<![CDATA[EL PAÍS]]>https://english.elpais.comThu, 18 Jun 2026 00:28:48 +0000en1hourly1<![CDATA[Noboa’s emblematic jail hit with wave of torture and death allegations]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2026-06-15/noboas-emblematic-jail-hit-with-wave-of-torture-and-death-allegations.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2026-06-15/noboas-emblematic-jail-hit-with-wave-of-torture-and-death-allegations.htmlMon, 15 Jun 2026 19:39:27 +0000The last time Verónica saw her son was December 16, 2025. She had been working at the small food stand with which she supports her family — an improvised oven and some plastic tables and chairs alongside the highway that connects Quinindé with Esmeraldas on the northern coast of Ecuador. Starting early in the day, she had watched for the military convoy transferring her son to the maximum-security prison Encuentro, which was built in the middle of a forest, some 280 miles from her home. “It was as if God wanted us to see each other, because the vehicle stopped for a moment,” she remembers.

Seguir leyendo

]]><![CDATA[Ecuador’s new normal: A country in a state of emergency]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2026-05-17/ecuadors-new-normal-a-country-in-a-state-of-emergency.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2026-05-17/ecuadors-new-normal-a-country-in-a-state-of-emergency.htmlSun, 17 May 2026 04:05:00 +0000In two and a half years, Ecuador has spent 846 days under a state of emergency, almost the same amount of time that Daniel Noboa has been in power. During this period, the president has restricted people’s free movement for 272 days, decreeing seven curfews, which the government has maintained as its main strategy for combating violence. For the authorities, the supposed success of the initiative is measured by the number of people arrested: during the 15 days of the curfew last March, 1,283 people were apprehended for violating the measure, and homicides were reduced by almost 30% during the early morning hours.

Seguir leyendo

]]>JOSÉ JÁCOME<![CDATA[The paradox of Ecuador: An oil-producing country where people wait in line for up to 72 hours to buy gasoline]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2026-05-14/the-paradox-of-ecuador-an-oil-producing-country-where-people-wait-in-line-for-up-to-72-hours-to-buy-gasoline.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2026-05-14/the-paradox-of-ecuador-an-oil-producing-country-where-people-wait-in-line-for-up-to-72-hours-to-buy-gasoline.htmlThu, 14 May 2026 13:04:22 +0000The scene has been repeating itself for 72 hours in Ecuador’s main cities: lines of vehicles snaking around corners, drivers waiting for hours in the sun, and gas pumps only allowing customers to fill up with $15 or $20 worth of gasoline. In Quito and Guayaquil, two cities accustomed to endless traffic, now there’s also a fight over fuel. “I’m frantically looking for fuel because my tank is practically empty,” says Darwin Medina, a taxi driver in Guayaquil. He visited three stations before finding one with gasoline available. On his fourth attempt, he managed to fill up with just five gallons of Ecopaís, a blend of gasoline and ethanol used by a large portion of Ecuador’s vehicles because it’s the cheapest.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Jonathan Miranda<![CDATA[Drones carrying explosives and a mysterious blue merchant ship: The terror stalking Ecuadorian fishermen]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2026-05-05/drones-carrying-explosives-and-a-mysterious-blue-merchant-ship-the-terror-stalking-ecuadorian-fishermen.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2026-05-05/drones-carrying-explosives-and-a-mysterious-blue-merchant-ship-the-terror-stalking-ecuadorian-fishermen.htmlTue, 05 May 2026 13:38:39 +0000The 20 crew members of the Don Maca were sailing near the Galapagos Islands, in Ecuadorian waters, when they spotted a gray drone flying low, with a small tube pointed at them. They waved, assuming they were being filmed. They never imagined that the small device was carrying explosives.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Dolores Ochoa<![CDATA[Ecuador raises tariffs on Colombia to 100% and deepens the trade war]]>https://english.elpais.com/economy-and-business/2026-04-10/ecuador-raises-tariffs-on-colombia-to-100-and-deepens-the-trade-war.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/economy-and-business/2026-04-10/ecuador-raises-tariffs-on-colombia-to-100-and-deepens-the-trade-war.htmlFri, 10 Apr 2026 10:31:04 +0000Ecuador has dealt another surprising blow to bilateral trade with Colombia. The government of Daniel Noboa announced that, starting May 1, the security tax on imports from the neighboring country will be raised from 50% to 100%. The decision is again based on national security criteria, “after observing the lack of implementation of concrete and effective measures regarding border security by Colombia,” according to a statement from the Ministry of Production. The executive branch claims the measure aims to strengthen shared responsibility in the fight against drug trafficking, a challenge they assert must be addressed jointly.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Matias Delacroix<![CDATA[The subway that brought life back to Quito’s historic center]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2026-04-07/the-subway-that-brought-life-back-to-quitos-historic-center.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2026-04-07/the-subway-that-brought-life-back-to-quitos-historic-center.htmlTue, 07 Apr 2026 15:21:00 +0000Natividad Domínguez introduces herself with a broad, genuine smile: “I’m a salchipapa vendor.” She’s been making salchipapa — a popular street food made of fried potatoes topped with sliced sausages — in Quito’s historic center for four decades and claims to know every corner, every shadow, and every shortcut in this stone labyrinth. Everything, that is, except the subway. “It makes me nervous!” she says, laughing and shrugging shyly. “It scares me… but it’s changed my life.”

Seguir leyendo

]]>KAREN TORO<![CDATA[The criminal underworlds of Mexico, Colombia, and Ecuador converge in the murder of Fernando Villavicencio]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2026-03-19/the-criminal-underworlds-of-mexico-colombia-and-ecuador-converge-in-the-murder-of-fernando-villavicencio.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2026-03-19/the-criminal-underworlds-of-mexico-colombia-and-ecuador-converge-in-the-murder-of-fernando-villavicencio.htmlThu, 19 Mar 2026 16:41:49 +0000Mexico on Wednesday captured Ángel Esteban Aguilar, alias “Lobo Menor,” one of the leaders of the Ecuadorian criminal group Los Lobos, which was designated a terrorist organization by the United States in September. Having arrived in Mexico under a false name, Lobo Menor was transferred to Colombia on Wednesday, a necessary step before facing justice in Ecuador, whose Interior Minister John Reimberg explained that Aguilar was wanted for the 2023 murder of Fernando Villavicencio, then a presidential candidate.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Colombian Migration<![CDATA[Crime is shifting from the coasts to the interior of Ecuador, turning quiet cities into hotbeds of violence]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2026-03-03/crime-is-shifting-from-the-coasts-to-the-interior-of-ecuador-turning-quiet-cities-into-hotbeds-of-violence.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2026-03-03/crime-is-shifting-from-the-coasts-to-the-interior-of-ecuador-turning-quiet-cities-into-hotbeds-of-violence.htmlTue, 03 Mar 2026 11:14:43 +0000Luis — who asked that his real name not be published — had 20 minutes to decide whether or not to flee his captors. Twenty minutes that separate his former life from the one that came afterward. Beside him, two other kidnapping victims remained motionless, paralyzed by fear, unable even to undo the ropes that bound their hands and feet. They had been abandoned by the side of a river after their bank accounts and credit cards had been cleaned out. As he walked away, still dazed, Luis thought about the warning he had received 15 days earlier: not to go out at night, that they already had him “marked.” That day, work required him to travel the so-called ecological route, a seven-kilometer stretch of road between Babahoyo and Quevedo, in west-central Ecuador. Today, both cities are among the most dangerous in the world.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Carlos Arias<![CDATA[Liam and the other Ecuadorian children trapped between Trump’s immigration crusade and Noboa’s silence]]>https://english.elpais.com/usa/2026-02-14/liam-and-the-other-ecuadorian-children-trapped-between-trumps-immigration-crusade-and-noboas-silence.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/usa/2026-02-14/liam-and-the-other-ecuadorian-children-trapped-between-trumps-immigration-crusade-and-noboas-silence.htmlSat, 14 Feb 2026 04:00:00 +0000January 20 began like any other day for the Conejo family in Minnesota. Five-year-old Liam got into the car, shouldering his Spider-Man backpack, and went to school. A few hours later, his dad picked him up. When they arrived at their home, everything changed. It was at that moment that ICE agents detained both father and son. When he was released, after 11 days of detention, Adrián Conejo recalled in interviews with several media outlets how, “The agents ordered Liam to ring the doorbell of our house, so that the people inside would come out.” On the other side of the door, Adrián’s wife, who was four months pregnant, screamed desperately, helplessly, in response to her husband’s request that she stay in the house. Although the family is together once again, they remain in hiding, afraid.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Joaquin Castro<![CDATA[Major Ecuadorian organized crime leader set free in Spain]]>https://english.elpais.com/spain/2026-01-08/major-ecuadorian-organized-crime-leader-set-free-in-spain.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/spain/2026-01-08/major-ecuadorian-organized-crime-leader-set-free-in-spain.htmlThu, 08 Jan 2026 18:13:11 +0000On January 9, 2024, 13 armed men forcibly took over the TC Televisión station in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and took its news program crew hostage on air, as cameras rolled. Stunned, viewers sat in their homes watching the violence unroll. While pointing their guns at journalists, one of the masked assailants spoke on a cell phone. On the other end of the line, according to later reports from Ecuadorian police, was William Joffre Alcívar Bautista a.k.a. Black Willy or Commander Willy, who was running the operation from Spain. Months afterwards, a collaborative investigation led to his arrest in a house in Calafell, in northeastern Spain. On December 29, Spanish authorities released him after the expiration of the deadline for officials from the South American country to file pre-extradition safeguards.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Borja Sánchez-Trillo<![CDATA[The impact of Ecuador’s mega-prison: A polluted river, cleared forests and military checkpoints]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-12-23/the-impact-of-ecuadors-mega-prison-a-polluted-river-cleared-forests-and-military-checkpoints.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2025-12-23/the-impact-of-ecuadors-mega-prison-a-polluted-river-cleared-forests-and-military-checkpoints.htmlTue, 23 Dec 2025 16:07:59 +0000The military patrol tasked with guarding the mega-prison known as Encuentro — one of Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa’s most ambitious projects in the coastal province of Santa Elena — skidded along the dusty road. At least six soldiers and police officers got out of the truck; their boots kicked up clouds of dust as they intercepted a group of local villagers who, accompanied by a lawyer from the Guayaquil Human Rights Committee (CDH) and several journalists, were attempting to document the environmental impact the prison has had on the river that winds just a few meters away, alongside the stone wall surrounding the penitentiary complex. “I’m a member of the Don Lucas community,” said Donald Cabrera, sounding annoyed. Since learning about the government’s plans to build the prison on their land, Cabrera has protested relentlessly, outraged by the damage to biodiversity.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Vicente Gaibor<![CDATA[Ecuadorian soccer under attack from organized crime: Five players murdered in 2025]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-12-19/ecuadorian-soccer-under-attack-from-organized-crime-five-players-murdered-in-2025.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2025-12-19/ecuadorian-soccer-under-attack-from-organized-crime-five-players-murdered-in-2025.htmlFri, 19 Dec 2025 13:03:26 +0000Ecuadorian police confirmed the arrest of two people linked to the murder of Mario Pineida, the Barcelona de Guayaquil soccer player who, on the afternoon of December 17, became another victim of the relentless violence in Guayaquil, the country’s most violent city. Pineida, who until then had been one of the most prominent stars of Ecuadorian soccer, was at a butcher’s shop in the Samanes neighborhood, in the north of the city. Just another neighborhood, one of those where daily life is intertwined with the constant threat of death.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Franklin Jacome<![CDATA[One year on since four children were disappeared by Ecuador’s military: ‘They ripped out my soul’]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-12-10/one-year-on-since-four-children-were-disappeared-by-ecuadors-military-they-ripped-out-my-soul.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2025-12-10/one-year-on-since-four-children-were-disappeared-by-ecuadors-military-they-ripped-out-my-soul.htmlWed, 10 Dec 2025 10:16:45 +0000In Las Malvinas, a cramped and forgotten neighborhood in the Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil, time has stood still since December 8. Since then, locals have talked about only one topic, a litany they repeat as if saying the names could bring them back: Nehemías, Steven, Ismael, and Josué.

