Ecuador president faces rising protests
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuador faces intense unrest as striking bus drivers and farmers protest the government’s diesel price hike. The protests, led by the country’s largest Indigenous organization, have been ongoing for nearly three weeks. One protester has died, and over 100 people have been arrested. The unrest is most severe in the northern Imbabura province, where President Daniel Noboa won comfortably in April. The government eliminated a diesel subsidy, raising prices significantly. This move has hit the agricultural and transport sectors hard. Noboa’s administration has rejected dialogue, and tensions escalated when protesters attacked his motorcade.