Weekend executions expose organized crime’s expanding reach, forcing Cuenca to confront a harsher security reality once thought distant. For years, Cuenca has curated a reputation as the “Island of Peace” amidst Ecuador’s security storm—a sanctuary where the violent excesses of the coast seemed like distant nightmares. However, events this past weekend have punctured that narrative, […]

The Bienal’s final days underscore how art, music, and shared spaces continue shaping Cuenca’s cultural identity. In a city preoccupied with crime statistics, blackouts, and crumbling infrastructure, art might seem like a frivolous luxury. But the XVII Bienal de Cuenca argues precisely the opposite: that in times of crisis, culture is a necessity—a form of […]

Targeted shootings and a 3D-gun operation reveal organized crime expanding into southern Ecuador’s once-quiet highland communities. For decades, Loja and its famous neighbor Vilcabamba were sold to the world as the ultimate sanctuaries. Vilcabamba, the “Valley of Longevity,” was the place where you went to live forever, sipping coffee and breathing pure air. Loja was […]

The collapse of a historic school wall exposes years of neglect and a damaging standoff between municipal leaders and national authorities. Walking down Avenida Fray Vicente Solano this week, past the stately mansions and the manicured medians, residents encountered a pile of rubble that symbolizes a much larger institutional failure. A significant section of the […]

Extortion networks are forcing businesses to close, reshaping daily life and spreading fear across Quito’s commercial and residential neighborhoods. In Quito, the word “vacuna” no longer refers to a medical shot to save your life. In 2026, it refers to an extortion payment to save your business. The capital city is currently in the grip […]

The UK deepens security and technology cooperation with Ecuador as cocaine trafficking links European demand to violence in South America. It might seem incongruous to see Chris Elmore, the UK Minister for Latin America, inspecting police canine units in Quito this week. However, his presence highlights a dark reality of globalization: Ecuador’s security crisis is […]

Political tensions rise after judges narrow concession rules, forcing the government to rely on older emergency laws. A ruling that lit a fuse Ecuador’s long-simmering struggle over how much private capital can enter the electricity system burst into the open after a December 11th ruling by the Constitutional Court struck down a key clause of […]

Political tensions flare after watchdog questions whether the city had legal authority to build three parish-level hospitals. A flagship promise under scrutiny One of Mayor Cristian Zamora’s most visible campaign commitments has become the center of a widening political and legal storm after Ecuador’s Comptroller General’s Office issued a preliminary audit questioning the basis for […]

Despite record gastronomy awards and packed holidays, escalating violence and weak infrastructure threaten the province’s fragile recovery. A paradise under pressure For decades, Manabí has sold itself as Ecuador’s postcard coast: warm Pacific waters, long stretches of sand, fishing villages turned resort towns, and a cuisine so distinctive it has become a national symbol. From […]

Investors from Ecuador and abroad drive a wave of hotels, housing and commercial projects reshaping Cuenca in 2026. A city drawing national attention Cuenca is entering 2026 with a construction pipeline that would have been unthinkable a decade ago. National builders, foreign hotel brands and local landowners are converging on Ecuador’s third-largest city with projects […]

Investigators and human rights groups warn that tuberculosis, hunger and military control are fueling a lethal crisis inside Guayaquil’s Litoral Penitentiary. A death that went unnoticed Early on the morning of December 3rd, guards at Guayaquil’s sprawling Litoral Penitentiary sent out an urgent message asking for a forensic vehicle to collect a corpse. The body […]

Former Assembly chief’s rise exposes internal rifts while Rafael Correa’s allies position themselves to dominate 2027 candidate lists. The leadership of the Citizen Revolution is being recast from abroad, with Rafael Correa moving decisively to install former National Assembly president Gabriela Rivadeneira at the head of the movement just days before its national convention in […]

Amid soaring gold and copper prices, a late-2025 decree reshapes royalties, contracts, and concession rights across the sector. A new framework for a boom-time industry Ecuador’s mining sector opened 2026 with a quiet but far-reaching shift in how the country plans to manage one of its most controversial and potentially lucrative industries. On the final […]

