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By Eloise Horsfield Four British expats saw their Spanish retirement dreams turn to dust after their homes were flattened. The demolitions, which began on Tuesday in the rural village of Cantoria, bring the total of British-owned homes destroyed in the province of...
Officials from Ecuador’s Ministry of the Interior and National Police presented a new citizens’ manual last week that aims at involving local communities in the fight against crime. The “Guide for Civilian Safety, Civilian Solidarity” was introduced in the south Quito...
Like other expatriates who take on a major house renovation project in their adopted country, Dorie Deal and Bob Hoerster readily admit that they didn’t know what they were getting into four years ago when they purchased a large house in Cuenca’s historic district. “I...
By Susan Schenck “It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you that someone has been murdered!” announced Hugh Dunnit (a.k.a. Hugh Loomis) in a British accent so smooth, it fooled a lady from England. A mesmerized audience of 60 at Paladar’s Restaurante Dinner...
The European Union plans to urge Latin American countries from providing Russia with agricultural produce, saying it would be unfair and ‘difficult to justify.’ “We will be talking to the countries that would potentially replacing our exports to indicate that we would...
China is making a strong move to bolster its rapidly expanding influence in Latin America as with President Xi Jinping continues his visits to countries in the region. On Monday night, Xi arrived in Havana on the last leg of his marathon trip, following a visit to...
By Robert Wood America is a great land and lures immigrants worldwide, yet record numbers of U.S. citizens and permanent residents are giving up their citizenship or residency. For all the immigrant arrivals the trickle the other direction is increasing. The number is...
By Jim Wyss Franklin D. Roosevelt had it, so did Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez and so does Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega. Could Ecuador’s Rafael Correa be the next president to win the right to consecutive and indefinite reelection? That’s the question the country’s...
Ecuador can pursue a lawsuit seeking to recover hundreds of millions of dollars the country claims was fraudulently drained by the owners of Filanbanco SA who subsequently fled the country to live to Miami, a Florida appeals court ruled. Today’s ruling overturns a...
Jilted by the Cuenca city council, Leonardo Berrezueta has been appointed Azuay provincial governor by President Rafael Correa. It appeared that Berrezueta was in line to be Cuenca vice mayor but the defection of two Alianza País councilwomen denied him the office....
The first effects of the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which goes into effect July 1, are beginning to felt around the world and they could have a big impact on U.S. expats. FATCA requires foreign banks to report all accounts of more than $50,000...
Editor's note: Pablo Sanguinetti is director of socioeconomics research at CAF-development bank of Latin America and professor of economics at Universidad Torcuato Di Tella in Buenos Aires. By Pablo Sanguinetti A long time ago, a reporter is said to have asked the...
On the morning of August 8, 2013, Charles and Kathleen Barrett were preparing to leave Colorado for the return trip to Cuenca following the recent wedding of their daughter. Charles was leaving from the Denver airport while Kathleen was flying out of Grand Junction,...
Two Cuenca expat couples have been denied a return trip to Ecuador due to alleged tax violations in the U.S. In both cases, IRS attorneys were granted a writ of Ne Exeat Republica by the courts, an order that requires those served to turn over their passports and to...
The Catholic church reports that substantial progress has been made restoring the Seminario San Luis following a devastating 2012 fire. The seminary is located adjacent to the Cathedral, fronting Calles Simon Bolivar and Benigno Malo. Investigators say the fire was...
Ecuador’s Social Security administration, Instituto Ecuatoriano de Seguridad Social (IESS), is reviewing the terms of expanded voluntary membership in its health care program. A spokesman for the agency said, however, that any adjustments will not affect the...
In a year-end interview, President Rafael Correa said he intends to make streamlining government paperwork a priority for 2014. Although the original intent was to reduce the steps and time required to establish and operate a business, Correa said that red tape needs...
Police are turning up more cases of a new fad among the city’s youth: getting drunk by gum drops. Apparently imported from the U.S., the practice involves soaking gum drops in heated liquor before they are consumed. Several parties where the loaded gum drops were...
Although Ecuador has managed to keep most of the drug trade outside of its borders, there are increasing signs that it is making inroads along its northern border with Colombia and on the Pacific coast. The dreaded Mexican drug cartels have allied with former...
By Anna Marie de la Fuente Ecuador is experiencing a mini movie production boom, churning out four to five pics a year compared with one every two years before 2007, and one every four years before 1999. Local hits such as Sebastian Cordero’s “Pescador” (2011) and the...
