of the cities if at the same time (...) police intelligence is not strengthened”. States of emergency as a means to combat crime have been widely criticized for the erosion of fundamental individual and social rights they entail, although, in contexts such as El Salvador, they have served their intended, primary purpose.
Soldiers were deployed to the streets of Lima, Peru, a day after the government declared a state of emergency in the capital to help quell a recent surge of violence https://t.co/xgUE9Ee6E4 pic.twitter.com/yvJpqgPAz1
March 18, 2025— Reuters (@Reuters)
Venezuela
The Bolivarian government has facilitated the return of more than 900 Venezuelan nationals who were in the United States and Mexico, after the landing of another repatriation flight—coming from Aztec territory—with 311 Venezuelan migrants. Maduro said recently that he wanted to promote the return of Venezuelans in the United States subject to deportation. I do not know if this is connected to but in any case it is in correspondence with the type of attitude that Washington is demanding from Caracas. The head of the Miraflores Palace had cut off collaboration with the White House in this matter apparently because of the rescission of the license granted to California-based Chevron to exploit and export Venezuelan oil—Chevron CEO was at a meeting of Trump with industry representatives this week—, and the threat that weighs on similar licenses granted to some European companies.
A blessed initiative so far 👇
Shell aims to bring gas from Venezuela to Trinidad in 2026, sources say https://t.co/zXXnP8kPbf
March 20, 2025— Reuters Energy and Commodities (@ReutersCommods)
In the case of the last flight, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said that it took place thanks to a direct agreement negotiated with Zócalo Square. The powerful Chavista leader affirmed that so far there is no evidence that any of the deportees, including those who passed through the U.S. naval base in Guantánamo, Cuba, belonged to the "Tren de Aragua" (TdA) gang. It appears that the administration is relying on everyday tattoos as a sort of conclusive signal to link a Venezuelan to the gang, whose level of operability and organization in the United States appears to be greatly exaggerated by the Trump administration. The disputed deportation of dozens of Venezuelan, allegedly TdA-members to El Salvador—through a $6 million deal with the Bukele—has opened up an intense judicial brouhaha pitting the Executive and the co-equal judiciary against each other.
Colombian-Venezuelan migrant held in El Salvador has no ties to feared gang, wife says https://t.co/1pUjgZH5WS
March 20, 2025— Reuters Venezuela (@ReutersVzla)
X Latam
The tariffs saga’s Brazilian version 👇.
Donald Trump’s tariffs risk stripping Brazil of a key market for ethanol abroad. But for Latin America’s biggest economy, they are the lesser of two evils, @dayannesousa @clacouto report https://t.co/rrjMOGfWTU
March 19, 2025— Stephen Wicary (@wicary)
This 👇 is getting harder and harder to explain.
At Mexico's 'ranch of horror' families of the missing hope for answers https://t.co/GnTXQpjZ32 pic.twitter.com/jbWifFq4gd
March 20, 2025— Reuters World (@ReutersWorld)
