
Ecuador gangs turn to "death saint" for protection — and human sacrifices
"They stole children from other towns and sacrificed them in front of her (Santa Muerte) when they wanted to land a big hit," a former gang member said.
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"They stole children from other towns and sacrificed them in front of her (Santa Muerte) when they wanted to land a big hit," a former gang member said.
The young woman is believed to have been part of the Manteño people, who lived along the Ecuadorian coast and survived by agriculture and seafaring.
Carlos D was the second-in-command of Los Lobos (The Wolves) and "considered a high-value target," the armed forces said in a statement.
At the direction of President Trump, about 1,500 troops are being deployed to the southern border with increased operations to block illegal immigrant crossings set to start in the coming days. Meanwhile, his administration is closing immigration offices former President Joe Biden opened in Latin America. CBS News immigration and politics reporter Camilo Montoya-Galvez has more.
Saul Arboleda, Steven Medina, and brothers Josue and Ismael Arroyo were playing soccer in Guayaquil on Dec. 8 when they went missing.
Peru closed 91 of its 121 ports until Jan. 1, authorities said.
Soccer player Pedro Perlaza was freed along with another person, authorities said. "They've been badly treated, but they're alive," police said.
Marco Angulo died from injuries sustained in a car crash that also killed his former youth team teammate Roberto Cabezas, officials said.
A drought has dried up Ecuador's hydroelectric power capacity, prompting four consecutive overnight blackouts to conserve energy.
Maria Daniela Icaza's death comes just days after the head of another prison was killed in Ecuador.
The discovery of $224 million of cocaine marked yet another major seizure of the drugs concealed alongside the tropical fruit.
A failure in an energy transmission line produced a blackout throughout Ecuador, the government reported, days after announcing that there would be outages due to production problems.
Ecuador is suspending a visa exemption with China after authorities noted many Chinese visitors to the South American country aren't leaving the way the law requires them to.
The U.S. has sanctioned Los Lobos, an Ecuadorian crime gang that officials say is behind much of the violence shaking the country.
The Biden administration is planning to resettle some migrants from four Latin American countries in Italy and Greece, CBS News' Camilo Montoya-Galvez has learned. The plan is meant to curtail illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Venezuela is the latest country to cut diplomatic ties with Ecuador over a raid on Mexico's Embassy in early April. Ryan Dubé, a reporter at The Wall Street Journal covering politics and economics in Latin America, joins CBS News to discuss how the raid impacts diplomacy in the region.
Police broke into the Mexican Embassy to arrest a former vice president who had sought political asylum there after being indicted on corruption charges.
Attackers stormed a hotel and kidnapped six adults and a child, police said.
Brigitte Garcia, the 27-year-old mayor of coastal San Vicente, was found dead along with the municipality's communications director, Jairo Loor.
Experts say climate change will drive up the price of bananas, but consumers should already be paying more.
The extradition hearing for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange concluded Wednesday in the United Kingdom. Assange faces 18 espionage charges in the U.S. CBS News foreign correspondent Imtiaz Tyab breaks down the case.
Carlos Arturo Landazuri Cortes, a "high-value target," was captured after months of intelligence work, Ecuador's police chief said.
Cesar Suarez was investigating the dramatic live-broadcast armed assault last week on an Ecuadoran television station.
The intruders usually act under the cover of darkness, sometimes with the complicity of the crew, according to Ecuador's coast guard.
Authorities in Ecuador say 8 "terrorists" killed, 27 escapees captured after "war" with drug gangs erupts in deadly mayhem at nation's prisons.
President Trump said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and directed his national security team to lead negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
This is Bondi's first major announcement as attorney general.
The deal will see Alexander Vinnik returned to Russia in a swap for American teacher Marc Fogel.
President Trump is changing the composition of the Kennedy Center's board — and wants to change the types of performances the center shows.
Scarlett Johansson, one of the celebrities depicted in the AI-generated video, has spoken out against the "misuse of AI."
While the Trump administration has highlighted transfers of dangerous criminals to Guantanamo Bay, it is also sending nonviolent, "low-risk" migrants.