Seguir leyendo

]]>VICENTE GAIBOR<![CDATA[Attack on Daniel Noboa’s convoy reveals the mix of discontent and violence gripping Ecuador’s rural areas]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-10-08/attack-on-daniel-noboas-convoy-reveals-the-mix-of-discontent-and-violence-gripping-ecuadors-rural-areas.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2025-10-08/attack-on-daniel-noboas-convoy-reveals-the-mix-of-discontent-and-violence-gripping-ecuadors-rural-areas.htmlWed, 08 Oct 2025 07:41:14 +0000The presidential motorcade advanced on Tuesday along the rocky, dusty road of Sigsihuayco, a rural community perched in the Andean mountains of El Tambo, in the province of Cañar. At the front, a military tank led the way, followed by at least six armored vehicles carrying the president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa. From the start, the air was thick with tension. On both sides of the path, dozens of gathered demonstrators unleashed their anger against the convoy. From both flanks, locals began hurling stones of various sizes. Others showed their fury by striking the black car bodies with sticks, while windows splintered, their shattering sound frightening the presidential staff inside, who recorded the attack on video.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Presidencia de Ecuador<![CDATA[This is how Eze and 385 other children were killed in Ecuador]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-10-05/this-is-how-eze-and-385-other-children-were-killed-in-ecuador.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2025-10-05/this-is-how-eze-and-385-other-children-were-killed-in-ecuador.htmlSun, 05 Oct 2025 04:00:00 +0000In the neighborhoods of Guayaquil, the silence hangs heavy. No longer does one hear the shouts of children running after a ball, nor the music that once came from speakers on the street corners. Even the salsa has ceased. The daily hush is only interrupted when one hears gun shots.

Seguir leyendo

]]>VICENTE GAIBOR<![CDATA[Hitmen mistook him for someone else and left him paralyzed. Now he has undergone euthanasia]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-09-15/hitmen-mistook-him-for-someone-else-and-left-him-paralyzed-now-he-has-undergone-euthanasia.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2025-09-15/hitmen-mistook-him-for-someone-else-and-left-him-paralyzed-now-he-has-undergone-euthanasia.htmlMon, 15 Sep 2025 13:29:30 +0000Renato Ortuño didn’t fully understand what it meant to be alive until he left the hospital. Weeks had passed since the attack. A bullet pierced his vertebra at the level of his neck, obliterating his body from the shoulders down, and leaving him with only one certainty: he would never walk again. He also couldn’t move his arms. On June 23, 2023, he was trapped inside his own body. Last Friday, he underwent euthanasia, becoming the second person in Ecuadorian history to do so legally.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Gofoundme<![CDATA[Twelve newborns die in a public hospital in Ecuador: ‘They took him away like trash’]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-08-12/twelve-newborns-die-in-a-public-hospital-in-ecuador-they-took-him-away-like-trash.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2025-08-12/twelve-newborns-die-in-a-public-hospital-in-ecuador-they-took-him-away-like-trash.htmlTue, 12 Aug 2025 12:07:02 +0000Twelve babies have died at Guayaquil University Hospital since July 23, when the hospital’s authorities issued an epidemiological alert. The Ecuadorian Ministry of Health attributed the deaths to “multifactorial” causes. According to the institution, most of the deaths were premature newborns in complicated clinical condition. However, it admitted that two of them contracted a hospital-acquired infection caused by the carbapenemase-producing bacterium Klebsiellapneumoniae, whose increasing resistance to antibiotics makes it a serious threat and which spreads easily in hospitals with inadequate biosafety protocols.

Seguir leyendo

]]>VICENTE GAIBOR<![CDATA[$350 per body: Mafias take over a public cemetery in Ecuador ]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-08-08/350-per-body-mafias-take-over-a-public-cemetery-in-ecuador.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2025-08-08/350-per-body-mafias-take-over-a-public-cemetery-in-ecuador.htmlFri, 08 Aug 2025 12:19:05 +0000When Luis, 80, died this past April after a long illness, his daughter Mariana went to the offices of the María Canals Cemetery, one of the five public cemeteries in Guayaquil, Ecuador. At the counter, she was informed that the burial would be free for four years, but that she would have to build a cement mound. They explained, without offering much detail, that there are people at the cemetery who build the cement burial vaults where coffins are placed. And they didn’t tell her how much it would cost; they only told her that the people there “made a living” doing this work.

Seguir leyendo

]]><![CDATA[Notorious Ecuadorian drug lord ‘Fito’ pleads not guilty in U.S. federal court]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-07-22/notorious-ecuadorian-drug-lord-fito-pleads-not-guilty-in-us-federal-court.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2025-07-22/notorious-ecuadorian-drug-lord-fito-pleads-not-guilty-in-us-federal-court.htmlTue, 22 Jul 2025 08:43:17 +0000José Adolfo Macías, better known as Fito and as the feared leader of the Ecuadorian criminal organization Los Choneros, on Monday was arraigned in federal court in the Eastern District of New York, where he pleaded not guilty to the seven charges brought against him by the U.S. justice system, all related to international drug and arms trafficking. Judge Vera M. Scanlon ordered him held without bail at the Brooklyn Municipal Detention Center, in compliance with the request of the District Attorney’s Office, which considers him a high-risk individual with a history of escape. Fito was flown to the U.S. on Sunday following an extradition deal with Ecuador.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Mauricio Torres<![CDATA[Ecuador extradites notorious drug lord ‘Fito’ to the United States]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-07-21/ecuador-extradites-notorious-drug-lord-fito-to-the-united-states.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2025-07-21/ecuador-extradites-notorious-drug-lord-fito-to-the-united-states.htmlMon, 21 Jul 2025 08:01:53 +0000José Adolfo Macías, better known as Fito, didn’t spend even a full month locked up in La Roca, the maximum-security prison in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Twenty-five days after being transferred there, a joint police and military operation went into his cell on Sunday, July 20, handcuffed him and put him on a U.S. Department of Justice plane. At 2:00 p.m., the flight took off for the United States with one of Ecuador’s most feared drug traffickers on board.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Mauricio Torres<![CDATA[Ecuador arrests its most wanted criminal, the drug lord known as ‘Fito’]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-06-26/ecuador-arrests-its-most-wanted-criminal-the-drug-lord-known-as-fito.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2025-06-26/ecuador-arrests-its-most-wanted-criminal-the-drug-lord-known-as-fito.htmlThu, 26 Jun 2025 07:17:19 +0000—Sing out your full name!

