Advancing river damage has exposed years of delayed decisions and increasingly expensive temporary fixes. The relentless erosion of the Coca River has developed into a growing threat to two pillars of Ecuador’s economy: its largest hydroelectric plant and the pipelines that carry much of the country’s crude oil. Six years after the phenomenon began, authorities […]

Movement delays alliance announcement while racing to secure candidates and political partners before looming electoral deadlines. The Citizen Revolution movement is concealing key elements of its strategy for Ecuador’s November local elections, delaying the announcement of the political organizations that could provide its candidates with a place on the ballot. The alliance was expected to […]

Most investigations have ended without charges, while several prominent mayors remain jailed, indicted or under scrutiny. More than half of Ecuador’s mayors and provincial prefects have appeared in criminal proceedings, creating a sprawling legal record that reaches from the country’s largest cities to remote Amazonian cantons. An examination of the Judicial Council’s electronic case system […]

Scientists find abnormal heat extending far below the surface as fisheries and rainfall patterns begin changing. Unusually warm water reaching depths of 100 meters off Ecuador’s coast is providing some of the clearest evidence yet that El Niño conditions are developing, according to findings from a recent scientific expedition. The Ecuadorian Navy research vessel BAE […]

Computer records reveal appointments bypassed official controls as investigators examine alleged payments and after-hours printing. A computer analysis of National Transit Agency records has uncovered evidence of a parallel operation that allegedly allowed employees to issue driver’s licenses outside normal procedures, bypass payment controls and serve hundreds more applicants than the official appointment system permitted. […]

Overcrowded centers are struggling to rehabilitate teenagers drawn into Ecuador’s expanding criminal networks. Ecuador’s juvenile detention system is facing a mounting crisis as a sharp increase in adolescent arrests pushes facilities far beyond their intended capacity, raising concerns that centers designed for rehabilitation could instead deepen young offenders’ involvement in organized crime. By May 2026, […]

The longtime councilwoman assumes the mayor’s office amid controversy while promising stability and continuity for the city. Marisol Peñaloza’s arrival at the top of Cuenca’s municipal government carries an unusual sense of political symmetry. Seven years after she fought for the right of a woman to serve as the city’s vice-mayor, Peñaloza has become Cuenca’s […]

New decree opens the door to international deployments while thousands of Ecuadorian soldiers move into violence-stricken provinces. President Daniel Noboa has launched a new phase of Ecuador’s campaign against organized crime, combining a large domestic military deployment with an offer of legal immunity to personnel sent by cooperating foreign governments. Executive Decree 424, signed on […]

Three major mergers place economic policy infrastructure and social programs under broader government portfolios. President Daniel Noboa has formally launched another major restructuring of Ecuador’s executive branch, combining six government institutions into three expanded ministries as part of an effort to reduce administrative duplication and public spending. The changes, established through three executive decrees signed […]

Prosecutors say subsidized diesel profits were hidden through companies, offshore billing and real estate holdings.

Lawmakers approved withdrawal from a trade mechanism critics say had become inactive and vulnerable to abuse.

Prosecutors say public funds were allegedly moved through couriers, front men, luxury purchases and foreign accounts.

Rising pump prices are changing household budgets and accelerating interest in electric vehicles across Ecuador.

Historic building will become a cultural and public-use space after years of deterioration.

Mayor says he will seek clarification of tribunal ruling before vice mayor assumes office temporarily.

The $13.16 million Guangopolo agreement will add 10 megawatts of diesel generation capacity before October.

There are weeks when Ecuador feels less like a country than a house where every room has a different leak. Someone is in the kitchen replacing a pipe. Someone else is on the roof holding a blue tarp over a hole that has been there since last winter. The lights flicker whenever it rains too […]

Proposed surcharge could replace an existing tariff as Washington reviews import controls across dozens of economies.

Minister says contractor guarantees remain active because the unfinished structure was never formally accepted.

The government says a smaller Cabinet will reduce costs, simplify services and accelerate Ecuador’s digital transformation.

New government survey shows income disparities and spending habits across urban and rural areas.

