Judges are challenging the restructuring of Ecuador’s specialized corruption courts, while the Judicatura says every pending case still has a judge. A restructuring of Ecuador’s specialized corruption and organized-crime courts has triggered a constitutional fight over hundreds of criminal cases, with judges taking the dispute to the Constitutional Court while the National Assembly’s Justice Commission […]

Rising rivers damaged at least 14 homes, destroyed one building and forced evacuations in communities west of Cuenca. Heavy rain and rapidly rising rivers damaged homes and forced evacuations in the western portion of Cuenca canton this week, turning the national El Niño red alert into a direct local emergency for communities in Molleturo. The […]

Mobile operators must strengthen identity verification for new and replacement SIM cards as authorities target extortion, fraud and anonymous phone use. Ecuador is tightening the rules for obtaining and replacing cellphone SIM cards, requiring telecommunications companies to use stronger identity checks—including biometric verification—as the government tries to make it harder for criminals to obtain mobile […]