Seguir leyendo

]]><![CDATA[Trump’s Ecuadorian deportees: Returning to a country under the terror of organized crime]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-03-22/trumps-ecuadorian-deportees-returning-to-a-country-under-the-terror-of-organized-crime.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2025-03-22/trumps-ecuadorian-deportees-returning-to-a-country-under-the-terror-of-organized-crime.htmlSat, 22 Mar 2025 04:00:00 +0000When the extortionists arrived at Elena and Ramiro’s small food stall in the heart of downtown Guayaquil, they knew their dream of entrepreneurship had come to an end. The business, which had only been operating for five months, was doing better than expected. They served breakfast and lunch to workers, and although margins were tight, the hope of a prosperous future kept them afloat. But that morning, when two men who arrived on a motorcycle burst into the establishment, what promised to be just another day of work turned into a nightmare. They made it clear what the rules would be from then on: $3,000 a month as a “vaccine,” as extortion is known in Ecuador. An unaffordable sum for entrepreneurs whose only capital was the sweat of their brow.

Seguir leyendo

]]>SANTIAGO ARCOS<![CDATA[Eight women take on sexism in the Americas]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/women-leaders-of-latin-america/2025-03-10/eight-women-take-on-sexism-in-the-americas.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/women-leaders-of-latin-america/2025-03-10/eight-women-take-on-sexism-in-the-americas.htmlMon, 10 Mar 2025 16:01:04 +0000The Americas approached International Women’s Day on March 8 with a sense of urgency. On Saturday, thousands of women took to the streets to demand their right to live free from violence, to be free from discrimination, to have control over their own bodies, and to close the gaps of poverty and inequality.

Seguir leyendo

]]>EL PAÍS <![CDATA[Dannya Bravo, the girl who forced Ecuador to stop burning gas in the Amazon: ‘The struggle of a few is for the future of many’]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/women-leaders-of-latin-america/2025-03-11/dannya-bravo-the-girl-who-forced-ecuador-to-stop-burning-gas-in-the-amazon-the-struggle-of-a-few-is-for-the-future-of-many.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/women-leaders-of-latin-america/2025-03-11/dannya-bravo-the-girl-who-forced-ecuador-to-stop-burning-gas-in-the-amazon-the-struggle-of-a-few-is-for-the-future-of-many.htmlTue, 11 Mar 2025 20:32:32 +0000When Dannya Bravo was six years old, she would cycle around the giant oil platform she knew as “plant C,” located right next to her home in the Amazonian town of Francisco de Orellana. From there, she would observe the houses inside the complex, but she was never able to get close. Access was always restricted to the community members. “I thought it was a city. The little houses seemed pretty to me, and when I was little, I wanted to go inside to see them up close,” she says.

Seguir leyendo

]]>KAREN TORO<![CDATA[In Ecuador, Noboa and González will compete for the presidency after a tight first round]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-02-10/in-ecuador-noboa-and-gonzalez-will-compete-for-the-presidency-after-a-tight-first-round.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2025-02-10/in-ecuador-noboa-and-gonzalez-will-compete-for-the-presidency-after-a-tight-first-round.htmlMon, 10 Feb 2025 08:44:35 +0000The first round of the presidential elections in Ecuador ended in a technical tie between the two main candidates, but the left is viewing it as a victory because the outcome was unexpected. Daniel Noboa and Luisa González will face each other on April 13, in a runoff vote that will be definitive. With 78% of the ballots counted, President Noboa has 44.5% of votes, compared to Luisa González’s 44.1%.

Seguir leyendo

]]><![CDATA[Indigenous fury against Daniel Noboa’s plans for a mega-prison in the Ecuadorian Amazon]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-12-16/indigenous-fury-against-daniel-noboas-plans-for-a-mega-prison-in-the-ecuadorian-amazon.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-12-16/indigenous-fury-against-daniel-noboas-plans-for-a-mega-prison-in-the-ecuadorian-amazon.htmlMon, 16 Dec 2024 11:20:26 +0000President Daniel Noboa’s announcement of a plan to build a mega-prison in Archidona, a small town located in the Ecuadorian Amazon, has triggered a wave of protests that has already lasted 12 days. The mobilization has caused the closure of a main road that connects the province with other regions of the country, and has generated shortages of products in various localities. However, it was on Thursday night when the demonstrations took a more radical turn. Hundreds of protesters, mostly Amazonian Kichwa indigenous people, gathered outside the Governor’s building, carrying traditional spears. Defying security measures, they removed the metal fences that the police had installed to protect the building. In the moments that followed, there was a direct confrontation with law enforcement officers, who tried to disperse the protesters using tear gas. Despite attempts to contain them, the protesters managed to take control of the facilities.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Iván Izurieta<![CDATA[Verónica Abad, vice president of Ecuador: ‘President Noboa has lost his moral compass, he is a totalitarian’ ]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-11-17/veronica-abad-vice-president-of-ecuador-president-noboa-has-lost-his-moral-compass-he-is-a-totalitarian.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-11-17/veronica-abad-vice-president-of-ecuador-president-noboa-has-lost-his-moral-compass-he-is-a-totalitarian.htmlSun, 17 Nov 2024 04:15:15 +0000Ecuador’s Vice President Verónica Abad is packing her bags to return to her country. This comes after almost a year of being kept abroad as a “peace ambassador,” with the vague mission of “mediating” in the conflict between Israel and Palestine. And, just four days ago, she was removed from the government through an unprecedented political and legal move.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Diego Alban<![CDATA[Organized crime takes root in Quito ]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-10-20/organized-crime-takes-root-in-quito.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-10-20/organized-crime-takes-root-in-quito.htmlSun, 20 Oct 2024 01:29:27 +0000The violence in Ecuador — which has seen whole regions fall under the control of gangs — is now taking hold in the big cities that, until now, seemed distant from organized crime.

Seguir leyendo

]]>José Jácome<![CDATA[Ecuador ex-president Rafael Correa and deputy banned from entering US over corruption cases]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-10-10/ecuador-ex-president-rafael-correa-and-deputy-banned-from-entering-us-over-corruption-cases.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-10-10/ecuador-ex-president-rafael-correa-and-deputy-banned-from-entering-us-over-corruption-cases.htmlThu, 10 Oct 2024 10:28:21 +0000The U.S. State Department has banned Rafael Correa, a former president of Ecuador (2007-2017), and his deputy, Jorge Glas, from entering American territory “due to their involvement in significant corruption during their time in public office,” according to an official statement. The Biden administration maintains that both men abused their positions by accepting bribes, including through political contributions, in exchange for awarding favorable government contracts.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Martin Jaramillo<![CDATA[Latin America to form regional alliance to stifle organized crime ]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-08-20/latin-america-to-form-regional-alliance-to-stifle-organized-crime.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-08-20/latin-america-to-form-regional-alliance-to-stifle-organized-crime.htmlTue, 20 Aug 2024 12:51:27 +0000Organized crime and violence are an obstacle to development and growth in Latin American countries. Security has become one of the main concerns among citizens. According to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), violence has weakened states, increased the cost of doing business, and costs the region 3.5% of GDP. The problem is not new and political leaders are aware of it. They agree that criminal groups are more organized, more interconnected, do not respect borders, and that extra efforts are required to combat them. Under these premises, on August 19, the Latin American Security Summit was inaugurated in Guayaquil, one of the most insecure cities in Ecuador, which has registered 1,650 violent crimes so far this year and accounts for 45% of the homicides in the entire country.

Seguir leyendo

]]>/PRESIDENCECIA DE ECUADOR/USO ED PRESIDENCIA DE ECUADOR<![CDATA[Ecuador’s vice president files complaint against Daniel Noboa for political violence]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-08-13/ecuadors-vice-president-files-complaint-against-daniel-noboa-for-political-violence.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-08-13/ecuadors-vice-president-files-complaint-against-daniel-noboa-for-political-violence.htmlTue, 13 Aug 2024 17:55:20 +0000Ecuador’s Vice President Verónica Abad has filed a complaint against President Daniel Noboa before the Electoral Contentious Court, accusing him of gender-based political violence. The complaint comes after months of growing tension between the two leaders. The relationship between Noboa and Abad deteriorated significantly after the 2023 presidential election went to the runoff. Once they were elected, they did not speak again, the vice president said in an interview with EL PAÍS.

Seguir leyendo

]]>picture alliance<![CDATA[One year after the murder of Fernando Villavicencio in Ecuador: Seven dead suspects and no mastermind]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-08-09/one-year-after-the-murder-of-fernando-villavicencio-in-ecuador-seven-dead-suspects-and-no-mastermind.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-08-09/one-year-after-the-murder-of-fernando-villavicencio-in-ecuador-seven-dead-suspects-and-no-mastermind.htmlFri, 09 Aug 2024 16:18:42 +0000The assassination of a presidential candidate on August 9, 2023, marked a point of no return in the crisis of violence facing Ecuador. After a few turbulent weeks following the murder of the mayor of a coastal city, a group of Colombian hitmen, camouflaged among people leaving a political rally, shot Fernando Villavicencio four times.

