Archaeology Roads, farming threaten Ecuador 'lost city' complex 14-02-2024 06:37 The remains of a massive 2,500-year-old network of Ecuadorean cities are being threatened by road and farm encroachment just as its long-held secrets are being revealed.
Ecuador drug war Ecuador nabs wanted narco-trafficker, president says crackdown bearing fruit 23-01-2024 15:37 Carlos Arturo Landazuri Cortes, nickname 'El Gringo,' was arrested on Monday; Accused is the alleged leader of a drug-dealing dissident group and suspected of involvement in the kidnapping and murder of three Ecuadorean journalists in 2018.
Drug war crisis Relatives of Ecuador drug boss 'Fito' arrested and deported from Argentina 19-01-2024 12:40 Security forces arrest and detain relatives of fugitive drug-boss Jose Adolfo Macías, alias 'Fito,' in Córdoba; Wife and children deported in early hours of Friday morning.
Ecuador drug war Soldiers enter key Ecuador prison as 'war' on narcos deepens 18-01-2024 14:08 Hundreds of soldiers enter a prison in a Guayaquil as part of crackdown on drug bosses, day after high-profile assassination of prosecutor investigating last week's attack on public TV station.
Narco-violence terrorises Ecuador Ecuador’s ‘armed conflict’ against drug cartels explodes into violence 11-01-2024 16:50 Tanks and soldiers patrol the streets of Ecuador as third day of terror continues; Cartels have ‘declared war’ against President Daniel Noboa and the national government.
NARCO-VIOLENCE IN ECUADOR Ecuador's 'armed conflict' with drug gangs – what we know 10-01-2024 18:21 What you need to know about the unfolding crisis in troubled Ecuador.
ARMED ATTACK Gunmen burst into Ecuador television studio live on air 09-01-2024 17:15 Armed men wearing balaclavas burst into studio of public television station in Ecuador's drug violence-torn port city of Guayaquil, taking hostage several journalists and staff members.
Profile: Ecuador's next president Daniel Noboa, banana empire heir to Ecuador's youngest president 16-10-2023 10:18 Voted in as Ecuador's youngest-ever president-elect, Daniel Noboa vowed Sunday after his election win to work to "restore peace" to the country in the grips of a bloody drug gang war.
Election in Ecuador Daniel Noboa, Ecuador's youngest-ever president, vows to 'restore peace' 16-10-2023 09:55 Banana empire heir Daniel Noboa is Ecuador's youngest-ever president-elect at 35; Candidate vows to "restore peace" to a country ravaged by a bloody drug gang war.
WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS Do-or-die mentality ensures La Scaloneta retains necessary intensity 14-09-2023 11:32 Argentina approach every match as if the fate of the world hung on its outcome, and that furious mentality – and no little class – saw them through a potentially tricky start to their World Cup title defence. by Dan Edwards
BLOOMBERG – ANALYSIS Milei should dollarise Argentina at once, says man who did it in Ecuador 13-09-2023 14:15 Francisco Zalles, one of the few economists in world with experience of introducing dollarisation, is gung ho about libertarian frontrunner’s plan. Do it, and do it quick, he says.
Election in Ecuador Polar opposite candidates set to vie for Ecuador presidency 21-08-2023 09:24 Ecuador election heads for a second-round showdown that will pit leftist frontrunner Luisa González against Daniel Noboa, the conservative son of one of the country's richest men.
Election in Ecuador Ecuador heads to presidential run-off pitting left against right 21-08-2023 09:16 Luisa González, a lawyer close to divisive former leader Rafael Correa, emerges as frontrunner after Ecuador presidential election; She will face Daniel Noboa in a second-round showdown in October.
IN FOCUS Murder, cocaine and tears: Ecuador confronts a perilous descent 11-08-2023 09:33 Fernando Villavicencio’s assassination has thrust unwanted attention on Ecuador. Just a few years ago it had enjoyed the reputation of being tranquil and relatively safe but now its descent toward becoming a narco-state has become evident in the eyes of the world.
ECUADOR Fernando Villavicencio: fierce opponent of corruption 10-08-2023 10:17 Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was shot dead after holding a rally in Quito on Wednesday evening. The 59-year-old journalist, was one of eight candidates in the August 20 presidential election.
ASSASSINATION IN ECUADOR Ecuador presidential candidate shot dead after rally 09-08-2023 21:54 Ecuadorean presidential candidate and journalist Fernando Villavicencio was shot dead after holding a rally in Quito on Wednesday evening, local media reported.
Political crisis in Ecuador Facing impeachment, Ecuador President Lasso dissolves Congress 17-05-2023 09:36 Ecuadorean leader controversially dissolves Congress by decree after opposition-dominated National Assembly launches second attempt to oust him in less than a year.
FOREIGN POLICY & DIPLOMACY Fernández: Diplomatic crisis with Ecuador is ‘unjust, unconscionable’ 21-03-2023 16:37 President slams Ecuador’s response to diplomatic crisis as “serious, unjust and unconscionable"; Growing rift caused by the mysterious appearance in Venezuela of a convicted Ecuadorean ex-minister.
RIGHT UNITES IN FORUM LatAm, Euro leaders form group to tackle ‘populist left’ 18-03-2023 09:33 Mauricio Macri among leaders who sign up to new political forum designed to regional coordination and take on the “populist” left; Grupo Libertad y Democracia founded by former Chilean president Sebastián Piñera.
