In San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico, spotting five naked and tortured bodies scattered in public areas is not a common sight. Authorities were investigating the murders associated with this unusual discovery on Wednesday, linking them to drug trafficking. Three bodies were found near a church in eastern San Juan, while the other victims—one of them 18 years old—appeared in Santurce, a neighborhood popularized in songs by urban artists. According to police, all the bodies showed the same wounds and markings. “It’s probably related to drug trafficking, but we’re not going to dismiss other angles,” Police Superintendent Joseph González told a local newspaper in the U.S. territory. Perhaps Trump has something to address here.
Washington vs. Caracas
This Wednesday there was activity in the U.S. Senate regarding the deployment of American forces off the Venezuelan coast, which has already resulted in four deadly attacks on vessels departing from the Paria Peninsula—allegedly linked to the infamous gang known as Tren de Aragua, named after its Venezuelan state of origin. The Senate is debating a draft resolution—with little chance of passing—that would place in the legislature the final authorization to carry out further military strikes against the cartels.
So far, the Executive Branch has provided very little evidence linking the conducted attacks—and their victims—to specific routes, schemes, or drug trafficking structures. We don't have context about how representative these actions are in terms of degrading the logistical capacities of the alleged criminal networks operating from Venezuela. The situation has significantly heightened tensions between the United States and Venezuela, which have been complicated for the past two decades.
“These drug trafficking organizations are a direct threat to the safety and security of the United States to unleash violence and criminality on our streets, fueled by the drugs and the drug profits that they make,” the head of Foggy Bottom said today at the Capitol. “And the president is the commander in chief, has an obligation to keep our country safe.”
Regional news brief
According to a recent UNICEF report, the number of children displaced by Haiti’s bloody and protracted conflict has risen to 680,000, warning that they are facing increasing levels of famine and recruitment attempts by gangs. Around 3.3 million children are in need of humanitarian assistance—a figure more than double the total general population affected by this condition. “Without decisive action, the future of an entire generation is at stake,” the report, cited by AP, stated.
Five people were arrested for allegedly being linked to the attack on the presidential motorcade yesterday in Ecuador, amid tremendous tension triggered by the country’s strong and representative Indigenous community over the rise in diesel prices. The latter resulted from the elimination of an old subsidy—reportedly demanded by the IMF as a condition for further financial assistance to the South American nation. “The level of aggression with which they attacked the caravan shows that this was a clear assassination attempt and an act of terrorism against the (president),” said the Defense Minister. The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador acknowledged the events, blaming the Carondelet leadership for entering an area where they knew tempers were running high. A state of emergency has been declared since Sunday for the ten provinces most affected by the Indigenous protests.
Ecuadorian president Daniel Noboa’s motorcade was attacked by hundreds of people throwing rocks while he was en route to inaugurate a water treatment plant. Citizens are unhappy about the soaring cost of fuel. pic.twitter.com/gLRrURVPga
— DW News (@dwnews) October 8, 2025
This is all for today’s report.
