Monday, April 14

Ecuador has re-elected their current president, hoping to change the current situation as rampant drug violence rages across the South American country.

President Daniel Noboa succeeded in getting a majority of the votes in the election, beating several of his opponents. Noboa, backed by the National Democratic Action party, was a right-wing candidate who placed heavy emphasis on fighting crime in the streets.

Back in 2023, during a snap election, he edged out the left-wing Luisa González, who comes from the Citizen Revolution Movement party. Noboa gained just over half of the vote, giving him the majority. However, due to the fact that it was a snap election, he was only president for one year, as the term of the previous president needed to be completed.

Now, in the 2025 election, Noboa's biggest opponent was González once again, but he defeated her by over one million votes. Despite this, González has demanded a recount, as she refuses to believe that the public would choose Noboa over her.

Unfortunately, Noboa has a tough situation to fix. Ecuador is struggling with street violence, with over 1,000 murders in the first three months of 2025 alone. Drugs are also constantly circulating throughout towns and cities, increasing issues. Drug traffickers and cartels cause conflicts across the country as they search for routes to bring their goods to the United States, killing scores of people along the way.

Since he was elected, he has begun construction on a maximum security prison to hold these criminals, and he has deployed troops all over Ecuador to combat the violence. Noboa has confirmed that he will continue to take measures like these to mend the country's current situation, but it will take time.

Upcoming Events:

• World Chagas Disease Day (Monday, April 14)

• Vaisakhi (Monday, April 14)

• World Snooker Championship Begins (Saturday, April 19)

• Chinese Language Day (Sunday, April 20)

• Easter (Sunday, April 20)

• Passover Ends (Sunday, April 20)

• Ridván Begins (Sunday, April 20)

Fact of the Day (Today): The script for "The Terminator," created by James Cameron, was sold to producer Gale Anne Hurd for just $1.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more.

(Jonas Salk)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Reminisce (verb, rem-uh-NISS) - To reminisce is to talk, think, or write about things that happened in the past.

In a Sentence: After the official reunion dinner, the old friends gathered at a pub to reminisce about their high school days, now long past.