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Ecuador's Superintendency of Companies ordered an external administrator installed at Granasa, publisher of two of the country's largest newspapers, after the company refused to hand over internal legal records. The Inter-American Press Society called it 'an intimidating act' of indirect censorship.
Informal moneylenders continue to charge usurious interest rates in Loja’s market economy despite government programs offering subsidized microloans — a problem that traps local vendors in debt cycles and affects the cost of goods for everyone, expats included.
Ecuador’s Interior Minister announced that the La Roca maximum-security prison in Guayaquil will be repurposed exclusively for female inmates within four weeks, while construction on a massive new 15,000-bed prison facility begins at the end of Q1.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar is visiting Ecuador as part of a broader Latin American diplomatic push, with negotiations beginning on a trade agreement and expanded security cooperation including surveillance technology and agricultural innovation.
President Daniel Noboa will join five other Latin American leaders at a Trump-hosted summit in Miami on March 7, forming a regional bloc focused on countering China’s influence, boosting security cooperation, and expanding trade — with Ecuador’s new US deal as the centerpiece.
Indigenous leader Marlon Vargas calls President Noboa's urgent mining and energy reform a threat to water, territories, and collective rights. The National Assembly has until March 2 to vote on the bill, and CONAIE is calling for unity against it.
Ecuador's Constitutional Court has determined that the trade agreement negotiated with South Korea requires a full legislative vote before ratification — a higher procedural bar than the recently concluded U.S. deal.
Reigning Miss Universe Fátima Bosch became faint on her float during the main parade at Ambato's 75th annual Fiesta de la Fruta y de las Flores on February 15. Whether caused by altitude sickness or exhaustion, the episode is a vivid reminder that Ecuador's highland elevations demand respect.
Ecuador's Interior Ministry sent 30 police agents to seize operational control of Guayaquil's municipal security entity Segura EP on Sunday night, citing 'shadow structures' provoking violence and alleging sensitive surveillance data was stored with a private company. The takeover comes amid three major fires in one week and deepens the confrontation between the Noboa administration and Guayaquil's opposition-aligned municipal government.
President Noboa announced Friday that the national government will operate from Guayaquil for several weeks, with the National Police high command relocating as well. The move comes two days after the arrest of Guayaquil’s mayor and amid record violence that made Ecuador the world’s most dangerous country in 2025.
Ecuador’s largest gold mine exported a record $1.8 billion in 2025 — a 51% jump from the prior year — as gold prices topped $5,000 per ounce for the first time. Lundin Gold just announced $100 million in new exploration spending and discovered a fifth copper-gold deposit, signaling the mining boom is just getting started.
Ecuador’s annual inflation rate hit a 20-month high in January 2026, driven almost entirely by a 20.79% spike in housing and utility costs after the government ended electricity and diesel subsidies. Food prices are rising too — plantains have roughly doubled, and the basic family basket now costs $822 a month.
