More Venezuelan refugees headed to Ecuador, UN says; Saturday earthquake causes little damage; Ecuadorian murder suspect is arrested in the U.S.

The United Nations Office for Refugees (UNHCR) predicts “thousands more” Venezuelan refugees will arrive in Ecuador in the coming months. In a statement, UNHCR said that recent changes in immigration policy in the United States will increase the number of refugees in several Latin American countries, most notably Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

Refugees enter Ecuador at the Colombian border.

“Many of the new refugees will arrive in Ecuador by air from the U.S, as their protected status in that country ends,” the UNHCR said. “We have advised the government of the coming influx and the fact that the Venezuela diaspora in relocating.”

UNHCR added that some Venezuelans will continue to arrive by land as economic and political conditions in Venezuela deteriorate.

Ecuador currently hosts an estimated 450,000 Venezuelans, with Quito, Esmeraldas, Santo Domingo, Guayaquil and Cuenca having the largest concentrations.

Saturday earthquake causes little damage
A strong 5.6 magnitude earthquake in Naranjal on Saturday caused little damage, the government’s risk management office reports. The quake, which occurred at 2:18 p.m., was felt in most of southern Ecuador, including in Guayas, Cañar, Azuay and Loja Provinces.

“There was minor cracking of masonry walls near the epicenter but no significant damage,” risk management officials said.

Residents in high-rise buildings in Cuenca reported several seconds of moderate shaking, according to the Cuenca Fire Department, although most city residents felt experienced minor shaking.

Ecuadorian murder suspect arrested in the U.S.
U.S. Marshals arrested an Ecuadorian man in Connecticut Thursday on an Interpol murder warrant. Fifty-year-old Ricardo Cabrera was wanted for the 2011 stabbing death of a Loja woman.

According to U.S. authorities, Cabrera had been living for several years in Oxford, Connecticut under a false identity. He was initially detained as an unregistered alien before the murder warrant was discovered.

Following the murder, Ecuadorian authorities charged Cabrera with femicide. Interpol issued a Red Alert but until last week Cabrera’s whereabouts was unknown.

Cabrera will remain in U.S. Immigration custody pending an extradition hearing.