Daily coverage from across the country, written for the expat community
Latin America's largest mobile carrier will spend $600 million over three years to modernize its Ecuador network, expand coverage, and roll out 5G. Service is already live in Guayaquil, Quito, Puerto Ayora, and Coca.
Holy Week starts next weekend. Good Friday (April 3) is the only mandatory national holiday — Thursday is NOT a holiday this year. Expect massive domestic travel to the coast, packed buses, and Quito's world-famous processions.
A new Human Rights Watch report reveals that Ecuador continues extracting 1.24 million barrels per month from Block 43 in Yasuní National Park — two and a half years after voters said stop, and one year after a court ordered it. The Tagaeri and Taromenane indigenous peoples remain unprotected.
Ecuador's public healthcare system is struggling with corruption investigations, specialist wait times stretching months, and chronic medication shortages. Many expats are supplementing with private insurance or paying out-of-pocket. Here's the current state of play.
Ecuador's housing market is pulling in different directions — rents are rising faster than sale prices, the construction sector is growing 4.1%, and affordability is becoming a concern in popular expat areas. Here's where things stand.
Ambassador Jamieson Greer and Ecuador's Trade Minister signed the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade on March 13, locking in zero tariffs on $2.8 billion in Ecuadorian exports and opening the door to cheaper American imports. If you buy wine, medicine, or electronics in Ecuador, pay attention.
Ecuador deployed 75,000 soldiers and police to Guayas, El Oro, Los Ríos, and Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas with a nightly curfew from 11 PM to 5 AM through March 31. Here's what expats traveling to the coast or flying through Guayaquil need to know.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro accused Ecuador of dropping bombs inside Colombia, claiming 27 charred bodies were found near the border. Ecuador's Noboa flatly denied it. The neighbors are now in their worst diplomatic crisis in years — and it's affecting everything from electricity to trade.
Angel Esteban Aguilar, known as 'Lobo Menor' and alleged mastermind behind the 2023 assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, was arrested at Mexico City's airport using a fake Colombian passport. He's been extradited to Colombia.
Ecuador hiked tariffs on Colombian imports from 30% to 50% on March 1. Colombia retaliated on 280 Ecuadorian products at the same rate. If you buy medicine, processed food, or pesticides in Ecuador, you're already paying more.
Despite a 2023 referendum and an Inter-American Court of Human Rights order to stop drilling, Ecuador continues pumping 44,000 barrels per day from Block 43 in Yasuní National Park. HRW documented 29 oil spills and contaminated water affecting uncontacted indigenous groups.
Holy Week runs March 29 to April 5. Good Friday (April 3) is a national holiday. Banks close, highways jam, ATMs run dry. Here's everything you need to know — from Quito's processions to beach town crowds to sierra road conditions.
