Ecuador News

The National Institute of Meteorology (Inamhi) reported moderate to heavy rain over most of southern Ecuador Tuesday and predicted more to come through the end of the week. In a statement, Inamhi reported the rainfall has increased the level of the Paute River that feeds the country’s largest complex of hydroelectric generation plants. Despite yesterday’s...

A Miami jury found former Ecuador Comptroller Carlos Pólit guilty of all counts Tuesday, including charges on accepting and laundering millions of dollars in bribes from the giant Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht. The prosecution proved that Pólit transferred the money to a U.S. account managed by his son who invested it in real estate and...

By Marc Jones Ecuador is scoping out new debt-for-nature swaps, one to funnel funds into the Amazon rainforest and another for a giant ocean protection zone backed by Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio, people familiar with the matter have told Reuters. The South American country is looking to build on the record-breaking $1.6 billion debt swap...

Energy Minister Roberto Luque said the government is resuming negotiations with several private companies for electricity generation services. “The talks ended in December when the country’s hydro generation improved but we’re talking again because of the new crisis,” he said. Under emergency contracting provisions, Luque said diesel or gas power generation barges could be installed...

Only hours after Ecuadorian voters approved sweeping new anti-crime measures, police announced the capture of the fugitive leader of one of the country’s most powerful criminal gangs. Fabricio Colón Pico, leader of Los Lobos, had been on the run since escaping prison in early January and was included among the country’s “most wanted” men. Officials...

Ecuadorians voted overwhelmingly for President Daniel Noboa’s referendum questions to fight crime in Sunday’s national referendum, particularly ones that allow the armed forces to assist police. On the other hand, voters rejected two unrelated questions, signaling they are not willing to give the president a blank check. Two questions that passed will allow the armed...

Ecuador’s new Energy Minister Roberto Luque said Saturday that electric power blackouts will resume Monday, but suggested blackout periods may be reduced. In two Saturday interviews, Luque blamed the crisis on “rare and extraordinary climatic conditions” but said “ineffective communication and possibly incompetence” led to a lack of preparation. “We understand citizen indignation for the...

President Daniel Noboa declared a 60-day national emergency Friday aimed at “managing the commotion and public calamity” of Ecuador’s electricity crisis. “Current conditions require urgent state intervention to protect and guarantee electricity service to citizens,” the government said in a statement. The new emergency expands and extends the emergency declared on Monday, which the presidential...

By Beatrice Miranda Living on the banks of the Bobonaza River, in the Ecuadorian Amazon, the Indigenous communities in Sarayaku have always lived in harmony with nature. The rainforest, says Patricia Gualinga, is a sacred, conscious being. So when an Argentinian company was allowed to place a huge amount of high explosive around the rainforest...