Former Brazilian president Bolsonaro gets 27 years for coup attempt
The nation's Supreme Court voted to convict former Bolsonaro earlier on Thursday.
Three members of the court's five-judge panel on Thursday voted to convict Bolsonaro, 70, on all five counts related to the coup attempt, CNN reported.
Justice Carmen Lucia Antunes Rocha delivered the deciding vote on Thursday and accused Bolsonaro of trying to "sow the malignant seed of anti-democracy," according to The Guardian.
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Justices Alexandre de Moraes and Flavio Dino on Tuesday also voted to convict the former president.
Justice Luiz Fux on Wednesday voted against the conviction and said there is "absolutely no proof" of Bolsonaro's guilt.
Prosecutors charged Bolsonaro with plotting a coup, participating in an armed criminal organization, trying to end Brazil's democracy by force, violent acts against the state and damaging public property.
Prosecutors also accused Bolsonaro of plotting the potential use of explosives, poison or weapons of war to assassinate Lula da Silva.
The charges arose from Bolsonaro's supporters storming government buildings on Jan. 8, 2023, and carry a potential sentence of up to 43 years in prison.
The court is scheduled to sentence Bolsonaro on Friday after receiving the case's final vote from Justice Cristiano Zanin.
The Brazilian Congress might approve an amnesty bill that would negate the conviction and enable Bolsonaro to run for president in 2026.
Bolsonaro is a former Brazilian military paratrooper and won election as the nation's president in 2018.
Prosecutors said he began plotting against the Brazilian government in July 2021, which culminated in his supporters overrunning the nation's Supreme Court, Congress and presidential palace on Jan.8, 2023.
Peru may declare Mexican President Sheinbaum
'persona non grata'
Sept. 10 (UPI) -- Peru's congressional Foreign Relations Committee approved a proposal to declare Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum "persona non grata" over her public statements defending former President Pedro Castillo, who is accused of attempting a self-coup in 2022.
The measure was passed by the committee on Monday with 12 votes in favor and six against. It will now go before the full Congress, which must decide whether to ratify or reject the declaration.
Lawmakers who supported the proposal said Sheinbaum has shown a hostile attitude toward Peru since taking office in October, citing her refusal to recognize the constitutional succession after Castillo's removal and her description of him as the "legitimate president of Peru."
"This motion punishes Claudia Sheinbaum for her bombastic and offensive statements against Peru, its constitutionality and respect for institutions," said Ernesto Bustamante, vice president of the Foreign Relations Committee.
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Congresswoman Maricarmen Alva said the measure is not directed at the Mexican people, but is meant to defend Peru's sovereignty.
"Peru demands respect for its sovereignty and its institutions. We cannot allow an attempted coup to be downplayed or our democracy distorted," Alva said.
During her morning press conference Tuesday, Sheinbaum responded to the motion approved in Peru's Congress.
"It doesn't matter, we will maintain our position," Sheinbaum said.
On Aug. 29, Sheinbaum wrote on her X account, "I welcomed Guido Croxatto, attorney for President Pedro Castillo, who is unjustly imprisoned in Peru, at the National Palace. On behalf of Mexico, I express my deepest solidarity with him and his family, because we know his situation is not only a personal case but a serious precedent of political persecution and discrimination in our region."
She added: "The United Nations must act decisively to guarantee respect for human rights and justice. The freedom of Pedro Castillo is also the defense of democracy and the dignity of our peoples."
Castillo, who is on trial for his failed attempt to dissolve Congress, remains in Barbadillo prison on charges that could bring a sentence of up to 34 years.
Castillo was impeached for dissolving parliament and ruling by decree.
Number of minors killed in Ecuador rises
Sept. 10 (UPI) -- Between January and June 2025, Ecuador's Interior Ministry recorded 294 killings of minors, compared with 196 in the first half of 2024. The 50% increase reflects a rapid deterioration in public security, especially in coastal cities such as Guayaquil, Durán, Manta and Machala, where criminal gangs are fighting territorial battles that expose minors to shootouts and extreme violence.
Of the victims, 80% were teenagers between 15 and 17 (237 cases), a group highly vulnerable to forced gang recruitment and hired killings. Six children between ages 5 and 9 and 16 children under 4 were also among those killed, several struck by gunfire during clashes in public areas.
On Sept. 4, during an official visit to Quito, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed Ecuador's security crisis.
"Our commitment is to help this friendly government confront a threat that often comes from abroad, starting with drug cartels and groups that profit from illegal mining. We will do everything possible to help. Today we are declaring Los Lobos and Los Choneros as terrorist organizations," Rubio said.
The designation allows authorities to block the groups' financial assets, expedite extradition proceedings and share intelligence activities with Ecuadorian officials. Additionally, the United States has released $20 million to combat organized crime in Ecuador, including $6 million for the purchase of drones.
On his X account, President Daniel Noboa wrote, "Los Choneros and Los Lobos may keep believing no one can touch them. But the reality is different: they have been declared terrorist groups by the United States. With its support, we will remain firm in our fight to take back our country."
Noboa's handling of the crisis of child killings has drawn controversy and criticism for what many see as a failure to grasp the severity of the problem. The most notable case was his response to the murder of four children in December 2024, when he waited 14 days before making a public statement.
The current crisis has its roots in the declaration of an "internal armed conflict" that Noboa announced on Jan. 9, 2024, after a surge in violence that included the escape of criminal leader José Adolfo Macías, prison riots and the live takeover of a television station. At that time, the president identified 22 groups as terrorist organizations, a list that later expanded to 37.
Ecuador closed the first half of 2025 with 4,619 homicides, the highest number in its history and a 47% increase compared with the same period in 2024. That amounts to an average of 25.5 killings a day -- more than one every hour.
One of the most troubling aspects of the crisis is the forced recruitment of minors by criminal groups. Between January and June 2025, between 1,200 and 1,300 minors were detained for links to organized crime. The previous year, between January and October, 3,086 children had been detained.
To address the issue, Noboa ordered the creation of a committee to "eradicate the recruitment of children into organized crime," made up of representatives from 17 national government agencies.
Gloria Requena, an expert on international security, said, "These children and teenagers do not join these groups for economic gain but because they are looking for belonging. Their recruitment stems from state neglect -- growing up in impoverished neighborhoods without basic services, they become easy victims for these gangs."
So far, Noboa's government has responded mainly with security measures and militarization. In July 2025, he reaffirmed the state of internal armed conflict, which allows the continued deployment of soldiers and police authorized to use lethal force against organized armed groups.
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