Seguir leyendo

]]>KAREN TORO<![CDATA[Massive blackout leaves Ecuador without power for over three hours]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-06-20/massive-blackout-leaves-ecuador-without-power-for-over-three-hours.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-06-20/massive-blackout-leaves-ecuador-without-power-for-over-three-hours.htmlThu, 20 Jun 2024 09:50:14 +0000Ecuador was in the dark for over three hours on Wednesday due to a massive blackout that affected the entire country. “There is a failure in the transmission line that caused a cascade disconnection, so there is no energy service on a national scale,” Roberto Luque, Minister of Energy, reported on the social media platform X. The power outage caused chaos in the streets of the main cities, Quito and Guayaquil.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Santiago Fernández<![CDATA[A surge of violence in a small town in Ecuador is met with a strategy of war]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-06-04/a-surge-of-violence-in-a-small-town-in-ecuador-is-met-with-a-strategy-of-war.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-06-04/a-surge-of-violence-in-a-small-town-in-ecuador-is-met-with-a-strategy-of-war.htmlTue, 04 Jun 2024 10:11:38 +0000Violence is becoming unmanageable in Ecuador. The government’s message that they have harnessed the mayhem has been thrown into doubt. President Daniel Noboa and his ministers based the claim on the fact that violent deaths are down by 485 so far in 2024, compared to the same period last year. The problem is that 2023 was the most violent year in the history of the country with an unprecedented homicide rate of 40 per 100,000 inhabitants. And with 2,400 crimes in six months, security remains a priority.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Jose Jacome José Jácome<![CDATA[From barbarism to abuse: The ongoing problem of Ecuador’s prisons ]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-05-20/from-barbarism-to-abuse-the-ongoing-problem-of-ecuadors-prisons.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-05-20/from-barbarism-to-abuse-the-ongoing-problem-of-ecuadors-prisons.htmlMon, 20 May 2024 16:51:54 +0000Ricardo’s face bears the indelible mark of H, a deadly cocktail of heroin and the toxic materials it has been cut with, such as cement and paint. His cheeks and shaved head are covered in pus spots. He has just walked out the gates of Guayaquil’s Litoral prison: now he is a free man who will not be woken up in the morning by shouts and insults, or with the fear that the military prison guards will torture him. He will be able to take a shower and go to the bathroom in private; eat decent food and not the inedible pasta that was thrown at him. For the first time in a long time, he wears trousers and shoes. He has shared a cell with tuberculosis patients and the most violent criminals on earth. But the worst abuse came at the hands of those who were supposed to be guarding him: “I have come out of hell,” he says.

Seguir leyendo

]]>MARÍA FERNANDA LANDIN<![CDATA[Daniel Noboa’s wife cancels project to build luxury resort in a protected forest in Ecuador]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-05-15/daniel-noboas-wife-cancels-project-to-build-luxury-resort-in-a-protected-forest-in-ecuador.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-05-15/daniel-noboas-wife-cancels-project-to-build-luxury-resort-in-a-protected-forest-in-ecuador.htmlWed, 15 May 2024 09:27:11 +0000The company controlled by Lavinia Valbonesi, the wife of the president of Ecuador, has backed down and suspended a real estate development project that involved erecting four luxury buildings that would have encroached on Esterillo de Oloncito, a forest surrounded by mangroves that are protected under Ecuadorian law. The nature reserve is located on the shores of the Pacific.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Dolores Ochoa<![CDATA[The conflict between Ecuador and Mexico brings new uncertainty to migrants crossing into the US]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-05-14/the-conflict-between-ecuador-and-mexico-brings-new-uncertainty-to-migrants-crossing-into-the-us.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-05-14/the-conflict-between-ecuador-and-mexico-brings-new-uncertainty-to-migrants-crossing-into-the-us.htmlTue, 14 May 2024 10:26:55 +0000The recent assault by Ecuadorian police on the Mexican Embassy in Quito is also having an effect on the thousands of Ecuadorians who are in Mexican territory trying to cross into the United States. As of May 16, the Ecuadorian consulates in the Mexican capital and in Monterrey will close their doors after the breakdown of relations between both governments. The move comes one month after Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa gave the order to break into the Mexican diplomatic mission to detain former vice-president Jorge Glas, who was seeking a safe conduct to Mexico as a political asylum seeker, but is now being held in at La Roca maximum security prison in Guayaquil.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Gregory Bull<![CDATA[Ecuador president’s wife planning to build luxury resort in a protected forest]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-05-09/ecuador-presidents-wife-planning-to-build-luxury-resort-in-a-protected-forest.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-05-09/ecuador-presidents-wife-planning-to-build-luxury-resort-in-a-protected-forest.htmlThu, 09 May 2024 12:13:12 +0000The members of the commune of Oloncito lit a bonfire and cooked fish and green bananas to endure the night’s vigil on the shores of a mangrove area called Esterillo de Oloncito. Twenty-three years ago, they fought for the authorities to declare this place a protective forest and vegetation, a status that grants them constitutional rights. Oloncito is a small Ecuadorian commune in the province of Santa Elena where around 300 families live. The mangrove that they are monitoring to prevent its destruction contains 2.5 hectares of endemic trees, birds and five species of mangrove that reach all the way to the Pacific. The community is currently in a dispute with the presidential family, which spends part of its leisure time at their beach house just 500 meters from the commune.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Dolores Ochoa<![CDATA[Ecuador’s prisoners are going hungry]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-05-08/ecuadors-prisoners-are-going-hungry.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-05-08/ecuadors-prisoners-are-going-hungry.htmlWed, 08 May 2024 16:46:02 +0000Prisoners in Ecuador are going hungry. The company that was contracted to feed 11,000 inmates in 20 penitentiaries has abandoned the prison kitchens due to an outstanding debt of $30 million owed by the government of President Daniel Noboa. This amount also includes school meals for 1.5 million children. The first alert that prisoners were not receiving food came on April 26. The Service for the Attention of Persons Deprived of Liberty (SNAI) denied through a bulletin on social networks that supply had been suspended and assured that they had “guaranteed the service normally.” After the issuance of that statement, SNAI remained silent. A week later, Noboa wrote on the social network X, without providing further details: “We will never favor suppliers of the State that have links with organized crime.” The crisis, however, has not been addressed and the families of prisoners are crowded at the door of the notorious Litoral prison in Guayaquil for fear that their loved ones will die of starvation.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Karen Toro<![CDATA[Noboa achieves resounding support for tougher security to deal with spiraling violence in Ecuador]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-22/noboa-achieves-resounding-support-for-tougher-security-to-deal-with-spiraling-violence-in-ecuador.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-22/noboa-achieves-resounding-support-for-tougher-security-to-deal-with-spiraling-violence-in-ecuador.htmlMon, 22 Apr 2024 08:46:49 +0000The president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, achieved a clear victory on Sunday in most of the 11 questions of a referendum he had called to confront the spiral of violence in the country. The president was seeking popular approval for legal reforms in security, judicial and labor matters, and the answer was not positive in all of them: according to an official quick count by the Electoral Council, “yes” won in nine questions and “no” prevailed in two. But the two questions that were rejected focused on economic proposals and were not related to security, which is the main concern of Ecuadorians. All nine security-related proposals received broad backing.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Mauricio Torres<![CDATA[Severe energy crisis paralyzes Ecuador for two days]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-18/severe-energy-crisis-paralyzes-ecuador-for-two-days.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-18/severe-energy-crisis-paralyzes-ecuador-for-two-days.htmlThu, 18 Apr 2024 08:29:57 +0000Ecuador is in the dark. Not only because the more-than-seven-hour long blackouts continued throughout the country on Wednesday, despite the presidential announcement that they would be suspended, but also because it’s not known who is behind the crisis in the energy sector, nor the scale of the problem. Decisions taken by the Ecuadorian government have provided some clues. For example, the president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, signed a decree that will paralyze the country for two days. On Thursday and Friday, school will be suspended and there will be no work in either the public or private sectors.