Government plans urgent procurement from India amid concerns over safety and oversight in national health system.

New rules for construction materials revive questions over a registry closed to new concessions since 2018.

Airport arrests renew concerns over weak controls and the international trade in protected species.

Mayor’s political future hangs as appeals and sanctions collide with the electoral calendar in Cuenca.

Ecuador tells United Nations rapporteurs its anti-crime strategy respects constitutional guarantees and international human rights obligations.

New state company will centralize hospital logistics while Ecuador negotiates urgent medicine imports from India.

Crowds, traffic and first-time brands marked the debut of Grupo Ortiz’s $100 million project.

Lower country risk and renewed market access have come with rising fuel costs, expiring aid and unresolved economic problems.

New lending, project reservations and construction jobs point to a broader recovery heading into 2026.

Flood damage renews concerns over erosion threat near Ecuador’s largest hydroelectric plant.

Police say gangs are recruiting teenagers with money, protection and pressure as juvenile arrests rise sharply.

The government says nighttime restrictions allowed police and military units to strike criminal groups in high-risk areas.

President says courts are infiltrated by crime while rejecting allegations of abuses in anti-gang operations.

There are weeks when the news seems scattered, as if Ecuador has dumped the contents of a junk drawer onto the kitchen table and asked us to make sense of it. A former president on trial for bribery. Another former president accused of participating in a pandemic profiteering scheme. A Maduro money man sent back […]

Prosecutors allege a $76 million network tied to Ecuador’s largest hydroelectric project and years of hidden payments.

Once considered one of the city’s most protected areas, central Guayaquil is now facing record violence.

President urges regional governments to recognize organized crime as a shared threat requiring cooperation and resolve.

Former president and three others are accused of profiting from pandemic-era medical supply sales.

Andean Community order issued last week leaves both countries with only days to remove trade barriers.

Calero denies signing Progen contracts and says evidence he provided points to others in the power scandal.

Six major projects could reshape Ecuador’s economy, but approvals, conflicts and environmental disputes remain unresolved.

The government raised $1 billion as country risk eased and demand far exceeded the amount offered.

Former president says he came back to fight bribery charges in the long-running Sinohydro case.

State generator expands thermal contracting while planning renewable projects that will not arrive before 2028.

High costs, limited time and online misinformation are driving risky medication habits across the country.

The mayoral contest is already testing alliances as candidates argue over unity, legitimacy and political control.

The $20 charge has reduced small-package imports, forcing couriers to close, diversify or chase larger shipments.

The nighttime restriction covers nine provinces and four cantons as authorities move against organized crime.

Authorities say new limits and recent seizures aim to protect formal businesses from illegal imports.

Scammers are using fake work groups to promise easy income while steering victims toward malicious links.

Military deployments, tariff threats and drug-trafficking allegations push Ecuador-Colombia relations into sharper crisis.

The coastal gold project could reshape Ecuador’s mining sector and expand industrial extraction beyond the Amazon.

Three migrants say they asked to return to Ecuador but were instead sent to Africa.

Suspension has blocked the Correísta movement’s appeals while local elections move closer under a revised calendar.

Average worker income fell below the basic salary as informal and precarious jobs continued to dominate the labor market.

Parties say the decision violates political rights and will challenge it in Ecuador and abroad.

Backers of the citizen initiative now have 90 days to collect the remaining endorsements needed.

Spanish court records show how traffickers used fruit shipments, shell companies and corrupt insiders to move cocaine.

Correísmo keeps alive a legal challenge as electoral judges close off other routes against the vote change.

New projections show Fusarium could erode exports, jobs and Ecuador’s dominance in the global banana trade.

Police, schools and private partners are testing whether structure and support can outpace criminal recruitment.

Warnings from the national operator point to overloaded networks, rising demand and the risk of wider power failures.

Rising killings expose criminal fractures and new pressures in a city long seen as one of Ecuador’s safest.

Government says the agreement ends a decade-long dispute, but critics warn major risks remain unresolved.

Legal challenges intensify as parties attack the earlier voting date while electoral judges back the change.