House Republicans released a budget resolution on Wednesday, laying a foundation for approving President Trump's agenda.
Although President Trump can't overturn the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, experts say he can change how it is enforced.
The two Navy pilots ejected from the plane, which crashed in the San Diego Harbor shortly after 10 a.m. local time.
This is Bondi's first major announcement as attorney general.
Steven Willard Anderson, 46, who went missing in 2004 has been found inside a submerged car in a Utah reservoir.
Although President Trump can't overturn the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, experts say he can change how it is enforced.
Scarlett Johansson, one of the celebrities depicted in the AI-generated video, has spoken out against the "misuse of AI."
The two Navy pilots ejected from the plane, which crashed in the San Diego Harbor shortly after 10 a.m. local time.
Although President Trump can't overturn the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, experts say he can change how it is enforced.
President Trump and other critics of the agency say it needs to be shut down. Supporters of the agency point to its record of protecting consumers.
The Federal Reserve's progress on taming inflation has stalled out. That could mean fewer rate cuts in 2025.
Tesla has sued its own customers and journalists in China for defamation – and won just about every time. Elon Musk's company has pioneered an aggressive legal strategy there.
A new lawsuit filed by Missouri's attorney general alleges that Starbucks is unlawfully relying on "race-and-sex-based hiring practices."
This is Bondi's first major announcement as attorney general.
Although President Trump can't overturn the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, experts say he can change how it is enforced.
A group of advocates filed a lawsuit asking a federal court to require the Trump administration to give migrant detainees at Guantanamo Bay access to lawyers.
The deal will see Alexander Vinnik returned to Russia in a swap for American teacher Marc Fogel.
President Trump is changing the composition of the Kennedy Center's board — and wants to change the types of performances the center shows.
As Gaines County, Texas, deals with a measles outbreak, experts are reminding Americans that outbreaks like these can be avoided with available safe and effective vaccines.
Pain MD, which once ran as many as 20 clinics across three states, gave chronic-pain patients about 700,000 total injections near their spines, according to court documents. Last year, federal prosecutors proved at trial that the shots were medically unnecessary and part of an extensive fraud scheme.
Influenza trends have reached record highs in recent weeks.
The NGO Doctors for America argued that HHS, CDC and FDA violated federal law in removing medical information from public-facing websites.
Certain tuna products may have defective lids that could lead to "a potentially fatal form of food poisoning," FDA notice states.
It took forensics police almost a week to extract all the packages stashed inside the crusher's three rollers, officials said.
Adam Boehler, the U.S. envoy for hostages, disclosed the release Wednesday.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the U.S. will no longer be the "primary guarantor of security in Europe," which he said must step up to secure Ukraine.
President Trump said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and directed his national security team to lead negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
Australian authorities say they're investigating two nurses who appear to tell an Israeli influencer in a video posted online that they would kill Israeli patients.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Wednesday unveiled their 2025 nominees for induction, which include Chubby Checker, OutKast and Mariah Carey.
Actor Lucy Boynton talks about the true crime miniseries that she stars in, "A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story." The drama series is about Ruth Ellis, a nightclub manager in 1950s Britain. Ellis is convicted of shooting and killing her abusive boyfriend. As part of her sentence, she became the last woman to receive the death penalty in the U.K.
After decades in the industry, actress Demi Moore is now a first-time Oscar nominee for her role in the horror film, "The Substance." She spoke to CBS News' Natalie Morales about her 40-plus year career and what this moment means for her.
Among the Westminster Dog Show finalists were a bichon frisé, a shih tzu, a whippet, a German shepherd, an English springer spaniel, a giant schnauzer and a Skye terrier.
Former Beatle and music legend Paul McCartney took the stage at New York City's Bowery Ballroom for a surprise show Tuesday evening.
During this week's artificial intelligence summit in Paris, arguments were made that advanced AI is critical in the world's current threat landscape. Many militaries are exploring how advanced AI technology can be integrated into weapons systems, including nuclear missiles. CBS News' Errol Barnett has more.