Seguir leyendo

]]>José Jácome<![CDATA[Being a mayor in Ecuador can be deadly]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-17/being-a-mayor-in-ecuador-can-be-deadly.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-17/being-a-mayor-in-ecuador-can-be-deadly.htmlWed, 17 Apr 2024 16:10:48 +0000Mayor Galo Meza works with a small staff in a modest office in Balzar, a small city on the Ecuadorian coast, the most violent part of the country. He has no bulletproof vest, no helmet, no bodyguards. “I just trust in God to keep me and my family safe,” said the mayor who survived a recent attack on his home. “There are 65 bullet holes in my home.” Around midnight, his wife and youngest son were asleep in rooms with windows facing the street that the bullets shattered. Thankfully, everyone was unharmed. “My wife fears they’ll come back and doesn’t want to sleep there anymore.” Meza says he doesn’t know why he was attacked or who would want to harm him, and asked for police protection the very next day. But these things don’t happen fast in Ecuador, so Meza is still waiting for the police’s risk assessment, guarded by a lone patrolman.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Dolores Ochoa<![CDATA[Mexico-Ecuador diplomatic row escalates to the international stage]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-15/mexico-ecuador-diplomatic-row-escalates-to-the-international-stage.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-15/mexico-ecuador-diplomatic-row-escalates-to-the-international-stage.htmlMon, 15 Apr 2024 15:50:44 +0000Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) doesn’t like to get involved in international politics. At least that’s what he used to tell reporters. He has made few state visits abroad during his five years in office, avoided thorny regional issues, and even turned a blind eye to abuses in neighboring countries. However, in a surprising shift, he recently took stances on various regional issues. This includes supporting disgraced former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo, criticizing Javier Milei’s election in Argentina, and denouncing Nayib Bukele’s heavy-handed security measures in El Salvador. Now, with less than six months left in his term, AMLO is butting heads with Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa after he authorized police to break into the Mexican Embassy in Quito and arrest former Vice President Jorge Glas who had sought asylum there. This widely condemned incident has shined a global spotlight on Latin American diplomacy, and led Mexico to file a complaint with the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Jose Jacome<![CDATA[Ecuador court says the detention of Jorge Glas inside the Mexican embassy was illegal]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-13/ecuador-court-says-the-detention-of-jorge-glas-inside-the-mexican-embassy-was-illegal.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-13/ecuador-court-says-the-detention-of-jorge-glas-inside-the-mexican-embassy-was-illegal.htmlSat, 13 Apr 2024 09:59:52 +0000An Ecuadorian court on Friday declared illegal the arrest of former vice-president Jorge Glas, carried out last Friday at the Mexican Embassy in Quito where Glas was waiting to receive a safe conduct as a political asylum seeker. The violation of Mexican sovereignty ordered by President Daniel Noboa has triggered a diplomatic conflict and the breakdown of relations between the two countries, and attracted nearly unanimous condemnation by other nations.

Seguir leyendo

]]>David Bustillos<![CDATA[Jorge Glas, the faithful shadow of Rafael Correa]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-08/jorge-glas-the-faithful-shadow-of-rafael-correa.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-08/jorge-glas-the-faithful-shadow-of-rafael-correa.htmlMon, 08 Apr 2024 12:07:29 +0000An aging man, restrained in shackles and sitting in the back of a police van, is a far cry from the clean-cut, successful and powerful gentleman who ran Ecuador for more than a decade, between 2007 and 2018, in the shadow of the charismatic and captivating Rafael Correa. His life in the last year has swung back and forth like a pendulum between the possibility of returning to the upper echelons of power or ending up in a maximum-security prison, surrounded by gang bosses. For now, the latter is his destiny. Luck has not favored him, although it almost did. This week, Mexico deemed him a politically persecuted individual and granted him asylum status, allowing him to seek refuge in the country from the three corruption cases for which he is being prosecuted in Ecuador. However, in an unprecedented step, the Ecuadorian president, Daniel Noboa, ordered the storming of the Mexican embassy in Quito and the immediate arrest of Glas.

Seguir leyendo

]]><![CDATA[Assault on Mexican Embassy in Quito plunges Ecuador into political chaos]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-08/assault-on-mexican-embassy-in-quito-plunges-ecuador-into-political-chaos.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-08/assault-on-mexican-embassy-in-quito-plunges-ecuador-into-political-chaos.htmlMon, 08 Apr 2024 09:31:11 +0000If there was one thing Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa could boast of, it was that he was governing without opposition. In just three months in office, he had managed to persuade Congress to approve almost unanimously the five bills he submitted, all of them campaign promises. The legislators did not vote against even the most thorny projects, such as the law to raise taxes on citizens. The governability pact with the other political movements had consolidated for Noboa a positive image of a leader who had gained control of the country, at least in the legislative branch. This allowed him to mark a distance from his predecessor, Guillermo Lasso, who from the outset of his term broke agreements with the major political groups and led him to hand over the presidency prematurely, decreeing la muerte cruzada (”mutual death,” a combined presidential impeachment and dissolution of Congress) to avoid an impeachment trial championed by the Citizen Revolution Movement (RC) of former President Rafael Correa.

Seguir leyendo

]]>José Jácome<![CDATA[Ecuador sends Jorge Glas to maximum-security prison as regional outrage grows over Mexican embassy raid]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-07/ecuador-sends-jorge-glas-to-maximum-security-prison-as-regional-outrage-grows-over-mexican-embassy-raid.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-07/ecuador-sends-jorge-glas-to-maximum-security-prison-as-regional-outrage-grows-over-mexican-embassy-raid.htmlSun, 07 Apr 2024 09:39:36 +0000Tension between Mexico and Ecuador is at an historic high because of Jorge Glas, one of the most prominent Ecuadorian politicians of the last 20 years. Glas served as vice-president under Rafael Correa and then Lenín Moreno and came to be in charge of oil resources in a country that experienced dizzying development from the money that rained down from crude. He was one of the most visible faces of the movement that grew around Correa, a populist and charismatic leader who claimed he was leading his country into a form of 21st century socialism. However, Glas fell into disgrace over three corruption investigations launched by the Attorney General’s Office. The politician considers the investigation is judicial persecution on the part of his opponents, who are now in power. As such, he sought refuge last December 17 in the Mexican Embassy with the aim of receiving the status of political refugee, which was finally granted Friday, hours before he was forcibly removed from the diplomatic legation. Ecuador’s operation to capture Glas sparked a diplomatic furor that has caused outrage across the Americas.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Alina Manrique<![CDATA[Mexico breaks diplomatic ties with Ecuador after police raid Mexican embassy in Quito]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-06/mexico-breaks-diplomatic-ties-with-ecuador-after-police-raid-mexican-embassy-in-quito.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-06/mexico-breaks-diplomatic-ties-with-ecuador-after-police-raid-mexican-embassy-in-quito.htmlSat, 06 Apr 2024 07:28:10 +0000The president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, has forcefully challenged his Mexican counterpart, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The Ecuadorian police raided the Mexican Embassy in Quito on Friday night, entering with armored cars and masked officers to forcibly remove former vice president Jorge Glas, who had received political asylum from the López Obrador government just hours before.

Seguir leyendo

]]>David Bustillos<![CDATA[Ecuador declares Mexican ambassador persona non grata after election statements by López Obrador]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-05/ecuador-declares-mexican-ambassador-persona-non-grata-after-election-statements-by-lopez-obrador.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-05/ecuador-declares-mexican-ambassador-persona-non-grata-after-election-statements-by-lopez-obrador.htmlFri, 05 Apr 2024 10:37:02 +0000The government of Daniel Noboa on Thursday declared the Mexican ambassador to Ecuador, Raquel Serur, persona non grata in response to remarks by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, in which he implied that Noboa won the elections thanks to the murder of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio at the hands of organized crime hitmen. “It is a measure provided by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and that implies that the ambassador must leave the country in a short period of time. It does not mean breaking diplomatic relations,” the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Seguir leyendo

]]><![CDATA[Massacres return in Ecuador with 80 murders in three days]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-02/massacres-return-in-ecuador-with-80-murders-in-three-days.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-02/massacres-return-in-ecuador-with-80-murders-in-three-days.htmlTue, 02 Apr 2024 12:22:24 +0000Five young men aged under 21 were gunned down last Friday in the small fishing community of Puerto López, 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the Ecuadorian capital of Quito. The following day, in the Guasmo neighborhood of Guayaquil, another 10 men were shot while playing a volleyball game. The death toll is again rising in Ecuador, where 80 violent deaths were recorded in just three days over the Easter vacation.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Santiago Arcos<![CDATA[Daniel Noboa secretly creates database with genetic profiles of criminals in Ecuador]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-03-16/daniel-noboa-secretly-creates-database-with-genetic-profiles-of-criminals-in-ecuador.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-03-16/daniel-noboa-secretly-creates-database-with-genetic-profiles-of-criminals-in-ecuador.htmlSat, 16 Mar 2024 11:04:10 +0000The government of Daniel Noboa is secretly creating a database of genetic profiles by deceiving prisoners in Ecuador’s prisons, according to three sources to which EL PAÍS has had access. The officials who carry out this task tell the inmates that these DNA samples, which will go to a state information bank, will help them be identified in the event of a massacre, something that happens in penitentiaries in the country; or in the event of identity theft. Prison workers are instructed to convince them not to consult with their lawyer and to make them believe that the procedure is part of normal prison routine. What these officials are concealing from their charges is that the latter have the right by law to refuse to have samples taken from them, and that this genetic information can be used to implicate them in crimes that they committed in the past or that they will perpetrate in the future. Performing this procedure is mandatory for toxicologists, anthropologists, forensic chemists and forensic psychologists.

Seguir leyendo

]]>SANTIAGO ARCOS<![CDATA[How Ecuador’s anti-corruption presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio’s killing was planned ]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-03-01/how-ecuadors-anti-corruption-presidential-candidate-fernando-villavicencios-killing-was-planned.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-03-01/how-ecuadors-anti-corruption-presidential-candidate-fernando-villavicencios-killing-was-planned.htmlFri, 01 Mar 2024 14:46:49 +0000Five people will go on trial for the murder of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, gunned down by hitmen on August 9, 2023, as he was leaving a political rally at a school in the north of Ecuador’s capital, Quito, just days before the first round of early elections.

