Ecuador News

Ecuador’s government is deploying soldiers and police in nine provinces to combat illegal mining, officials said on Monday, in a bid to stamp out the unlawful mines mostly targeting gold and copper deposits. The announcement came after some 1,000 security forces destroyed machinery in a raid on illegal miners in the eastern Amazonian provinces of...

Following two polls last week showing voters are against the impeachment of President Guillermo Lasso, a new Perfiles de Opinión poll gave Ecuador’s National Assembly the lowest approval rating ever recorded. Based on a sample of 1,618 voters in Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca, only 5.67% of respondents rated the work of the Assembly as “good...

National Assembly President Virgilio Saquicela plans to call a vote Tuesday to decide if the impeachment trial against President Guillermo Lasso continues. Although the call for a trial is widely expected to pass, some say it could also determine if Lasso’s presidency is in serious jeopardy. “I’m sure the opposition has the votes to continue...

The National Assembly Oversight Commission on Saturday failed to muster the votes to approve a report recommending against an impeachment trial for President Guillermo Lasso. Assembly members pushing for impeachment claim that Lasso ignored cases of potential embezzlement related to a contract between state-owned oil transportation company Flopec and a private business. Lasso denies the...

By Rodrigo Campos Credit Suisse has bought up $1.6 billion worth of Ecuador’s bonds, freeing up cash for conservation of the country’s unique Galapagos Islands in what is set to be the biggest debt-for-nature swap ever struck. The plans sees three of Ecuador’s big government bonds, which have slumped in value this year due to a...

Two suspected thieves were shot and killed in a gunfight with police Wednesday in Durán. Social media videos showed about dozen bystanders applauding and cheering police following the shootings as the victims’ bodies lay in the street. According to the police report, the suspects, riding a motorcycle, followed a man who had just withdrawn cash...

By Kimberley Brown Kayaking down the Napo River in Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest, environmentalist Matthew Terry bemoaned how the once-lush riverbanks are now barren and full of dredges, excavating machines and bulldozers as illegal gold mining spreads across the region. In certain areas, miners have completely rerouted the river channel, while some smaller tributaries of the Napo...

The command of Ecuador’s Armed Forces says it stands ready to implement more forceful measures against drug cartels and the criminal gangs that support them. President Guillermo Lasso said Tuesday, he will issue a decree this week designating criminal organizations as “terrorists,” authorizing the use of lethal force by the military and police against them....