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Authorities found a former Ecuadorean vice president, Jorge Glas, in a “deep self-induced coma” in jail on Monday, just days after he was captured by the police in a dramatic arrest inside the Mexican embassy in Quito. Mr. Glas ingested anti-depressants and sedatives, according to a police report, and was being transferred to a military hospital for observation. The former vice president faces a charge of embezzlement in Ecuador, and he had sought refuge in the Mexican embassy in an attempt to avoid arrest. He became the subject of a diplomatic scuffle last week when police in Quito entered the embassy and successfully captured him, eventually transferring him to a detention center in the large port city of Guayaquil. A 1961 diplomatic treaty says that governments cannot enter foreign embassies without permission from the embassy’s host country, establishing a line that has been crossed only on rare occasions.

Persons: Jorge Glas, Glas Locations: Mexican, Quito, Ecuador, Guayaquil

When the Venezuelan government released five political prisoners late Wednesday to cheers from the country’s opposition, it was the most emotional in a rapid series of policy shifts in the South American country that together represent the most significant softening of relations between Venezuela and the United States in years. In a matter of days, Venezuela’s authoritarian government has agreed to accept Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States and signed an agreement with opposition leaders designed to move toward a free and fair presidential election in 2024. In exchange, the United States has agreed to lift some economic sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry, a vital source of income for the government of President Nicolás Maduro. The developments come just days before more than one million Venezuelans are expected to head to the polls for a primary election to choose the opposition leader who will face Mr. Maduro next year.

Persons: Nicolás Maduro, Maduro Locations: Venezuelan, American, Venezuela, United States

Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have arrived at the United States border in the last two years, part of a historic wave of migrants headed north amid growing global crises. But Venezuela has been in the midst of an economic and humanitarian crisis for roughly a decade. Why are so many people going to the United States now? Over the last year, we’ve interviewed hundreds of Venezuelans headed to the United States. At the same time, social media has popularized the route to the United States, while a thriving people-moving business near the start of the journey has accelerated the pace of migration — even as a United Nations tally shows a record number of people dying on their way north.

Persons: we’ve Organizations: United Nations Locations: United States, Venezuela, Latin America

Every step through the jungle, there is money to be made. A guide on the treacherous route once you start walking: $170. A porter to carry your backpack over the muddy mountains: $100. Special, all-inclusive packages to make the perilous slog faster and more bearable, with tents, boots and other necessities: $500, or more. They are politicians, prominent businessmen and elected leaders, now sending thousands of migrants toward the United States in plain sight each day — and charging millions of dollars a month for the privilege.

Persons: Biden Organizations: Colombian Locations: United States, South America

The 12 shots fired on Wednesday evening, killing an Ecuadorean presidential candidate as he exited a campaign event, marked a dramatic turning point for a nation that a few years ago seemed an island of security in a violent region. A video of the moments just before the killing of the candidate, Fernando Villavicencio, began circulating online even before his death had been confirmed. And for many Ecuadoreans, those shots echoed with a bleak message: Their nation was forever changed. “I feel that it represents a total loss of control for the government,” said Ingrid Ríos, a political scientist in the city of Guayaquil, “and for the citizens, as well.”Ecuador, a country of 18 million on South America’s western coast, has survived authoritarian governments, financial crises, mass protests and at least one presidential kidnapping. It has never, however, been shaken by the kind of drug-related warfare that has plagued neighboring Colombia, unleashing violence that has killed thousands, corroded democracy and turned citizens against one another.

Persons: Fernando Villavicencio, ”, Ingrid Ríos Locations: Guayaquil, “, Ecuador, South, Colombia

A presidential candidate in Ecuador who had been outspoken about the link between organized crime and government officials was assassinated on Wednesday evening at a political rally in the capital, just days before an election that was expected to be dominated by concerns over drug-related violence. The candidate, Fernando Villavicencio, a former journalist, was gunned down outside a high school in Quito after speaking to young supporters. “When he stepped outside the door, he was met with gunfire,” said Carlos Figueroa, who worked for Mr. Villavicencio’s campaign and was at the rally. “There was nothing to be done, because they were shots to the head.”Mr. Villavicencio, 59, was polling near the middle of an eight-person race. He was among the most vocal candidates on the issue of crime and state corruption.

Persons: Fernando Villavicencio, “, ”, Carlos Figueroa, ” Mr, Villavicencio Organizations: Mr Locations: Ecuador, Quito

Before the president’s asylum changes took effect on May 11, border patrol officials were encountering about 7,500 migrants trying to cross the border illegally each day — record-breaking numbers that were putting severe strains on the immigration officials and border communities. Since then, the numbers have declined to about 3,000 migrants each day. That is still historically high, but dramatically lower. On Tuesday, a federal judge ruled that Mr. Biden’s changes to the asylum system were illegal. Here is a look at the various forces at play when it comes to migration at the southern border.

Persons: Jon S, “ Organizations: U.S, ” Locations: Northern California, Central, South America, United States

A total of 210 tons of drugs seized in a single year, a record. And all this chaos financed by powerful outsiders with deep pockets and lots of experience in the global drug business. Ecuador, on South America’s western edge, has in just a few years become the drug trade’s gold rush state, with major cartels from as far as Mexico and Albania joining forces with prison and street gangs, unleashing a wave of violence unlike anything in the country’s recent history. Fueling this turmoil is the world’s growing demand for cocaine. “People consume abroad,” said Maj. Edison Núñez, an intelligence official with the Ecuadorean national police, “but they don’t understand the consequences that take place here.”

Persons: ”, Edison Núñez Organizations: Prisons Locations: Ecuador, South, Mexico, Albania

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