Ecuador murders set a record in 2025 as poor agency coordination continues; New restaurants offer new tastes in Cuenca; Ecuador, EU sign investment deal
Hungry? –
(De El Mercurio del domingo, 25/1) Auge gastronómico en Cuenca (Cuenca’s culinary boom) – Cuenca shines as an
attractive culinary destination thanks to the opening of new spaces and a wide variety of businesses with surprising flavors. Labati is an artesanal pizzeria founded by Pablo Coello who has a degree in gastronomia from the U. of Cuenca. He started as a ‘Dark Kitchen’ during the pandemic and now has a restaurant at Capulíes 1-68 y Gran Colombia. On the menu are starters like tomato soup and Caprese salad followed by focaccias, calzones and desserts. He has 18 types of pizza made from masa madre and prepared with plum tomatoes and garden vegetables in a special oven. On the menu are the classic ‘Margarita; the Labati milanesa with Italian pepperoni, artisanal salami, and Portobello mushrooms; and the ‘Viaggio’ with candied figs and Serrano ham. <I still can’t get my taste buds around putting pineapple on a pizza so figs on a pizza is also a step too far.> To attract new customers, he has special offers, free delivery, and ‘All you can eat’ once a month for $10 that includes all the pizzas and drinks. <I hope hungry gringos (and Cuencanos) going for that deal don’t put him out of business.>
President Daniel Noboa met with King Felipe of Spain Prime Minister of Belgium Bart De Wever in Brussels Friday. Among the topics discussed was including Ecuador in Europe’s Schengen visa program.
Monarca is a modern restaurant with an avante-gard design which opened in noviembre, 2025 in the Plaza 8. Lourdes Coellar, a partner, said the inspiration was a love for Mexican culture and food. The identity of the restaurant focuses on the most outstanding Aztec legends in art, film and music, but especially on the Virgen de Guadalupe. The menu includes ribeye tacos, lomo fino, birria, and chicken and pork shepherd style. Also, like the true cantinas in México, there is an ample menu of house cocktails made with mezcal and tequila from the best agave. The cocktails have names like Frida, El Chente, and María Félix <Chespirito? El Chavo?>
Código Burger was started by Pedro Marín and the restaurant is centered on pork rib, chicken, and beef sandwiches, and its signature burgers. Some of the burgers include the ‘Doble’ with 300 grams of beef, potato bread, cheddar, and bacon jam; one with birria which is cooked in clay pots for hours; and the BBQ with housemade sauce and pork smoked for 5 hours. To order, write to their Instagram account at @codigoburguerec or WhatsApp at 098 336 5750.
<Buen provecho, Happy Eating, Bon Appetit, and Rub-a-dub-dub, thanks for the grub.>
Curious? –
(De El Mercurio del sábado, 24/1) Ecuador y UE concretan un acuerdo de inversión (Ecuador and EU finalize investment agreement) – Ecuador and the UE concluded negotiations for an Acuerdo de Facilitación de las Inversiones Sostenibles (SIFA – Agreement to Facilitate Sustainable Investment), the first to be signed with a Latin American country. According to the European Commission, this agreement will help the creation of a more transparent and efficient business environment in Ecuador. This will improve the investment climate, benefitting both EU investors and locals, and promote sustainable investments. The SIFA includes a unique anexo (annex – kaddendum?)with specific provisions for investment in sustainable energy and raw materials. <I’m suspicious that this “annex” contains the small print detrimental to Ecuador.>
(De El Mercurio del sábado, 24/1) Noboa aboga por la visa Schengen (Noboa advocates for the Schengen visa) – On el viernes, Pres. Noboa met with King Felipe and Prime MInister Bart De Wever of Belgium. The meetings centered on the Schengen visa, security, trade, and the strengthening of bilateral relations. As a key point, he raised Ecuador’s interest in Schengen visa exemptions, saying that getting this benefit would be a significant signal of mutual confidence and deepen political, economic, and diplomatic ties. In the area of security, he emphasized the importance of uniting efforts to fight against organized international crime as a shared challenge that requires a more solid international cooperation. <As in those countries with the consumers of drugs also need to step up and own the problem?>
(De El Mercurio del domingo, 25/1) Roban de celulares en el centro de Cuenca (Cell phones stolen in downtown Cuenca) – 3 armed delinquents stole high end cellphones from ‘Tech-Cell’ a few meters away from City Hall. One of the attackers had a revolver, another a visible scar, and a 3d waited outside. They were caught on security cameras and escaped on 2 motos headed towards Parque Calderón.
(De El Mercurio del domingo, 25/1) Muerte en la cárcel de Turi relacionan con venezolano (Death in Turi prison linked to Venezuelan national) – An inmate at the prison in Turi was found dead on el viernes. Although the Prosecutor’s Office hasn’t identified him, it is assumed to be a Venezuelan who was implicated in a kidnapping in Azogues. The man was in preventive prison since he was arrested while he was trying to escape with his victim who has been freed. <And probably getting some intensive psychological counseling.>
(De El Mercurio del domingo, 25/1) Violencia crece y muta (Violence grows and mutates) – Ecuador is going through one of the most critical times in recent history in terms of security. In 2016 there were 959 homicidios intencionales (premeditated murder?). In 2025, this had risen to 9,216, a number which set off alarms and confirmed the structural, persistent, and geographical unequal problem. When mapped, murders are concentrated in Guayas with 4,106 or 45% of the killings, followed by Los Ríos (1,276), and Manabí (1,271). By canton, Guayaquil leads with 2,535 homicides or about 1/4 of the national total. Durán, Manta, Machala and Portoviejo follow. Besides the absolute numbers are the murders per 100,000 inhabitants. Los Ríos leads with 130 homicides per 100,000 population. This is almost triple the national average of 51 per 100,000. In contrast, Azuay, Chimborazo and Carchi, had the lowest murder rates in the country, ranging between 4.5 & 7.3 per 100,000. Azuay saw a decrease in killings between 2024 and 2025 from 91 to 38. Only in the canton of Cuenca did the rate increase, from 18 in 2024 to 21 in 2025.
For Matías Abad, ex-governor of Azuay from 2021 to 2023 the rebound in killings seen in during Pres. Lasso’s term was not a sudden phenomenon but an expression of an accumulated process after years of government inaction. According to his criteria, 2025 was the most violent year in the country’s history in spite of an increased budget, international cooperation, and the Fénix (Phoenix) plan. Abad said a weakness in intelligence persists. There is no integrated system that coordinates the Police, Armed Forces and civic organizations to anticipate crime, dismantle criminal structures, and follow narco-trafficking money. <Maybe because the money trail leads to major local and international financial institutions. Institutions “Too big to fail” or to penalize.>
He proposed that security should be assumed as an issue for the federal government. Without a clear plan involving the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches; local governments and the citizenry, resources are duplicated, efficiency lost, and response weakened. In the case of Azuay, although the homicide rates are lower than on the coast, the presence of gangs exists and the apparent calm can lead to institutional neglect.
The graph for homicides from 2016 to 2025 shows 959 murders in 2016 rising to 1,372 in 2020 then shooting up to 2.495 in 2021. From 2022 to 2025, the numbers for each of the 4 years were 4,886, 8,248, 7,063, and 9.216. For Cuenca, in the 12 years from 2014 to 2025, the murders were 26, 5, 21, 31, 16, 16, 23, 48, 47 (in 2021 & 2022 <everyone going crazy during the pandemic?>), 24, 18, & 21.
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Information in this column, including dates, times and locations, is courtesy of the El Mercurio newspaper. Comments between the carrots, or guillemets (< … >), are the personal opinions of the author and not part of the news translation.
