Brazil Arrests Spaniard Suspected of Leading International Prostitution Ring. [The Associated Press] Brazilian police arrested a Spanish man suspected of being a leader of an international human trafficking ring that recruited women to work as prostitutes in Spain, officials said. Acting on an anonymous tip, federal police arrested Aquilino Gonzalez Iglesias in the central city of Goiania, 750 kilometers (465 miles) north of Sao Paulo, said a federal police spokesman who declined to be quoted by name in accordance with department policy. "This is the second time we arrested (the suspect) on the same charges in less than six months," he said. "He was arrested last September in Sao Paulo on human trafficking charges but a court allowed him to await trial in freedom." The spokesman said Gonzalez was detained in a shopping mall in the company of three young women for whom he was buying lingerie.

Ecuador's Defense Minister Dies in Helicopter Crash. [VivirLatino] Ecuador’s Defense Minister, Guadalupe Larriva, died in a helicopter crash in the port city of Manta, some 150 miles southeast of Quito. Larriva, 50, along with her 17-year-old daughter, Claudia Avila, and two pilots were killed when two helicopters collided midair. President Rafael Correa briefly addressed the press, by saying: "This is a major tragedy. We ask everyone to join us in prayer for the souls of Guadalupe, her daughter, the pilots and the government of Ecuador." Larriva was the first appointed female defense minister ever in Ecuador, and she had only been on the job for nine days. Regardless of political views and opinions, this is a truly sad event for Ecuadorians and all Latinos alike.

Ecuador Army Chief Sacked Over Errors Leading to Defense Minister’s Death. [People's Daily Online, China] Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa sacked armed forces chief Gen. Pedro Machado, citing security errors which led to a helicopter crash that killed the defense minister and six others in January. "General Machado has been removed from his post, not so much due to the accident in itself, nor due to speculation over a possible murder, but because of the administrative and security decisions he made ahead of the flight," said Ricardo Patino, acting defense minister. Machado, who only took office on Jan. 14, will be replaced by Guillermo Vasconez, head of the joint chiefs of staff. The fatal flight on Jan. 24 killed Defense Minister Guadalupe Larriva just nine days after she was appointed. Larriva, 50, had been Ecuador's first woman defense minister. Her teenage daughter and five soldiers also died in the accident, when two helicopters crashed close to the Portoviejo Army Base, in southeast Ecuador, as they returned from a night shooting exercise.

Guatemalan Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Rigoberta Menchu Weighs Run for Presidency. [North County Times] Rigoberta Menchu, who won the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize, said some political leaders are urging her to run in Guatemala's September presidential elections, but she said she would have to weigh the possibility. If elected, Menchu would become the second Nobel laureate serving as president in Central America. Oscar Arias, who won the Nobel Peace Price in 1997 for helping broker an end to Central America's civil wars, took office as Costa Rica's president in May. "I owe my loyalty to a series of Mayan leaders, and we would have to see what these parties have in store for Mayan people," Menchu said, referring to political parties that have reportedly offered to back a potential presidential bid.

Uruguayan Sisters, Both Models, Die Six Months Apart. [The Associated Press] Two sisters, both models, have died of apparent heart attacks within months of each other — a family tragedy that came as the fashion world debates how to protect the health of painfully thin runway models. Eliana Ramos, 18, was buried by weeping relatives and friends, a day after she was found dead at her grandparents' home in the Uruguayan capital. Her sister Luisel, 22, died shortly after stepping off a runway last Aug. 2 during a fashion show in Montevideo. While no medical report was immediately released, Judge Roberto Timbal told the online news outlet Observa that Eliana died of a heart attack. An autopsy on her sister found she too had died of a heart attack. Timbal told Observa that "nothing out of the ordinary" appeared to be involved in the latest death, but that autopsy results would be issued in a month. Fellow models said neither sister suffered from an eating disorder. But the deaths drew widespread media attention in Latin America, where the fashion industry's treatment of young women has been much debated since anorexia was blamed for the deaths of 21-year-old model Ana Carolina Reston and three other Brazilian women in December.