Despite political strain and insecurity, 2025 delivered moments of progress that reshaped how Ecuador was seen at home and abroad. For much of 2025, Ecuador’s public conversation was dominated by crime, fiscal pressure, and institutional stress. Yet beyond the daily headlines, a quieter set of developments unfolded across the economy, diplomacy, culture, environment, and sport—moments […]

Rising demand, investor interest and uneven supply are reshaping sales and rentals in Guayaquil, Quito and Cuenca. Ecuador’s real estate market closed 2025 in a state of uneven recovery, marked by firming sale prices in some cities, rapid rent increases in others, and growing concern over affordability in places where supply is tight. Data from […]

Economic growth cools, debt strategy returns, and policy decisions reshape key sectors across the country. Ecuador enters 2026 facing a markedly tougher economic landscape than the one it experienced a year earlier. After a period of recovery-driven growth in 2025, forecasts now point to a slowdown shaped by weaker oil output, an uncertain global economy, […]

Government cites national security and asylum integrity amid regional moves following dramatic shifts in Venezuela’s power structure. Ecuador has imposed new immigration restrictions targeting Venezuelan citizens linked to the government of Nicolás Maduro, marking a sharp escalation in regional efforts to prevent figures associated with Caracas’ power structure from seeking refuge abroad. The decision, announced […]

Authorities warn that drugging victims has become a central tactic in express kidnappings targeting young adults. Nightlife in Quito has taken on a darker edge as police and prosecutors confront a surge in express kidnappings linked to the use of scopolamine, a drug that leaves victims disoriented, compliant, and often unable to recall what happened […]

Violence inside jails resurfaces alongside an unprecedented wave of street massacres, exposing deep cracks in the country’s security strategy.

Government promises centralized purchases, tighter controls, and structural reforms amid corruption concerns and strained public hospitals.

After gang leaders fall, rival groups move to seize municipal influence amid soaring violence and weak state controls.

Violence accelerates nationwide, with small cantons now facing death rates that dwarf major cities.

Violence surged in 2025 as massacres multiplied, criminal factions fractured, and gangs began governing territory once controlled by the State.

Production slumped to a 22-year low amid shrinking investment, refinery failures, pipeline risks and policy setbacks.

Government probes, lawsuits, and looming drought risks shape the aftermath of a costly scramble to avoid blackouts.

Claims of threats, withdrawn police protection, and political ties deepen scrutiny of Ecuador’s embattled justice system.

Homicides surge past previous records while experts warn repression alone cannot reverse territorial collapse

Criminal disputes for ports, routes, and illicit economies leave Ecuador with the region’s highest population exposure to violence

Cross-border electricity sales, revived thermal plants, and short-term rain forecasts shape Ecuador’s grid outlook through March.

Former president remembered for dialogue, human rights and a political life anchored in democracy and peace.

Deforestation, hunting and the pet trade leave primates with shrinking forests and few paths to survival.

How Washington’s fentanyl-first strategy helped turn a once-stable country into a key artery for global cocaine trafficking. Ecuador’s security collapse did not arrive overnight. It crept in quietly, fueled by a surge in cocaine trafficking that found fertile ground as international attention drifted elsewhere. A recent investigation by The New York Times traces how shifts […]

Ana Cristina Alvarado While the government sought to expand the oil and mining frontiers, indigenous and peasant territories staged a strong resistance. This sparked what experts consulted by Mongabay Latam consider a “criminal and penal persecution” against environmental defenders. In the absence of the state, mining is mainly taking over the Amazon and drug trafficking […]

Findings from the New York Immigration Coalition show Latino men without criminal records increasingly targeted across neighborhoods. Immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump has expanded rapidly and unevenly, reshaping how federal authorities operate in cities with large immigrant populations. A New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) investigation in partnership with Chloe N. East and Elizabeth Cox […]

