Leon Febres Cordero, 77, the colorful, right-wing president who dominated Ecuadorean politics for decades and was dubbed the “owner” of the nation by his opponents, died Monday.
Close friend and political confidant Alfonso Harb said Febres Cordero — who survived five heart-bypass operations, two bouts with cancer and three bullet wounds — died of complications from pulmonary emphysema caused by a lifetime of chain smoking.
The U.S.-educated mechanical engineer was the indisputable leader of Ecuador’s right for half a century and was one of only three presidents in the past 27 years to finish their terms in this politically unstable Andean nation.
“He’s the last caudillo (political strongman). There won’t be any more like him,” his former vice president, Blasco Penaherrera, once said.
Born in the Pacific port city of Guayaquil, Febres Cordero was president from 1984 to 1988 under the banner of the conservative Social Christian party. After leaving the presidency, he dominated Ecuador’s Congress and courts until his failing health forced his withdrawal from politics in 2002.
Robin Toner, 54, a New York Times reporter who became the newspaper’s first female national political correspondent, has died.
Toner died Friday at her home in Washington from complications of colon cancer, The Times said.
In her 25-year Times career, Toner covered five presidential elections and countless congressional and gubernatorial campaigns. She was known for her meticulous reporting and relentless fact-checking. Out of more than 1,900 articles with her byline, Toner had only six published corrections. The Associated Press
