Rising deaths in 2025 reveal how little progress has been made in reclaiming the prisons. Ecuador’s prison crisis has entered its twelfth year with almost no sign of recovery. Official records now show 943 inmates murdered between 2014 and October 2025, nearly all of them men, most of them under 35, and more than half […] To access this post, you must purchase The Cuenca Dispatch Subscription – Monthly or The Cuenca Dispatch Subscription – Annual.

Experts say habitat loss and weak research efforts are accelerating the decline of Ecuador’s most threatened big cats. A predator under pressure Each year on November 29th, International Jaguar Day draws attention to the largest feline in the Americas—yet in Ecuador, experts say the species is slipping into deeper trouble, especially along the coast. Jaguars […] To access this post, you must purchase The Cuenca Dispatch Subscription – Monthly or The Cuenca Dispatch Subscription – Annual.

New allegations, shifting statements and cross-border legal maneuvers deepen uncertainty over the case. A case mired in competing narratives More than two years after the murder of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, the criminal investigation meant to identify its masterminds has become increasingly tangled. What began with a trio of testimonies from convicted operatives linked to […] To access this post, you must purchase The Cuenca Dispatch Subscription – Monthly or The Cuenca Dispatch Subscription – Annual.

Armed dissidents push deeper toward Ecuador, heightening security concerns along a corridor long shaped by criminal alliances. A new armed faction crosses into Ecuador Ecuador’s already fragile northern border has entered a new phase of volatility after security forces confirmed the presence of Colombia’s Comuneros del Sur—also known as the Southern Communards—in Carchi province. The […] To access this post, you must purchase The Cuenca Dispatch Subscription – Monthly or The Cuenca Dispatch Subscription – Annual.

Tuberculosis, malnutrition and extreme overcrowding drive a deadly collapse inside the Litoral Penitentiary. A surge of preventable deaths The Litoral Penitentiary in northern Guayaquil has become the deadliest place of detention in Ecuador, with 592 inmates dying between January and September of this year alone. The toll represents nearly eight percent of the prison’s population […] To access this post, you must purchase The Cuenca Dispatch Subscription – Monthly or The Cuenca Dispatch Subscription – Annual.