Seguir leyendo

]]>HENRY ROMERO<![CDATA[Ecuador’s failed attempt to follow El Salvador’s model for prisons: Escapes and gang control continue]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-02-24/ecuadors-failed-attempt-to-follow-el-salvadors-model-for-prisons-escapes-and-gang-control-continue.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-02-24/ecuadors-failed-attempt-to-follow-el-salvadors-model-for-prisons-escapes-and-gang-control-continue.htmlSat, 24 Feb 2024 18:51:54 +0000A tour of the Cotopaxi prison, one of the most dangerous in Ecuador, begins with visitors donning a vest and adjusting a helmet, as if entering a war zone. One must also cover one’s face to avoid recognition. Ecuadorian Army soldiers took over the prison a few weeks ago and that means that a thousand of them are spread out in the pavilions to control the gang members, the real masters of this place. The military wear combat gear and are ready for action. Ecuador’s prisons have often been the scene of bloody riots provoked by criminal groups that have resulted in dozens dead; the casualties have been beheaded and had their hearts ripped out as a display of power.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Karen Toro<![CDATA[Kremlin opens trade war with Ecuador over transfer of ‘scrap metal’ Russian arms to US]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-02-13/kremlin-opens-trade-war-with-ecuador-over-transfer-of-scrap-metal-russian-arms-to-us.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-02-13/kremlin-opens-trade-war-with-ecuador-over-transfer-of-scrap-metal-russian-arms-to-us.htmlTue, 13 Feb 2024 16:12:57 +0000The Kremlin has opened a trade war with Ecuador over its plans to exchange its Soviet-origin weapons for modern U.S. materiel. Moscow suspects that Quito’s armament of Russian and Ukrainian origin — which forms a significant part of the arsenals of Latin American armies — will subsequently be transferred to Kyiv for the war effort against the Russian invasion and has partially vetoed imports of Ecuadorian bananas in retaliation. Moreover, this blockade threatens to go further: the Russian government announced Tuesday the arrival of “the first batch of bananas sent from India to Russia,” at the same time as threatening to restrict the import of Ecuadorian carnations ahead of Valentine’s Day.

Seguir leyendo

]]>picture alliance<![CDATA[‘It is a request made out of love’: The woman with ALS who brought about the legalization of euthanasia in Ecuador]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-02-10/it-is-a-request-made-out-of-love-the-woman-with-als-who-brought-about-the-legalization-of-euthanasia-in-ecuador.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-02-10/it-is-a-request-made-out-of-love-the-woman-with-als-who-brought-about-the-legalization-of-euthanasia-in-ecuador.htmlSat, 10 Feb 2024 17:09:13 +0000One might have thought that the moment when the ruling of the Constitutional Court of Ecuador legalizing euthanasia was announced would be a time of celebration, but this was not quite the case. Paola Roldán, a woman with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) whose insistence has brought about this profound change in a highly conservative and religious country, where the Church is the second most credible institution among citizens, cannot quite believe it herself. The same goes for her relatives and her lawyers. They know they are making history, which is what they sought to do, but it means that Paola has the right to die and that is her desire. There is no knowing if an imminent end is the reason for any kind of celebration.

Seguir leyendo

]]>KAREN TORO<![CDATA[A childhood amid bullets: Homicide rate of minors soars in Ecuador]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-01-30/a-childhood-amid-bullets-homicide-rate-of-minors-soars-in-ecuador.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-01-30/a-childhood-amid-bullets-homicide-rate-of-minors-soars-in-ecuador.htmlTue, 30 Jan 2024 16:25:28 +0000Whenever gunfire is heard in almost any neighborhood in Guayaquil, the first instinct is to run to get the children to safety. Hide in the room farthest from the front door, away from the windows, under the bed, or throw the mattress over them. There is no sufficient shield to protect them. It is not enough to forbid them from going to school after each outbreak of violence, because they are murdered while they are sleeping, at home, with the windows and doors closed, like Valentina, Bryanna, Adiel, Aitana, Maité, Alexander... In the arms of their parents, or eating an ice cream. Violence in Ecuador severely affects children; at least two minors were killed every day in 2023, according to the Ministry of the Interior.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Martin Mejia<![CDATA[Ecuador uncovers largest stash of cocaine in its history: 22 tons hidden in a pig farm]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-01-25/ecuador-uncovers-largest-stash-of-cocaine-in-its-history-22-tons-hidden-in-a-pig-farm.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-01-25/ecuador-uncovers-largest-stash-of-cocaine-in-its-history-22-tons-hidden-in-a-pig-farm.htmlThu, 25 Jan 2024 08:39:03 +0000Never before had Ecuador seized as many drugs in a single place as it did on Sunday, when it found a hidden stash buried in a pig farm in Estero Lagarto, an area in the coastal province of Los Ríos, about 155 miles from Quito. In 733 jute bags, 22 tons of cocaine hydrochloride were stored, perfectly packaged in the shape of a brick and labeled with the airlines they were destined to go to: Iberia, KLM, Qatar, AB, JET2. “There are six different logos that make it clear what the destinations were,” said César Zapata, police commander.

Seguir leyendo

]]>ALFONS LUNA<![CDATA[TV studio hostages recall terror of on-air attack: ‘It is very easy to kill journalists in Ecuador, too easy’]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-01-11/tv-studio-hostages-recall-terror-of-on-air-attack-it-is-very-easy-to-kill-journalists-in-ecuador-too-easy.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-01-11/tv-studio-hostages-recall-terror-of-on-air-attack-it-is-very-easy-to-kill-journalists-in-ecuador-too-easy.htmlThu, 11 Jan 2024 11:16:23 +0000The last hour of the newscast on Ecuador’s TC Televisión channel had begun. The presenters Jorge Rendón and Vanessa Filella were in the studio when the shots were heard a few meters from the reception of the national TV channel’s building in Guayaquil. The sounds of screams and people being hit came down the hallway towards the studio. It was around 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday.

Seguir leyendo

]]>--<![CDATA[The mafias that control Ecuador from inside their prison cells]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-01-10/the-mafias-that-control-ecuador-from-inside-their-prison-cells.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-01-10/the-mafias-that-control-ecuador-from-inside-their-prison-cells.htmlWed, 10 Jan 2024 09:43:55 +0000The Penitenciaría del Litoral and the Regional correctional facilities, which are both within the same compound, are the most populated prisons in Ecuador. They are located in the coastal city of Guayaquil, and between them they hold 10,000 inmates, more than a quarter of the South American country’s entire prison population. In this place, the convicts are in control. Not only do they run the 15 units inside the prison compound, they also control the drug trafficking and organized crime activities that take place on the outside. It is they who decide who gets to come in and who doesn’t. They even have the keys to their own cells. This is how they have managed to sow terror throughout the country. The latest example took place on Tuesday, when at least 10 people ended up dead, including two police officers.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Mauricio Torres<![CDATA[State of emergency declared in Ecuador as security crisis worsens]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-01-09/state-of-emergency-declared-in-ecuador-as-security-crisis-worsens.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-01-09/state-of-emergency-declared-in-ecuador-as-security-crisis-worsens.htmlTue, 09 Jan 2024 09:47:03 +0000Ecuador experienced another day of chaos, violence and uncertainty. Since the early morning of January 8, six prisons in the country have been taken over by inmates who kidnapped prison guards and started fights inside the penitentiary centers. The unrest was captured in videos recorded by the prisoners. The footage showed security guards on the floor, with knives and guns to their heads, forced to repeat the same message: that the government should reverse its decision to transfer prisoners. Faced with the out-of-control situation, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa decided on Monday to decree the first state of emergency of his mandate, which began on November 23.

Seguir leyendo

]]>KAREN TORO<![CDATA[Prison ships and ‘Bukele model’ jails in Ecuador, a security plan adrift]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-01-04/prison-ships-and-bukele-model-jails-in-ecuador-a-security-plan-adrift.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2024-01-04/prison-ships-and-bukele-model-jails-in-ecuador-a-security-plan-adrift.htmlThu, 04 Jan 2024 15:58:38 +0000President Daniel Noboa made a campaign promise to purchase prison ships to house the leaders of the gangs that operate in the country’s penitentiaries 80 miles off Ecuador’s Pacific coast. Delivering on that promise, he now says that he has seen three barges that could reach Ecuador within seven or eight months. Although this security measure received the most attention during his campaign, the president now recognizes that it is not the solution to the serious situation in which the country finds itself. “They are a complementary and provisional measure to segment and remove prisoners who are real threats to the public and national security and keep them isolated until the maximum and super maximum security prisons are completed,” Noboa said at the beginning of December. Just a few days later, he announced that, in January, construction will begin on two maximum and super maximum security prisons like the ones Nayib Bukele has built in El Salvador.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Ejército de Ecuador<![CDATA[Organized crime tightens it grip on Ecuador]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-12-14/organized-crime-tightens-it-grip-on-ecuador.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2023-12-14/organized-crime-tightens-it-grip-on-ecuador.htmlThu, 14 Dec 2023 17:04:08 +0000Organized crime continues to plague Ecuador to the extent that it is now the third most crime-ridden country in Latin America. Over the span of three years, the nation has succumbed to the influence of drug traffickers who wield their power through terrorist attacks, gruesome displays of violence, extortion, kidnappings, and assaults on public institutions. However, such criminal activities require more than just weapons — they need the complicity of a passive government. There is ample evidence of a justice system that fails to hold perpetrators accountable for crimes. Law enforcement and military personnel have been apprehended with illicit arms and narcotics. Weapons and ill-gotten funds have been discovered in the offices of prison officials. And government neglect has handed over entire regions of the country to criminal overlords.

