“This is a war. We will treat it as a war, and first thing that we want is the war to end. We want peace. We want a better life for our people, especially for our youth.”

Caitriona Perry speaks to Ecuador President Daniel Noboa about his hard-line military crackdown on violent criminal gangs, which has involved measures that human rights groups warn could pose a risk to civil liberties.

President Noboa, who is one of the world’s youngest leaders, has warned about the levels of crime faced in Ecuador. He claims that due to its location between Colombia and Peru, the world's two largest producers of cocaine, it has become a major location for drug-trafficking gangs.

He talks about the attempts that have been made on his life, and the threats his family have faced. He calls on the cooperation from other countries to help fight international crime organisations. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Volodymyr Zelensky, Azar Nafisi and Julia Gillard. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Caitriona Perry Producer: Ellyn Duncan, Chloe Ross and Cordelia Hemming Editor: Farhana Haider

Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Daniel Noboa. Credit: Getty)

James Menendez speaks to Leopoldo Lopez, once the most prominent face of Venezuela’s opposition, he is now living in exile in Spain. He spent more than a decade attempting to unseat Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian government and was imprisoned for over three years, accused of inciting the 2014 anti-government protests. Following the capture and arrest of Maduro by US forces in January, the country has entered a new and uncertain phase, with Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez now acting as interim leader. Leopoldo Lopez talks to us about the prospect of elections in Venezuela and the personal cost of standing up for political change. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel prize winner Maria Corina Machado, director Chloe Zhao and musical icon Ringo Starr. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: James Menendez Producer: Farhana Haider

Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Leopoldo Lopez. Credit: Reuters)

“Russians collected all Kenyans and did everything for them to go to the front line, to go to the death zone.”

Waihiga Mwaura speaks to Yurii Tokar the Ukraine ambassador to Kenya. The Ukrainian claims Russia deliberately deployed many conscripted Kenyans to the front line of the Russia-Ukraine war shortly before the Kenyan foreign minister arrived in Moscow with the intention of stopping recruitment of his countrymen.

The Russian embassy in Kenya did not immediately respond to the BBC's request for comment. It has previously denied any Government involvement in the illegal recruitment of Kenyan citizens. A representative of Kenya's Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the BBC that "the government is not aware of such allegations and treats them as possible rumours and propaganda.”

Thank you to the Focus on Africa team for its help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with John Healey, Nadia Calviño and Volodymyr Zelensky. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Waihiga Mwaura Producer: Cordelia Hemming Editor: Damon Rose

Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Yurii Tokar. Credit: Getty Images)