Government aims to lift formal employment to 50 percent by 2029 through regulatory changes and dialogue. Ecuador’s new Minister of Labor, Harold Burbano, has begun outlining an agenda that favors regulatory changes over sweeping legislative reform, betting that faster approvals, clearer rules, and more flexible work schedules can improve job quality and boost formal employment […]

Presidents elevate border cooperation, illegal mining controls and regional integration during first foreign visit by Peru’s new leader. Ecuador and Peru moved to deepen their bilateral relationship on Friday with a renewed emphasis on security, border control and coordinated action against transnational crime, as Presidents Daniel Noboa and José Jerí met in Quito for the […]

Expanded docks, new cranes and tighter security reshape Ecuador’s busiest container terminal amid mounting criminal pressure. DP World is fast-tracking a major expansion of the Posorja Deepwater Port, reshaping Ecuador’s main container gateway to handle larger ships, higher volumes and rising security risks tied to global drug trafficking routes. The project, unveiled this week by […]

New conservation status links drinking water security, biodiversity corridors and future hydroelectric development in Morona Santiago. The Ecuadorian government has added a vast stretch of Amazonian territory in Morona Santiago to the National System of Protected Areas, declaring Runahurco a new Water Protection Area and formally elevating its role in safeguarding both human water supplies […]

Families seeking safety flee coastal drug-corridor provinces, overwhelming Andean cities. Persistent violence tied to drug trafficking has turned internal displacement into one of Ecuador’s most urgent humanitarian emergencies, according to a new assessment by the Ombudsman’s Office. Thousands of families — many from communities caught between criminal gangs — are abandoning their homes and resettling […]

You pledge your loyalty. You tie your political identity to a leader—a big one, larger than life, the kind who fills plazas or rallies with chants, rage, and a promise of salvation. And you stick by them, through scandals and bad polls, because loyalty, you believe, counts for something. Then one day, that same loyalty […]

Two charismatic species inspire conservation as they navigate rivers from the Andes to the Amazon. A surprising diversity of “water dogs” From the urban waterfront of Guayaquil to remote lagoons deep in the Amazon, two species of otters make their home in Ecuador’s freshwater ecosystems. The neotropical otter (Lontra longicaudis) is the versatile explorer of […]

Police point to illicit networks infiltrating maritime and real estate businesses along Ecuador’s coast. Organized crime has tightened its grip on Manta, turning one of Ecuador’s most important fishing hubs into the scene of a series of targeted killings against business owners, ship captains, and maritime workers. Police say the pattern is no coincidence: each […]

Stronger reform signals unlock loans, but final funds still hinge on December approvals. A shift from domestic to external lifelines After leaning heavily on domestic borrowing for most of the year, Ecuador is now receiving a wave of support from international lenders in the final stretch of 2025. By the end of October, internal debt […]

Once-trusted leaders now clash over loyalty, identity and the future of Ecuador’s largest opposition force. A political relationship that endured nearly two decades has collapsed into public recriminations, ultimatums and now a widening purge. Marcela Aguiñaga — a former minister, party president and today prefect of Guayas — has walked away from the Citizen Revolution, […]

Vice president takes charge of hospitals while navigating new social policy agenda and growing turmoil. The office of the Vice President has returned to the center of government action—this time not as a silent partner, but as a primary responder in Ecuador’s deepening health crisis. María José Pinto, who took office in May 2025, has […]

Repeated equipment failures, pipeline risks and leadership turmoil deepen Petroecuador’s crisis. A widening gap from official targets Ecuador’s oil sector closed November with another disappointing result: national extraction averaged just 467,800 barrels per day, slipping farther from the government’s ambition to hit 500,000 barrels per day by year-end. The figure represents a 1.65% decline from […]

Project boosts travel capacity and aims to spread tourism benefits beyond the city center. A larger, more modern Mariscal Sucre International Airport is now officially in operation. After six years of construction delays, pandemic interruptions, and phased delivery, Quito inaugurated its expanded passenger terminal on December 3rd, marking a major milestone for the capital’s ambitions […]