Seguir leyendo

]]>STR<![CDATA[Nine journalists flee Ecuador in 2023, pushed out by organized crime]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-12-11/nine-journalists-flee-ecuador-in-2023-pushed-out-by-organized-crime.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2023-12-11/nine-journalists-flee-ecuador-in-2023-pushed-out-by-organized-crime.htmlMon, 11 Dec 2023 17:56:58 +0000Only a few hours passed between Karol Noboa learning about the death threat and her getting on a plane, bound for exile. For the 28-year-old Ecuadorian journalist, those hours felt like days. She said goodbye to the country, where she had worked as a reporter for eight years, leaving her family and friends confused, without fully understanding why she was leaving. “I feel a deep defeat. I feel like a part of my life was taken away from me that will not come back. The moment I got on the plane, I knew that I had to live with what is called exile,” says the journalist, who covered issues related to criminal gangs and their links with organized crime.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Rodrigo Abd<![CDATA[Daniel Noboa assumes power in Quito: ‘I am not an anti-anything; I am pro Ecuador’]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-11-24/daniel-noboa-assumes-power-in-quito-i-am-not-an-anti-anything-i-am-pro-ecuador.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2023-11-24/daniel-noboa-assumes-power-in-quito-i-am-not-an-anti-anything-i-am-pro-ecuador.htmlFri, 24 Nov 2023 11:42:48 +0000Daniel Noboa arrived at the National Assembly of Ecuador Thursday with an air of renewal. The new president — son of millionaire Alvaro Noboa, who himself ran as a candidate five times — took the oath of office that he will exercise for 18 months and received the presidential sash in an atypical ceremony at which Colombian President Gustavo Petro was the only foreign leader in attendance, and he arrived half an hour late.

Seguir leyendo

]]>José Jácome<![CDATA[Ecuador moves on: The 913 days of Lasso’s government that turned the country into ‘a skeleton’]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-11-23/ecuador-moves-on-the-913-days-of-lassos-government-that-turned-the-country-into-a-skeleton.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2023-11-23/ecuador-moves-on-the-913-days-of-lassos-government-that-turned-the-country-into-a-skeleton.htmlThu, 23 Nov 2023 12:07:48 +0000When Guillermo Lasso steps down as president on Thursday, he will have been in office for 913 days. During this period, Ecuador has gradually collapsed politically, socially and economically. The state of affairs has become so extreme and rapid that for the first time in history the president had to resort to activating the safety mechanism permitted by the Ecuadorian Constitution: the so called muerte cruzada (‘mutual death’), in order to dissolve the Legislative and prematurely hand over the executive power. The winner of the presidential election was Daniel Noboa, a 35-year-old businessman who will be sworn into office in the National Assembly, with which he is believed to have reached a governability pact.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Christopher Goodney<![CDATA[The hell of studying in Durán, the most dangerous city in Ecuador: ‘We’re afraid, it’s like living in a war zone’ ]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-10-01/the-hell-of-studying-in-duran-the-most-dangerous-city-in-ecuador-were-afraid-its-like-living-in-a-war-zone.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2023-10-01/the-hell-of-studying-in-duran-the-most-dangerous-city-in-ecuador-were-afraid-its-like-living-in-a-war-zone.htmlSun, 01 Oct 2023 08:24:23 +0000Estefanía walks with her books close to her chest, at an accelerated pace. She is 10-years-old and lives in the neighborhood of Recreo, on the same street where a child and his mother were murdered the day before. She wears a red hemmed skirt, sneakers and a white T-shirt, which bears the logo of her school.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Miguel Canales<![CDATA[Fito, accused murderer of Ecuadorian presidential candidate, defies the system and releases narcocorrido from prison]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-09-25/fito-accused-murderer-of-ecuadorian-presidential-candidate-defies-the-system-and-releases-narcocorrido-from-prison.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2023-09-25/fito-accused-murderer-of-ecuadorian-presidential-candidate-defies-the-system-and-releases-narcocorrido-from-prison.htmlMon, 25 Sep 2023 15:26:27 +0000One of Ecuador’s most dangerous criminals, José Adolfo Macías Villamar (alias Fito), just released a muscle-flexing video of a narcocorrido to show the government just how powerful he really is. His transfer to a maximum security prison was short-lived, and now he’s back in his preferred prison in Guayaquil, demonstrating the government’s inability to control the powerful gangster accused of ordering the murder of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. “He is the boss of all bosses — he is Adolfo Macías Villamar,” goes the song.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Fuerzas Armadas Ecuador<![CDATA[Durán, the Ecuadorian city living under a reign of organized crime terror]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-09-19/duran-the-ecuadorian-city-living-under-a-reign-of-organized-crime-terror.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2023-09-19/duran-the-ecuadorian-city-living-under-a-reign-of-organized-crime-terror.htmlTue, 19 Sep 2023 11:46:12 +0000A five-year-old boy was doing his homework when bullets ripped through the window of his house and hit him; 90 shots were fired at the premises of a pharmaceutical company; a baby died in her mother’s arms when she was shot in the head; a school student was found with signs of torture in a ditch; a member of the municipal council, Bolívar Vera, was kidnapped and murdered. All of this occurred in just one week in Durán, a city on the Ecuadorian coast that is only separated from the country’s second-largest city and economic capital, Guayaquil, by a bridge and where criminal gangs have taken over from the rule of law.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Dolores Ochoa<![CDATA[Ecuador presidential campaigning ends amid tight security and bulletproof vests]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-08-18/ecuador-presidential-campaigning-ends-amid-tight-security-and-bulletproof-vests.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2023-08-18/ecuador-presidential-campaigning-ends-amid-tight-security-and-bulletproof-vests.htmlFri, 18 Aug 2023 10:48:00 +0000Campaigning for the presidential election in Ecuador came to a close Thursday under a heavy security shield for the candidates. Former investigative journalist Christian Zurita chose the emblematic Shyris Avenue in the capital, the scene of the largest social demonstrations in the country. It was his first and last political rally after taking the baton of the Movimiento Construye presidential candidacy following the assassination of Fernando Villavicencio, who was gunned down on August 9 in Quito. Zurita wore a helmet and bulletproof vest under a white T-shirt with the face of his friend and his former partner in journalistic investigations. The event began with a mass in honor of Villavicencio, in which his closest family members participated. They too all wore bulletproof vests and were surrounded by a police escort. The security deployment included snipers in the surrounding buildings and Zurita was transported in armored vehicles, unlike Villavicencio, who was travelling in a state-provided unarmored van when he was shot and killed.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Jose Jacome<![CDATA[Once Ecuador was a peaceful country, now it is one of the region’s most violent]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-08-13/once-ecuador-was-a-peaceful-country-now-it-is-one-of-the-regions-most-violent.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2023-08-13/once-ecuador-was-a-peaceful-country-now-it-is-one-of-the-regions-most-violent.htmlSun, 13 Aug 2023 14:20:17 +0000As cars passed along the main avenue of Durán, a small city in Ecuador near Guayaquil, they skirted around a bundle hanging on a rope from the bridge at the entrance to the city, the body of a man with a bare torso — his head almost touching the road. Further ahead, another corpse was suspended, with its hands tied behind its back and a rope around its neck. Both showed signs of torture. This was February 14, 2022, and Ecuador was breaking news after bodies were found strung up on bridges. For the first time, the nation accepted the message that organized crime had transcended the prison walls and was on the street, sowing a degree of violence that this South American country had never experienced before. The scene sparked fear and silence.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Vicente Gaibor<![CDATA[Fito, the gang leader who threatened to kill candidate Fernando Villavicencio, moved to maximum security prison]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-08-13/fito-the-gang-leader-who-threatened-to-kill-candidate-fernando-villavicencio-moved-to-maximum-security-prison.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2023-08-13/fito-the-gang-leader-who-threatened-to-kill-candidate-fernando-villavicencio-moved-to-maximum-security-prison.htmlSun, 13 Aug 2023 11:13:48 +0000Ecuadorian authorities on Saturday transferred José Adolfo Macías Villamar, alias “Fito,” the ringleader of the criminal gang Los Choneros, to a maximum security prison, La Roca, in Guayaquil. Fito, who is believed to control all crime in Ecuador, was transferred three days after presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated. At the end of July, Villavicencio said that he had received a death threat from the gang leader. According to police, Los Choneros are the operating arm of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel. Around 3,600 police and military officers took part in the operation to take the inmate from his ordinary cell to a maximum security prison, which is located in the same prison complex in Guayaquil.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Fuerzas Armadas Ecuador<![CDATA[Four hitmen, drug cartels and security failures: The murder of Fernando Villavicencio]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-08-12/four-hitmen-drug-cartels-and-security-failures-the-murder-of-fernando-villavicencio.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2023-08-12/four-hitmen-drug-cartels-and-security-failures-the-murder-of-fernando-villavicencio.htmlSat, 12 Aug 2023 11:01:54 +0000The assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio on Wednesday afternoon in Quito has highlighted the scope of the criminal network that has gripped Ecuador, causing the country’s worst security crisis in recent history. Behind the attack was a perfect storm of violence, drug trafficking and security failures. With authorities failing to address the crisis, armed groups with links to the Mexican cartels have gained a foothold in the country, where Colombia hitmen also have built a presence — as evidenced by the murder of Villavicencio.

