Ecuador Archives - The Diplomatic Envoy

Ecuador, which is sandwiched between the two top cocaine producers in the world, Colombia and Peru, has seen illicit economies and drug related violence grow since 2018, with homicide rates spiking in 2021. By 2023, Ecuador recorded the highest homicide rates in the Western Hemisphere at about 45 homicides per every 100,000 citizens. In January 2024, the state television network TC Television was assaulted by 13 armed men belonging to the Los Tiguerones drug gang, reports Ecuadorian news outlet Primicias.

April 22, 2024 Sofia Diaz

FOCUS on Public Diplomacy Conflicts – Mexico and Ecuador

Tensions between Mexico and Ecuador escalated on April 5, when Ecuadorian police invaded the Mexican Embassy in Quito. Jorge Glas, the former Ecuadorian Vice President, was arrested while taking refuge in the embassy after being convicted on accounts of corruption and bribery, leading to the diplomatic ties between the two countries being suspended.

2024 January 2024

February 5, 2024 Anthony Samaniego

Growing Gang Presence in Ecuador

Hundreds of rehabilitation centers in the country have been raided and closed by police for being operated as clandestine centers by Drug gangs, officials say these hospitals lack proper patient care, says France24.

March 2023

March 28, 2023 Anthony Samaniego

Earthquake in Ecuador and Peru kills 16

On March 18, Ecuador and Peru experienced an earthquake with a calculated magnitude of 6.5 on the Richter scale. The earthquake’s epicenter was on Puná Island in Ecuador’s southeast, affecting it and northern Peru.

October 2022 2022 International News

October 24, 2022 Anthony Samaniego

Prison Riots Highlights Conditions in Ecuadorian Prison System

On October 3, 2022, a prison riot in the Cotopaxi Jail located in the city of Latacunga, Ecuador, left 43 prisoners injured and 16 dead, according to Ecuadorian news outlet Ecuavisa. The following day a ninth prison massacre caused by gang violence this year occurred at the Littoral Penitentiary leaving 13 prisoners dead, says ecuavisa

2022 Americas

May 9, 2022 Madeline Field

Ecuador Declares State of Emergency in Response to Drug Violence

Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso announced the reimposition of a state of emergency last Friday in three crime-ridden provinces, Guayas, Manabí, and Esmeraldas, Reuters reports. The measure, which went into effect on April 30, will remain in place for 60 days. More than 9,000 members of the police and military are expected to help enforce the government’s curfew from 11:00 PM to 5:00 AM and restore law and order in the streets.

2022 Americas

May 3, 2022 Shweta Parthasarathy

Ecuador Requests Extradition of Former President Rafael Correa

On April 22, an Ecuadorian high court requested the extradition of former leftist President Rafael Correa from his current residence in Belgium. Correa, who has lived in Belgium since the end of his presidency in 2017, was sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison for the alleged acceptance of bribes to finance his political endeavors between 2012 and 2016 in exchange for state contracts worth around $7 million.

2021 April 2021 International News Americas

April 27, 2021 Shweta Parthasarathy

Conservative Banker Wins Ecuadorian Election

Voters in Ecuador elected Guillermo Lasso, a conservative banker, to serve as president for the next four years. Lasso won the runoff election with just 52.5 percent of the votes, reports The Economist, after claiming a spot in the runoff with a lead of a half a percentage point.

October 2019 Focus Escalation: Peaceful Protest to Violent Rebellion 2019

January 14, 2020 Collin Duran

Focus on Escalation: Ecuador

Anew policy has been implemented ending the state’s over forty-year-old fuel subsidy and launching Ecuador into the worst protests the country has seen in decades, forcing an official “state of emergency.”

April 2017 Focus 2017 Narcotics Trade

April 6, 2017 Felipe Bueno

Focus on the Narcotics Trade: Ecuador

The U.S. and Central America are common destinations for cocaine trafficked through Ecuador. According to a United Nations International Narcotics Control Board report, cocaine seizures in Ecuador rose by over 252 percent from 2010 to 2015.