News

In 14-hour court hearing Thursday in a Quito, four government witnesses described how a powerful criminal gang leader manipulated Ecuador’s court and prison systems for favorable legal rulings and preferential treatment. Key moments of the testimony included details of how a prison pacification commissioner, the president of the national judiciary council and two National Assemblymen,...
The National Prison Service (SNAI) said three inmates died and six others were injured during Wednesday night’s riot at the Guayas Regional Prison. Originally, SNAI reported that there were no casualties. SNAI spokesman Paul Berrezueta said Thursday that the early casualty assessment was premature. “The sweep of the affected areas was not completed until late...
By Alex Spencer Professor Giles Yeo wants you to stop worrying about your supermarket bread loaf and whether it could be classed as ultra processed food (UPF). The definition of UPF as something that is made through industrial processes and contains ingredients not normally seen in the average kitchen – such as modified starch or...
Forty-five Ecuadorian mayors in have requested police protection in the past year as violence grips the country, where 22 local officials have died in violent circumstances since 2023, the executive director of the Association of Ecuadorean Municipalities (AME) said. Officials remain under threat amid a national crackdown on criminal groups. President Daniel Noboa declared a...
With the international price of cocoa beans hitting all-time highs, Ecuadorian producers are poised to reap big profits. On Tuesday, the price of a metric ton of cocoa reached $9,622, a 300% increase from 12 months ago. According to industry experts, the price surge is the result of bad weather and crop disease in west...
Prisoners at the Guayas Regional Prison burned mattresses and trash Wednesday night protesting the policies of President Daniel Noboa and the use of the armed forces inside the prison. With chants of “Out Noboa” and “Out soldiers,” and “We want our prison back,” inmates took control of two prison courtyards early Wednesday evening, broadcasting photos...
By Michael Stott A Chinese state-owned shipping company building one of Latin America’s biggest deepwater ports has criticized a move by the Peruvian government to remove its exclusive right to operate the facility. China Cosco’s Peruvian arm said a decision by authorities in Lima to seek to annul the exclusivity granted over the Chancay megaport...
By Ray Horsley A recent article in CuencaHighLife made the claim that Boomer parents are to blame for their millennial kids not being responsible. It mostly addressed financial responsibility but also blamed these parents in a vague way for not preparing their children “for life”. Among those referenced were several women 38 years old. One...
The attorney for Francisco Barreiro, son of Vice President Verónica Abad, is demanding to know why Barreiro is being held in a maximum-security prison in Guayaquil and suggests the decision is politically motivated. Barreiro was arrested Thursday in Cuenca, charged with influence peddling and attempting to extort money from an employee of the vice president’s...
By Ruth Margolis When you move abroad, you expect some bureaucratic befuddlement. You’re setting up from scratch in a country whose systems and procedures you don’t know. But for Brits, U.S. red tape should be simple to scoot around and under. Right? We very nearly speak the same language, and Americans seem like such a...
By Tom Phillips A chorus of Latin American nations, including Brazil and Colombia, have voiced concern over the deteriorating political situation in Venezuela after the opposition politician best-positioned to challenge its strongman leader, Nicolás Maduro, in July’s presidential election was prevented from registering for the vote. Corina Yoris, an 80-year-old philosopher, was little-known outside academic circles...
One year after 75 people died in an avalanche in Alausí, the town in the Ecuadorian Andes is recovering little by little with the efforts of its residents, who continue to live amid the danger of new landslides while they wait for official aid for reconstruction. On the night of Mar. 26, 2023, thousands of...

Expat Life

By Ray Horsley A recent article in CuencaHighLife made the claim that Boomer parents are to blame for their millennial...
By Ruth Margolis When you move abroad, you expect some bureaucratic befuddlement. You’re setting up from scratch in a country...
By Kate Dore Millions of Americans are scrambling to file returns as the federal tax deadline approaches. But U.S. expatriates have extra filing rules — and...
By Jeannine Mancini A discussion on an online platform has unveiled a shared sentiment among millennials regarding their upbringing by baby...

Health News

By Alex Spencer Professor Giles Yeo wants you to stop worrying about your supermarket bread loaf and whether it could...
By Eduardo Cuevas and Karen Weintraub More than a year after catching COVID-19, Sawyer Blatz still can’t practice his weekly rituals:...

Opinion

By Ray Horsley A recent article in CuencaHighLife made the claim that Boomer parents are to blame for their millennial...
By Surita Sandosham The Covid-19 pandemic, protests by indigenous groups and El Niño flooding have landed devastating blows to poor Ecuadorians...
By Garry Vatcher When I was just a little boy, a long, long time ago, my mother was really worried...

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