Daily coverage from across the country, written for the expat community
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Ecuadorian soldiers stormed a clandestine jungle base in Esmeraldas province at dawn on February 17, capturing the Colombian leader of an Oliver Sinisterra Front cell and ten Ecuadorian members — the same FARC splinter group that kidnapped and murdered El Comercio journalists in 2018.
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.
A group of individuals dragged a dolphin ashore at Crucita beach in Manabí during Carnival and gutted it in front of dozens of tourists and a police officer. Ecuador’s Environment Minister has ordered a criminal investigation under wildlife protection laws that carry up to three years in prison.
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.
Coffee grown in Quito's UNESCO-designated Chocó Andino Biosphere Reserve is gaining international recognition and finding growing markets in Europe, adding another dimension to Ecuador's agricultural export story.
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.
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.
Washington and Quito have 'substantially concluded' negotiations on a reciprocal trade agreement set to be signed in coming weeks. But Ecuador's biggest non-oil export to the U.S. — shrimp worth $2 billion a year — may not get the tariff relief the industry needs to survive.
International cacao prices have collapsed from a record $13,000 per ton in late 2024 to $3,581 in February 2026. Ecuadorian farmers now receive roughly $130 per quintal — down from $400 a year ago — squeezing margins in communities across the coast.
Fedexpor reports Ecuador’s non-petroleum, non-mining exports grew 16% to $25.2 billion in 2025. Shrimp led at $8.4 billion (+20%), cocoa surged 29% to $4.7 billion, and U.S.-bound exports jumped 30%. It’s the strongest diversification signal yet for the dollarized economy.
LATAM Cargo and Avianca transported over 40,000 tons of roses from Ecuador for Valentine’s Day 2026 — the country’s biggest annual flower export event. Ecuador is the world’s third-largest flower exporter, and February is the industry’s Super Bowl.
EP Petroecuador reported field production of approximately 370,000 barrels per day in January 2026, with the Sacha and Auca blocks leading output. While below peak levels, the steady numbers support government revenue forecasts and reduce the risk of mid-year austerity cuts.