The movement calls it renewal, but the timing underscores tensions inside its provincial structure.

Police arrests are exposing how gangs are breaking apart, multiplying and spreading violence across the country.

New partnership adds flights to Miami as flower exports and inbound shipments drive expansion plans.

Business groups, regional officials and both presidents harden positions as a 100 percent tariff deadline nears.

Washington agreement expands energy cooperation as Quito tries to balance security ties with broader global trade relationships. A new strategic opening Ecuador has taken another step in tightening its relationship with the United States, signing a civil nuclear energy cooperation agreement in Washington while President Daniel Noboa simultaneously pushed back against suggestions that the country […]

Ecuador’s most underappreciated national skill may be its ability to domesticate the abnormal. Not solve it. Not confront it head-on. Certainly not eliminate it. Domesticate it. That is different. A country solves a problem when it removes the cause. It domesticates a problem when it learns to live with the thing wandering around the house. […]

Higher crude prices have brought little relief as fuel imports, subsidies and investor anxiety push risk upward. Ecuador’s country risk climbed to 500 points on March 30th, its highest level so far this year, signaling that international markets remain uneasy about the country’s finances even as oil prices rise above what the government had projected […]

Provincial and cantonal groups remain a powerful force in Azuay as alliances redraw the local political map. Cuenca is heading into another local election season with a political identity that looks very different from Ecuador’s largest cities. While Quito and Guayaquil are largely dominated by national organizations, Azuay’s capital continues to be a place where […]

Monthly price caps may soften the blow, but motorists are still likely to pay more. Drivers in Ecuador are facing another jump in fuel costs as global oil prices surge and international tensions continue to rattle energy markets. While the country’s subsidy reform and price-band system have prevented the kind of immediate price spikes seen […]

American advisers are helping shape Ecuador’s anti-gang operations on land and at sea. The United States is taking a more visible role in Ecuador’s fight against organized crime, not only through offshore interdictions and intelligence support, but also by helping develop tactical and leadership capacity within the country’s security forces. That growing involvement came into […]

State says former vice president is receiving a special diet, supplements, and ongoing treatment. A judge has denied a corrective habeas corpus petition filed on behalf of former Vice President Jorge Glas, rejecting claims that he is being deprived of adequate food and specialized medical attention at the El Encuentro maximum-security prison. The ruling came […]

Rising legal handgun purchases now overlap with mounting fears that weapons are reaching gangs. Ecuador’s legal imports of handguns have climbed to unprecedented levels, with purchases of semi-automatic pistols alone topping $4 million in 2025, even as officials warn that some legally imported firearms are ending up in the hands of organized crime. The spike […]

This week’s seven stories read less like a neat package of daily news and more like a national personality test. Ecuador, once again, appears to be trying to run a modern country with one eye on the weather, one eye on politics, one eye on the power grid, and no eyes left over for the […]

The revived route is expected to strengthen tourism, business travel, and family ties between the two countries. Aeromexico has returned to Quito, restoring a direct air link to Mexico City that airport officials and travelers say had been sorely missed for nearly two years. The airline resumed operations on March 24th, 2026, with four weekly […]

Electoral council says weather risk, not politics, drove the decision to move voting day forward. Diana Atamaint, president of Ecuador’s National Electoral Council, is defending the controversial decision to move up the voting date for the country’s next local elections, insisting the change is grounded in technical reports and legal authority rather than political convenience. […]

Ministers describe dialogue differently as tariffs, border controls and energy measures deepen the standoff. After two months of escalating trade retaliation, Ecuador and Colombia are still publicly at odds over both the substance and direction of talks meant to ease tensions between the neighboring countries. Although officials from both sides met again this week, their […]

Government says seasonal pressures are being managed even as key plants generate below expectations. Ecuador’s power system is facing renewed strain as falling water levels at the Mazar reservoir and reduced output from the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant expose the country’s continued vulnerability to drought, even as officials insist there is no risk of […]

