Cuenca prepares for El Niño; Former mayor faces criminal charges; Fishermen suffer a ‘fishing drought’

Cuenca’s Cantonal Emergency Operations Committee (COE) has been formally activated, according to Mayor Marisol Peñaloza, holding its first meeting on Monday. “All reports tell us that the approaching El Niño phenomenon will be very strong, possibly the strongest in more than a century,” she said.

Peñaloza said the Cuenca canton faces an “extremely complicated scenario” due to variations in elevation. “At lower levels, such as Chaucha and Molleturo, we must prepare for flooding rains while most of the canton, including the urban and suburban areas of Cuenca, will experience severe drought,” she said. “We must be prepared to provide flood and landslide relief as well as assistance to agricultural interests that will suffer from prolonged dry conditions.”

Artisanal fishermen are suffering a “fishing drought” due to El Niño.

Peñaloza added that work is already underway to equip first-responders for weather-related emergencies, including wildfire control.

According to forecasters, heavy rains will begin in October and continue through early 2027, while drought conditions at higher elevations will intensify through the same period.

Former mayor Zamora faces criminal charges
The Attorney General’s office announced Monday that former Cuenca mayor Cristian Zamora will be prosecuted for illicit enrichment. Prosecutors said they plan to file charges in “the coming days” but did give a specific date.

Zamora was removed from office in June after he was found guilty of “gender violence” for insulting a Cuenca municipal councilwoman.

According to prosecutors, the illicit enrichment charge is based on loans the former mayor made to family members although details of the transactions have not been released. Zamora calls the charges a “witch hunt” by the government and says the loans were “totally legal.” Zamora was a frequent critic of President Daniel Noboa and was a vocal supporter of protests that forced the government to abandon plans for a large gold mine south of Cuenca.

Zamora announced last week on social media that he was traveling to Mexico for treatment of a stomach illness he has suffered since leaving office. He left the country on Sunday.

Ecuador fishermen suffer a ‘fishing drought’
Ecuador’s artisanal fishermen are facing an “economic crisis” as the fish they depend on for their livelihoods have moved to cooler water far from shore. “Because of El Niño, many species of fish that could be caught five to 20 kilometers from the mainland have relocated to deeper water, 30 to 60 kilometers away,” the Institute for Aquaculture and Fisheries Research reported Sunday.

According to the institute, water temperatures near the shore have risen by as much as four degrees centigrade since June. It added that the rapid rise in ocean temperatures is the most extreme on record.

The institute said that the rising temperatures have forced the relocation of schools of bonito, mackerel, amomoy, corvina and albacore, the fish that small fishermen depend on.

“The boats and fishing equipment of most independent fisherman are not adequate for deep-sea fishing trips, and most cannot travel beyond 20 kilometers,” the institute said, adding that the “fishing drought” was creating “extreme hardship” for artisanal fishermen with no relief expected until early 2027.