Posts:
No discussion of Ecuador's proposed 15,000-person prison can continue for more than seven minutes before somebody invokes El Salvador. The process is now almost automatic. Mention organized crime, prison gangs, or extortion in Latin America and, within moments, the...
Realizing that my wife Belinda and I may one day need living assistance, the Los Jardines Geriatric Center on Cuenca’s west side presents such an opportunity. After relocating from California thirteen years ago, we have made Cuenca our home. Our fifth-floor apartment...
Thousands of Cuenca bus passengers were stranded Monday night as urban bus companies ended service at 7 p.m., three hours early. The union representing bus owners says its members are losing money due to rising diesel prices, higher taxes and lack of action by the...
Leftist Congressman Roberto Sanchez has edged ahead of his conservative opponent Keiko Fujimori in Peru’s presidential run-off, reversing the narrow lead she held earlier in the day. With nearly 95 percent of the votes tallied on Monday, Sanchez’s vote rose to 50.10...
A recent comment on one of my Cuenca High Life articles stopped me in my tracks. The commenter argued that artificial intelligence is advancing so quickly that many of the skills people spent decades developing may soon have far less value than they once did. After...
By Maria Teresa Hernandez, Nayara Batschke and Eleonore Hughes The chain that hung from Santiago García’s neck carried no crosses or saint medals, yet it felt sacred nonetheless. When García’s grandmother fell sick years ago and he visited her in intensive care, the...
By Samantra Brown Picture yourself walking into a pharmacy abroad and pointing at antibiotics on the shelf. No doctor’s visit required. No questions asked. For some travelers, that scenario sounds like a dream come true. For others, it triggers red flags about safety...
Apologies to you, dear readers, for the gap in these posts. 3 weeks ago, delivery of the paper stopped. The first call to El Mercurio got me some rapid-fire Spanish and the only thing I understood was "there is a problem and we're working to solve it." The person who...
Within minutes of Ecuador announcing plans for a 15,000-person prison complex, the BTL Expat Think Tank had already produced a complete reform strategy involving desert fortresses, retired military consultants, signal jammers, biometric scanners, and at least three...
by Mark A. Mahoney, Ph.D., R.D.N. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cause of cancer in the U.S. 2025 estimates were for 154,270 new cases and 52,900 deaths. Colon cancer occurs when genetic mutations turn healthy colon cells into cancerous cells. The...
By Maria Zuppello Ecuador’s criminal landscape continues to rapidly evolve, as a response to the Daniel Noboa administration’s military pressure campaign. This evolution is marked by an ongoing diversification and fragmentation of major criminal organizations and the...
There are moments in Cuenca when you suddenly realize you are no longer living in the sleepy colonial retirement brochure sold on Facebook by people wearing alpaca sweaters and holding cups of artisan coffee the size of flowerpots. One of those moments arrives every...
By Helen Regan On May 10, 1996, more than 30 climbers became stranded high on the world’s tallest mountain by a powerful and unexpected storm. Oxygen-starved, exhausted and lost in the darkness, their story became a fight for survival against 70mph winds and -40...
By Marco Aquino and Lucinda Elliott Conservative Keiko Fujimori will seek Peru's presidency on Sunday in a runoff vote, hoping that her tough-on-crime stance at a time of rising insecurity will outweigh a polarizing family legacy with voters. Fujimori, 51, secured the...
The commander of the Ecuadorian Air Force, Mauricio Salazar, apologized Thursday to the families of four Guayaquil boys kidnapped and murdered in December 2024. The apology was ordered by the Constitutional Court. "I appear before the families of Josué, Ismael, Steven...
By Garry Vatcher Several years ago, we attended an international conference in Munich. It was an eye-opening experience. The funders we met there were very familiar with Ecuador and the challenges organizations face. One issue stood out immediately: in most countries,...
Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz warns the country is at a "breaking point" after nearly a month of protests that have caused shortages of food, fuel and life-saving medicine. The political capital, La Paz, has been besieged by low-income workers and members of the...
By Bibi van der Zee As a recent study revealed almost half of UK adults now spend less than three hours a week in natural settings such as gardens, parks, fields or woods, we asked readers to tell us about what being outside means to them. The replies – heartfelt and...
According to its sponsors, this year’s Corpus Christi celebration in Cuenca will be "el mas grande de todos," or the biggest ever. Events begin today, centered around Parque Calderon, where more than 100 vendors will sell candy and pastries and fireworks will light up...
By Liam Higgins Corpus Christi begins today in Cuenca and continues until Friday, June 19. For most Cuencanos and expats, the celebration, or Setenario, as it is sometimes called, means candy sales in Parque Calderon, nightly fireworks, an assortment of craft and food...
Week of September 20
Ecuador turns to industrial power cuts to protect Mazar and keep homes from going dark.
Ecuador raises its 2026 growth forecast, but El Niño could spoil the outlook next year.
Cuenca retirees challenge medical and therapy changes at IESS senior center.
