Breaking news, politics, economy, visas, safety, and lifestyle updates for expats living in Ecuador.
Police K-9 units intercepted nearly 22,000 dried shark fins weighing 1,905 kilograms at Guayaquil's Jose Joaquin de Olmedo International Airport on April 2. The shipment -- 75 bundles disguised as fish bladders -- was bound for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is one of Ecuador's largest shark fin seizures in recent years.
Ecuador's Registro Civil has extended walk-in service for cedulas and passports through July 31, 2026. No online appointment is needed. All agencies operate Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM. Cedula costs range from $5 for first issuance to $16 for renewal.
An electoral judge suspended Citizens' Revolution (RC), former President Rafael Correa's party, for nine months — just two days after a complaint was filed and without a defense hearing. The timing effectively bars the party from registering candidates for 2027 local elections.
Amnesty International submitted evidence to the UN documenting 10 people disappeared in five military operations in 2024, with 43 possible victims since 2023. A landmark court ruling sentenced 11 military officers to 34+ years for the disappearance of four teenagers in Guayaquil.
In a CNN en Espanol interview on March 20, President Noboa defended Ecuador's commercial relationship with China while reaffirming the country's deepening military and diplomatic alliance with the United States.
Three diplomatic developments in a single week: Ecuador ratified a cooperation treaty with Europol on March 26, expelled the Cuban ambassador without explanation in early March, and hosted U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on March 25-26.
Ecuador has expelled all Cuban diplomatic personnel after embassy staff were reportedly filmed burning documents in the courtyard of the Cuban Embassy in Quito. The move signals a sharp break in relations between the two countries.
Ecuador's 2026 local elections will determine mayors, prefects, and city council members across the country. Contested races in Quito, Guayaquil, and Cuenca could reshape municipal governance in the cities where most expats live.
Ecuador has signed a Safe Third Country agreement with the United States, accepting deportation flights carrying over 4,700 non-Ecuadorian nationals from at least 16 different countries. The agreement makes Ecuador a receiving country for asylum seekers and migrants removed from the U.S.
A new Human Rights Watch report accuses the Ecuadorian government of continuing oil extraction in Yasuní National Park despite a 2023 referendum and Constitutional Court order to stop. The case raises serious questions about the rule of law in Ecuador.
President Noboa's executive decree MDT.2026-059 allows employers to schedule 10-hour workdays within the existing 40-hour weekly cap. Unions were not consulted, and mass protests erupted on March 13 in Quito and Guayaquil. Noboa's approval rating has dropped to 38%.
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.