DIPLOMATIC SPAT Ecuador and Argentina in diplomatic row over fugitive ex-minister 15-03-2023 10:34 Diplomatic spat escalates after it emerged María de los Ángeles Duarte, a convicted former cabinet minister who had been living in the Argentine Embassy in Quito, had escaped to Venezuela.
FOREIGN RELATIONS & DIPLOMACY Ecuador questions Argentina over ex-minister's escape from embassy 14-03-2023 14:18 Ecuador's government summons Argentina's ambassador in Quito to respond to "inconsistencies" in information provided about the alleged escape from its embassy of a ex-government minister convicted of corruption.
HALLUCINAGENIC VINE Ayahuasca: 'source of knowledge' in the heart of the Amazon 01-03-2023 09:55 A tourist industry has taken root around ayahuasca, the powerful hallucinogenic concoction said to open the door to the spirit world. But indigenous healers are set against the commercialisation of the plant.
INDIGENOUS RESISTANCE Amazonian Siekopai people battle for return to ancestral land 15-02-2023 11:09 Displaced by decades of war as well as commercial and cultural intrusions, the Siekopai people live scattered between villages straddling the Ecuador-Peru border, far from their ancestral territory, which they are fighting to reclaim.
Drugs 'H' – the drug that's consuming Ecuador's poorest people 25-01-2023 14:05 Use of a powerful drug known as 'H' – a heroin-based white powder that sells for a dollar a gram – is exploding amongst Ecuador's poorest people, pushing public addiction clinics past capacity.
Corruption Scandal Ecuador president asks heads of all state firms to resign 18-01-2023 14:04 Director of state body overseeing public enterprises calls for "the availability of the positions of general managers" in all state institutions "by order of the president of the republic."
DRUG TRAFFICKING Ecuador: a new nerve centre for global drug trade 24-11-2022 13:18 Geography and corruption among the main reasons that one of Latin America's smaller countries has evolved into a hotspot for transnational crime.
ECUADOR At least 15 dead in Ecuadoran prison riots 04-10-2022 15:36 Tactical units sent to re-establish control following fatal clash between inmates and authorities.
ECUADOR Ecuadorean hate crimes prosecutor murdered 19-09-2022 15:44 Public prosecutor Edgar Escobar gunned down in front of office, the latest in spate of targeted killings.
FOREIGN POLICY & DIPLOMACY Andean leaders want Argentina, Chile, Venezuela to join regional bloc 30-08-2022 17:04 Colombian President Gustavo Petro makes his international debut at Andean Community of Nations (CAN) summit in Lima; Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru call for Argentina, Chile and Venezuela to join the bloc.
Latin America Ecuador prosecutor investigates ex-president over missing artefacts 26-07-2022 16:49 Ex-president of Ecuador, Lenín Moreno, has been accused of stealing valuable artefacts from presidential palace, investigation has begun.
Latin America Indigenous protests cost Ecuador US$1 billion, central bank says 05-07-2022 10:00 Days of protests over the cost of living by indigenous Ecuadoreans could cost the country at least US$1 billion, claims nation's central bank.
Unrest in Ecuador Ecuador talks falter after soldier killed by 'violent demonstrators' 29-06-2022 13:22 Negotiations to end more than two weeks of disruptive living cost protests by indigenous Ecuadoreans were dealt a blow Tuesday when the killing of a soldier prompted the government to suspend participation.
CRIME & SECURITY 51 inmates die in Colombia prison riot and fire 28-06-2022 17:19 At least 51 inmates have died after a fire broke out during a prison riot in southwestern Colombia.
UNREST IN ECUADOR Protesters reject Ecuador president's 'insensitive' fuel price cut 27-06-2022 13:32 Unrest continues as indigenous protesters reject a fuel price cut announced by the government as insufficient and "insensitive."
UNREST IN ECUADOR Indigenous protester dies at anti-government demos in Ecuador 22-06-2022 11:01 Indigenous protester dies in clashes with law enforcement officers as demonstrations against the Ecuadorean government head into tenth day.
Latin America Ecuador judge orders release of Indigenous leader amid protests 15-06-2022 18:08 Prominent Indigenous leader Leonidas Iza's release has been ordered, his legal team confirms, less than a day after he was arrested and accused of paralysing roads during nationwide anti-government protests.
Bilateral Relations Fernández calls for Latin American unity in meeting with Ecuador’s Lasso 19-04-2022 10:04 Two leaders met Monday morning in the Casa Rosada, discussing institutional framework and Latin American unity.
Bilateral relations Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso to visit Argentina next week 15-04-2022 11:34 With the objective of expanding trade links with the region, Lasso will begin an official visit to Argentina Sunday and meet with President Alberto Fernández the following morning.
LAVA JATO Odebrecht corruption scandal: disgraced Ecuador and Peru leaders freed 11-04-2022 11:27 Ecuador's former vice president Jorge Glas and Peru's ex-president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, both involved with the Brazilian Odebrecht corruption scandal, have been freed
Prison Riots Ecuador's deadly prison riots show no sign of slowing 08-04-2022 16:05 The latest sordid massacre in Ecuador's interminable cycle of prison violence saw 20 inmates killed and some mutilated last Sunday at the El Turi penitentiary.
WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS Argentina draw as Peru book World Cup play-off spot as Colombia, Chile miss out 30-03-2022 09:29 Argentina held 1-1 by Ecuador in South American qualifiers on a decisive night for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL Plenty of reasons to tune in for Argentina's clashes with Venezuela and Ecuador 25-03-2022 10:37 While in a competitive sense Argentina's next two World Cup qualifiers are next to meaningless, the clashes against Venezuela and Ecuador this week are of intense symbolic significance. by Dan Edwards