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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, July 26th 2025 - 00:48 UTC

Tag: Ecuador

  • Monday, July 21st 2025 - 19:48 UTC

    Ecuador extradites alias “Fito” to the United States

    If convicted, Macías could face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years

    Ecuadorean drug trafficking gang leader José Adolfo Macías Villamar, alias “Fito” was extradited late Sunday to the United States. The head of the “Los Choneros” organization was considered one of the country's most notorious criminals, whose escape from jail in 2024 triggered a violence wave that forced President Daniel Noboa to declare an internal “armed conflict.” Fito was recaptured on June 25.

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  • Saturday, July 5th 2025 - 10:31 UTC

    Ecuador: Emergency declared in two provinces due to torrential rains

    One person died, and oil exports had to be stopped

    The Ecuadorean Government Friday declared a 45-day regional state of emergency in the Amazonian provinces of Zamora Chinchipe and Napo due to severe rainfall, flooding, and landslides. These conditions have significantly impacted residents, homes, basic services, and critical infrastructure, including the road network and the nation's two main oil pipelines, the Heavy Crude Oil Pipeline (OCP) and the Trans-Ecuadorian Pipeline System (SOTE).

  • Friday, June 27th 2025 - 18:54 UTC

    China and Ecuador deepen bilateral ties

    Xi encouraged both sides to effectively carry out key cooperation projects

    Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed his Ecuadorean colleague Daniel Noboa in Beijing Friday to strengthen bilateral ties, marking the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations. The leaders signed a cooperation plan to advance the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which the South American country joined in 2018, to boost infrastructure, trade, and investment.

  • Thursday, June 26th 2025 - 10:34 UTC

    “Most wanted” Ecuadorean gangster alias Fito captured

    Fito will be extradited to the United States, Noboa said

    Ecuadorean authorities confirmed Wednesday that José Adolfo Macías Villamar, alias “Fito,” leader of the “Los Choneros” drug trafficking gang, who escaped from a Guayaquil prison in January 2024, has been recaptured.

  • Saturday, June 14th 2025 - 10:54 UTC

    Ecuador asks Unicef for help tackling criminal gangs recruiting minors

    “El reclutamiento forzado o inducido de niños, niñas y adolescentes es un problema complejo”, afirmó Pinto

    Ecuadorean authorities asked the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef) for assistance to tackle organized crime gangs recruiting minors amid a national insecurity crisis, it was reported Friday in Quito.

  • Monday, May 26th 2025 - 10:59 UTC

    Noboa sworn in for second term as President of Ecuador

    Noboa faces challenges like violence and unemployment in his second term

    Ecuador's re-elected President Daniel Noboa was sworn in for a new four-year term in Quito, alongside Vice President Maria Jose Pinto. In his inaugural speech, Noboa pledged to advance steadily, “implementing each and every one of the necessary reforms to build a State that is not a burden to society”, in addition to putting “a solid foundation for the growth of employment, investment.”

  • Saturday, May 10th 2025 - 10:24 UTC

    At least 11 Ecuadorean troops killed in fight against illegal mining

    FARC dissidents were said to be behind the ambush

    At least 11 Ecuadorean troops were killed Friday in an ambush during an operation against illegal gold mining in the Alto Punino sector of the Amazon, near the Colombian border in Napo and Orellana provinces.

  • Tuesday, May 6th 2025 - 10:30 UTC

    Ecuador under epidemiological alert for pertussis, yellow fever, and leptospirosis

    According to Lama, yellow fever “is contained” in the Ecuadorean Amazon

    Ecuador has mandated mask-wearing in schools across provinces like Guayas, Manabí, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Guayaquil, and Pichincha for 60 days due to an epidemiological alert caused by rising cases of whooping cough (321 cases, primarily in children) and yellow fever (four cases in Amazonian provinces).

  • Thursday, May 1st 2025 - 18:55 UTC

    Unknown infectious agent kills eight Ecuadorean children

    The tests' results will be available around May 10

    At least eight Ecuadorean children in Taisha, in the province of Morona Santiago bordering Peru, died between February and April 2025 due to an unknown infectious agent, showing symptoms like fever, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, gastrointestinal issues, dehydration, and pneumonia. In this scenario, the Health Ministry has deployed extensive epidemiological efforts, including medical brigades, water and food analyses, and community interventions, but the cause remains unidentified.

  • Saturday, April 19th 2025 - 10:33 UTC

    At least 11 killed at Ecuador cockfighting event

    The perpetrators wore military uniforms are seized US$ 20,000 from the premises

    At least 11 people were killed and nine injured when a group of armed attackers, disguised as soldiers, stormed a cockfighting event in the rural community of La Valencia in the Ecuadorean province of Manabí.

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