Ruling opens the door to lower tariffs, new market access, and deeper Asian trade ties. Court review completed Ecuador’s Constitutional Court has declared valid the Strategic Economic Cooperation Agreement (SECA) signed with South Korea, clearing a major legal hurdle for one of the government’s most ambitious trade initiatives and shifting attention to the National Assembly […]

There are weeks when Ecuador seems to run less on systems than on stubbornness. Oddly enough, that may be one of its strengths. Read through this week’s lineup of stories and the same pattern keeps appearing. The country is dealing with pressure on multiple fronts at once: trade friction with Colombia, uncertainty over long-term agreements […]

Dry conditions and Colombia’s suspension of electricity sales expose strain in the national grid. Ecuador’s electricity system is facing a fresh stress test as reduced rainfall in two key river basins cut hydroelectric generation and forced operators to lean harder on backup sources, self-generation by private companies, and water reserves that officials insist remain under […]

Latin American leaders warn that diplomacy is being eclipsed by force and unilateral power. The United Nations is facing renewed criticism from two of Latin America’s most prominent leaders, with Colombian President Gustavo Petro arguing that the organization has failed in its central mission of preventing war and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva […]

Five-year intervention gives National Police control of surveillance tools and strategic road monitoring. The National Police has formally taken control of the Samborondón Transit and Surveillance Authority’s operational infrastructure in what the government describes as a direct strike against the criminal networks that use the canton’s roads to move drugs, dodge checkpoints and connect with […]

Regional mediators hope talks in Lima can cool a fast-growing diplomatic and commercial dispute. Relations between Ecuador and Colombia are set for a critical test next week as the two neighboring countries prepare to send high-level delegations to Lima for talks aimed at easing one of the sharpest bilateral disputes in recent years. The meeting, […]

There is a theme running through this week’s Cuenca Dispatch, and it is not exactly subtle. Ecuador is trying to modernize, stabilize, digitize, securitize, flexibilize and subsidize itself all at the same time, while standing knee-deep in floodwater and checking whether the lights are still on. That is not entirely a criticism. It is more […]

Legal ratio improved in 2025, but total state commitments still point to deeper fiscal strain ahead. Ecuador ended 2025 with its official public debt ratio moving in the right direction, at least under the formula required by law. The country’s consolidated public debt reached $65.54 billion, equal to 49% of Gross Domestic Product, according to […]

New investment plan comes as fresh research again rejects claims that 5G poses a health threat. Claro’s parent company, América Móvil, says it will invest $600 million in Ecuador over the next three years, a move aimed at expanding network capacity, improving coverage and accelerating the country’s transition to 5G service. The announcement was made […]

New labor agreement allows longer daily shifts while preserving weekly limits and night work surcharges. Ecuador’s new labor rules allowing employees to work as many as 10 hours a day without exceeding the 40-hour weekly limit are now in effect, setting off a national debate over how the change will work in practice and whether […]

New investigative unit will target trafficking, terrorism financing, and organized crime operating across Ecuador’s borders. Ecuador will soon host a permanent FBI office in Quito under a new bilateral agreement with the United States aimed at strengthening investigations into organized crime, terrorism-related activity, and cross-border criminal networks. The accord was formalized Wednesday, March 11th, 2026, […]

With deadlines approaching, key movements are fighting for control, survival and a viable path to the ballot. With less than six months left before candidacies must be registered for Ecuador’s February 2027 local elections, several political organizations are entering the campaign cycle weakened by legal uncertainty, leadership fights and unresolved internal fractures rather than by […]

Relentless rains push rivers over their banks and deepen Ecuador’s growing rainy season emergency. Babahoyo spent the second week of March fighting water on nearly every front, as swelling rivers, blocked roads and fast-rising floodwaters turned Ecuador’s capital of Los Ríos province into one of the clearest symbols of the country’s worsening rainy season crisis. […]

Government proposal would let companies offset part of their income tax by donating social housing. Ecuador’s government has sent the National Assembly a bill that would allow companies to reduce part of their Income Tax burden by donating social housing for vulnerable families, opening a new path for private-sector participation in addressing one of the […]