Seguir leyendo

]]>HENRY ROMERO<![CDATA[Wave of terror in Ecuador: ‘Wherever Fernando Villavicencio went there were bomb threats’]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-08-11/wave-of-terror-in-ecuador-wherever-fernando-villavicencio-went-there-were-bomb-threats.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2023-08-11/wave-of-terror-in-ecuador-wherever-fernando-villavicencio-went-there-were-bomb-threats.htmlFri, 11 Aug 2023 09:11:06 +0000The Gaspar de Villarroel neighborhood of Quito, in the financial heart of Ecuador’s capital, awoke Thursday paralyzed by fear. Several businesses opted not to open, while others tried to continue with their daily routine after the authorities removed the police tape investigators had collected the 64 shell casings that were fired on the afternoon of August 9 at the gates of the Anderson School. It was there that presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated in an attack that briefly turned the neighborhood into a war zone and plunged the country into crisis with fewer than 10 days remaining before the August 20 elections. The attack is further evidence of a wave of terror being suffered by Ecuadorians, a brutal onslaught by organized crime which, according to President Guillermo Lasso, is a challenge to the rule of law and “an attempt to sabotage the electoral process.” The campaign has been halted, but will continue, even amid a state of emergency decreed by the president. Meanwhile, the country is attempting to recover from a tragic afternoon.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Cesar Munoz<![CDATA[Ecuador calls in FBI to assist investigation into assassination of Fernando Villavicencio]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-08-11/ecuador-calls-in-fbi-to-assist-investigation-into-assassination-of-fernando-villavicencio.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2023-08-11/ecuador-calls-in-fbi-to-assist-investigation-into-assassination-of-fernando-villavicencio.htmlFri, 11 Aug 2023 10:46:47 +0000Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso announced Thursday that a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) team will assist in the investigation into the murder of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. The mission of the U.S. agents will be to aid the Ecuadorian authorities in determining the motive for the crime and identifying the perpetrators. The gunman who fired the shots that killed Villavicencio died at the scene of the attack, which occurred after a campaign rally in northern Quito. The Prosecutor’s Office reported Thursday that six suspects, all Colombian nationals, had been arrested in connection with the assassination.

Seguir leyendo

]]>KAREN TORO<![CDATA[Ecuador declares state of emergency following assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio ]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-08-10/presidential-candidate-fernando-villavicencio-is-assassinated-in-ecuador.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2023-08-10/presidential-candidate-fernando-villavicencio-is-assassinated-in-ecuador.htmlThu, 10 Aug 2023 01:50:29 +0000The assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio has plunged Ecuador into crisis just days before the country is set to elect a new leader. In response to the murder on Wednesday, President Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency on Thursday, a measure that will be in place for the next 60 days. “The armed forces are mobilized throughout the national territory to guarantee the security of citizens, the tranquility of the country, and the free and democratic elections of August 20, as planned by the National Council of Ecuador [CNE],” said Lasso after an emergency meeting with his security cabinet.

Seguir leyendo

]]>KAREN TORO<![CDATA[Hell at the gates of Litoral, the most dangerous prison in Ecuador]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-08-01/hell-at-the-gates-of-litoral-the-most-dangerous-prison-in-ecuador.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2023-08-01/hell-at-the-gates-of-litoral-the-most-dangerous-prison-in-ecuador.htmlTue, 01 Aug 2023 11:04:34 +0000This is Patricia’s fourth day outside the Litoral Penitentiary, the most dangerous prison in Ecuador. She has not been able to raise the money to pay for a coffin to remove the body of her brother, one of the prisoners who was killed in a massacre on July 25. “I’m waiting for the residents in the neighborhood to help us so we can take him out and take him home,” says the 58-year-old woman.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Fuerzas Amadas<![CDATA[Violence escalates as Ecuador’s election campaign kicks off: Mayor of key drug port assassinated ]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-07-25/violence-escalates-as-ecuadors-election-campaign-kicks-off-mayor-of-key-drug-port-assassinated.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2023-07-25/violence-escalates-as-ecuadors-election-campaign-kicks-off-mayor-of-key-drug-port-assassinated.htmlTue, 25 Jul 2023 16:28:14 +0000Violence continues to hit Ecuador hard. On Sunday, July 23, the mayor of Manta was assassinated. The city is one of the Ecuador’s main ports and is located about 400 kilometers (248 miles) from the capital Quito. Agustín Intriago, 38 years old, was shot while on a tour of sewage works. He was shot six times, mostly in the chest. The attack also left four people injured and one young woman dead — Ariana Chancay, a sportswoman, had approached the mayor to ask for help to buy uniforms for the neighborhood’s women’s soccer team.

Seguir leyendo

]]>Eduardo Leal<![CDATA[Residents confront criminal gang in a pitched battle in capital of Ecuador]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-06-22/residents-confront-criminal-gang-in-a-pitched-battle-in-capital-of-ecuador.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2023-06-22/residents-confront-criminal-gang-in-a-pitched-battle-in-capital-of-ecuador.htmlThu, 22 Jun 2023 10:23:39 +0000The Comité del Pueblo neighborhood to the north of Ecuador’s capital, Quito, turned into a war zone on Sunday, June 18, when residents responded to threats from a criminal gang operating in the area with a hail of rocks and Molotov cocktails. Almost two hours after the conflict got underway, the police appeared on the scene, killing one of the alleged criminals and injuring another person.

Seguir leyendo

]]><![CDATA[Jan Topic, the millionaire businessman vying to emulate Bukele in Ecuador to the sound of ‘Top Gun’]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-06-19/jan-topic-the-millionaire-businessman-vying-to-emulate-bukele-in-ecuador-to-the-sound-of-top-gun.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2023-06-19/jan-topic-the-millionaire-businessman-vying-to-emulate-bukele-in-ecuador-to-the-sound-of-top-gun.htmlMon, 19 Jun 2023 10:40:18 +0000For the first time, Ecuador will see a candidate in the country’s upcoming presidential campaign with a profile that has worked well in other countries, namely that of the outsider. This kind of politician does not define him or herself as being on the political left, center or right, but rather claims to be solely guided by instinct in the midst of the political jungle. Jan Topic, a 40-year-old businessman from Guayaquil, embodies this role, and he is hoping to win Ecuador’s August election for the remainder of the current term, until 2025, following President Guillermo Lasso’s dissolution of parliament and announcement of early elections. The candidate says that he follows a “completely apolitical decision-making scheme” and that he is open to collaboration with any individual or political group that wants to join his platform, whose main focus will be security, mirroring the authoritarian Nayib Bukele in El Salvador.

Seguir leyendo

]]><![CDATA[A 76-year-old woman declared dead wakes up during her funeral in Ecuador ]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-06-13/a-76-year-old-woman-declared-dead-wakes-up-during-her-funeral-in-ecuador.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2023-06-13/a-76-year-old-woman-declared-dead-wakes-up-during-her-funeral-in-ecuador.htmlTue, 13 Jun 2023 17:21:12 +0000Bella Montoya Castro was declared dead at noon last Friday in the Babahoyo hospital in the southwest of Quito, Ecuador. Hours later, at six in the afternoon, friends and family gathered to give her one last goodbye. Some approached the casket to give her flowers when “they heard blows inside the coffin,” her son Gilber Barberán says. Amidst the noise of the guests, they took a while to realize that the sounds were coming from Bella.

Seguir leyendo

]]><![CDATA[Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso rules himself out of re-election bid]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-06-03/ecuadorian-president-guillermo-lasso-rules-himself-out-of-re-election-bid.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2023-06-03/ecuadorian-president-guillermo-lasso-rules-himself-out-of-re-election-bid.htmlSat, 03 Jun 2023 13:35:29 +0000Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso has confirmed that he will not run in the upcoming presidential elections, to be held on August 20, after he dissolved the National Assembly on May 17 by triggering article 148 of the country’s constitution, a provision known as muerta cruzada, or “mutual death,” a constitutional tool by which he is also obliged to end his term in office.

Seguir leyendo

]]>José Jácome<![CDATA[The Ecuadorian neighborhood buried by a mountain]]>https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-03-30/the-ecuadorian-neighborhood-buried-by-a-mountain.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/international/2023-03-30/the-ecuadorian-neighborhood-buried-by-a-mountain.htmlThu, 30 Mar 2023 07:56:55 +0000The earth made a sound as if it was splitting in two. In a matter of seconds, the mountain completely buried Nueva Alausí, a neighborhood in Chimborazo province in central Ecuador. Tons of earth covered more than 60 houses, all inhabited. It was 9 p.m. on Sunday, March 26. Survivors and locals counted who was missing to get an idea of how many people were under the rubble: the Moina, Ruiz, Berrones, Marcatoma, Guamán, Caranqui and Quisatasi families could not be found. According to the Ecuadorian government, 46 people were buried under the rubble.

Seguir leyendo

]]>