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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, July 20th 2025 - 23:30 UTC

Tag: Ecuador

  • Saturday, April 29th 2023 - 10:39 UTC

    Drug trafficking gangs labeled as “terrorists” by Ecuador's gov't

    Lasso's decision allows for direct military intervention

    Ecuadorian gangs linked to drug trafficking have been likened to “terrorists” by the administration of President Guillermo Lasso in a move to curb the escalating violence, it was reported. The decision was taken after a State and Public Security Council (Cosepe) meeting.

  • Thursday, April 20th 2023 - 10:11 UTC

    Arrest of former Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno requested

    Moreno travels in a wheelchair and refused to travel from Asunción to Quito citing health issues

    Ecuadorian prosecutors Wednesday requested the pre-trial arrest of former President Lenín Moreno after the latter failed to appear before the courts as mandated in the Sinohydro corruption case, in which he is said to have accepted bribes for the construction of the country's largest hydroelectric plant.

  • Sunday, April 16th 2023 - 11:42 UTC

    Ecuador prison violence: 12 inmates killed in gunfight

    “We are in the worst moment of the violence crisis in the country,” Zapata said

    A new episode of violence has left at least another 12 inmates dead after gunfights at the Guayaquil El Litoral jailhouse, it was reported Saturday. It was the second massacre within the same week at that infamous prison involving rival gangs clashing over drug trafficking territorial control.

  • Thursday, April 13th 2023 - 11:05 UTC

    Six inmates found dead at infamous Ecuadorian prison

    The Litoral Penitentiary is considered one of the most violent in the country. It mainly houses drug gang leaders

    Six inmates were found dead hanging from their necks inside their cells at the infamous Ecuadorian prison of El Litoral in Guayaquil, the South American country's National Service of Attention to Persons Deprived of Liberty (SNAI) reported Wednesday.

  • Wednesday, April 12th 2023 - 11:04 UTC

    At least 9 killed in Ecuadorian port massacre

    The attack would have been the work of an organized armed group opposed to another that apparently provided protection to the fishermen, Zapata explained

    At least nine people were killed following an assault on the Ecuadorian Artisanal Fishing Port of Esmeraldas Tuesday morning by a group of 30 heavily-armed militias who arrived in two boats and a cab and then left by sea. The perpetrators are still unaccounted for, it was reported.

  • Thursday, March 30th 2023 - 10:40 UTC

    Ecuador's Constitutional Court gives nod to President Lasso's impeachment

    The embezzlement were properly founded, the Court ruled.

    Ecuador's Constitutional Court (CC) Wednesday ruled by 6 votes to 3 that the impeachment of President Guillermo Lasso for his alleged involvement in acts of corruption was “admissible.” For a president to be removed from office, 92 votes of the 137 Ecuadorian assembly members are required. The CC also rejected “two accusations related to the alleged crime of extortion” and allowed only the embezzlement allegations to proceed.

  • Tuesday, March 28th 2023 - 10:42 UTC

    Avalanche leaves 7 dead in Ecuador

    Lasso visited the area and said search and rescue will continue for as long as necessary

    At least 7 people died and 46 others were reported missing after a landslide in Ecuador, where authorities had earlier spoken of 16 fatalities but had to review their statements. Another 23 people were also injured in Sunday evening's landslide in Alausi, in the province of Chimborazo, some 300 km south of Quito.

  • Friday, March 17th 2023 - 10:15 UTC

    Tense relationship between Ecuador and Argentina due to former minister's escape to Venezuela

    The Argentine government denied on Thursday having facilitated the escape to Venezuela of Duarte from her refuge in the Argentine embassy in Quito

    Ecuador expects to overcome the diplomatic crisis with Argentina soon after both nations withdrew their ambassadors amid questioning from Quito regarding the escape of a former minister convicted of corruption who was taking refuge in Argentina's diplomatic residence in Ecuador.

  • Tuesday, February 28th 2023 - 09:51 UTC

    Ecuador, Belgium sign cooperation deal against drug trafficking

    “It is undeniable that we require new cross-cutting responses against organized crime,” Zapata said

    Interior Ministers Juan Zapata of Ecuador and Annelies Verlinden of Belgium Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding whereby police forces of both countries are to exchange information and training to tackle transnational crime, it was reported. Also participating at the signing ceremony was European Union Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson.

  • Thursday, February 16th 2023 - 20:54 UTC

    Ecuador and Peru fighting a losing battle with China on giant squid fishing in the southeast Pacific

    The squid catch has increased: in the last five years alone, between 800,000 tons and 1.16 million tons have been caught. China has a declared fleet of 671 ships.

    Giant squid, squid or Dosidicus gigas, measures up to 3 meters in length and can reach 50 kilos in weight. It is one of the main species of the southeastern Pacific Ocean and at the same time it is one of the species with the greatest commercial pressure in the world. Thousands of tons are extracted every month, a large part, from the international waters located off the seas of Ecuador, Peru and Chile. The main player behind that voracious appetite is China: it has a declared fleet of 671 ships.