This week's Paris summit on artificial intelligence ended with the United States and the United Kingdom refusing to sign on to a declaration that calls on the development of AI to be inclusive and sustainable. CBS News White House reporter Olivia Rinaldi has more.
From labor shortages to environmental impacts, farmers are looking to AI to help revolutionize the agriculture industry. One California startup, Farm-ng, is tapping into the power of AI and robotics to perform a wide range of tasks, including seeding, weeding and harvesting.
Vice President JD Vance warned foreign leaders on Tuesday against placing excessive regulations on artificial intelligence in Paris. He highlighted U.S. advancements in AI and vowed to safeguard the technology from people trying to weaponize it. CBS News White House reporter Olivia Rinaldi has the details.
Also omitted is Indigenous Peoples Month, Hispanic Heritage Month and Holocaust Remembrance Day, according to social media users and product experts.
The clouds contain carbon dioxide and only form high in Mars' atmosphere.
By switching the next space station crew to a different ferry ship, the Starliner astronauts will get home a bit earlier than planned.
Endangered Mexican long-nosed bats are now being tracked via "eDNA" using their saliva.
Methane is one of the climate-damaging gases emitted by industry, but a British firm has found a way to give it a major makeover.
The world set yet another monthly heat record in January, despite an abnormally chilly U.S., a cooling La Nina and predictions of a slightly less hot 2025, the European climate service Copernicus says.
It took forensics police almost a week to extract all the packages stashed inside the crusher's three rollers, officials said.
Florida investigators teamed up with a forensic genetic genealogy company to make a DNA profile that led to the identification.
The two latest cases include the alleged killing of a 25-year-old woman in her apartment in 2021 and the alleged murder of a 57-year-old woman in 2024.
The charges are one of several recent moves against international ransomware groups.
Warrants were issued against a total of 183 people, 36 of whom were already in custody, for crimes including attempted murder, extortion and drug trafficking, police said.
The clouds contain carbon dioxide and only form high in Mars' atmosphere.
By switching the next space station crew to a different ferry ship, the Starliner astronauts will get home a bit earlier than planned.
Get ready for the Snow Moon, February's full moon, which is set to peak on Wednesday morning.
Astronomers will use the Webb telescope to closely monitor the size and trajectory of an asteroid that has a slim chance of hitting Earth in 2032.
Starliner astronaut Sunita Williams says she and crewmate Butch Wilmore have not been "abandoned" in space, as NASA considers plans to speed their return.
A look back at the esteemed personalities who've left us this year, who'd touched us with their innovation, creativity and humanity.
Peterson's death sentence for the murder of his pregnant wife Laci has been overturned. Now his supporters are pushing for a complete retrial.
The seesaw marriage between the former ballerina and her much older husband only lasted four years, until she shot him on Sept. 27, 2020.
Cayley Mandadi's mother and stepfather go to extreme lengths to prove her death was no accident.
See some of convicted serial killer Rodney Alcala's photographs that were discovered by detectives in a Seattle storage locker.
President Trump is pausing a federal law that criminalized foreign bribery practices among U.S. citizens and businesses. CBS News contributor Sam Vinograd has more.
Snow storms are sweeping through parts of the U.S. CBS News Colorado's Brian Sherrod reports from Denver, and meteorologist Grant Gilmore has the latest weather forecast.
"Low-risk" migrant detainees who lack serious criminal records or any at all are being sent to Guantanamo Bay as part of President Trump's deportation program, according to U.S. officials and internal documents. This comes after Mr. Trump said the military facility would house the "worst" migrants. CBS News' Camilo Montoya-Galvez reports.
President Trump says he spoke to Russia's Vladimir Putin and directed members of his national security team to "immediately" begin efforts to end the war with Ukraine. CBS News' Aaron Navarro reports.
President Trump held a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin as his administration brokers deals to procure detained Americans. This comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivers news on Ukraine's future with NATO. Charles Kupchan, a professor of international affairs at Georgetown University, joins CBS News with more.