Ecuador – News Stories About Ecuador - Page 1

Ecuador Leader
Takes Drastic Step
to Stay in Power

May 17, 2023 4:09 PM CDT

Ecuador Leader Takes Drastic Step to Stay in Power

Guillermo Lasso deploys 'mutual death' mechanism

(Newser) - Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso took a drastic step to stay in power Wednesday—he dissolved the country's legislature before it could vote to impeach him. Under a constitutional measure known as the muerte crazada, or "mutual death," Lasso disbanded the opposition-controlled National Assembly effective immediately, the Washington ...

Earthquake Kills at Least 4, Traps Survivors

Earthquake Kills at Least 15,
Traps Survivors

updated

Mar 18, 2023 4:00 PM CDT

Earthquake Kills at Least 15, Traps Survivors

Downed power lines in Ecuador complicate rescue crews' searches

(Newser) - This story has been updated with the most recent death toll. A strong earthquake shook southern Ecuador and northern Peru on Saturday, killing at least 15 people and injuring more than 445, trapping others under rubble, and sending rescue teams out into streets littered with debris and fallen power lines....

Town Elects Candidate
Who Was Shot to Death

Feb 7, 2023 4:45 PM CST

Town Elects Candidate Who Was Shot to Death

Mayoral winner was killed hours before the polls opened in Ecuador

(Newser) - A candidate shot to death the day before elections in Ecuador was elected mayor of the city of Puerto López. Omar Menendez, 41, was killed Saturday by gunmen while he was working in an office with campaign staffers, the BBC reports; a teenager also died of gunshot wounds. Menendez'...

Gang Members Storm Hospital
in Ecuador Looking for Rival

Nov 28, 2022 7:21 AM CST

Gang Members Storm Hospital in Ecuador Looking for Rival

Seven men are arrested in brazen attack

(Newser) - The BBC reports that gang violence in Ecuador has been on the upswing in last few years, and a hospital in Chone got an unwanted demonstration of that. Seven members of a gang stormed the facility looking for a member of a rival gang named "Dirty Face." The...

Brutal Attacks on Cops Signal 'Criminal Rule' in Ecuador

In Ecuador,
a 'Declaration
of Open War'

Nov 2, 2022 1:49 PM CDT

In Ecuador, a 'Declaration of Open War'

Murders of 5 police officers on Tuesday attributed to criminal gangs

(Newser) - Five police officers were killed in the Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil on Tuesday, including two shot dead in their patrol car, in what some say is evidence of "criminal rule," per the Guardian . Officials described nine attacks in the city in apparent response to the transfer of hundreds...

Ecuador Announces
Vaccine Mandate

Dec 23, 2021 5:25 PM CST

Ecuador Announces Vaccine Mandate

Only exceptions will be for those with conditions that could be worsened by the dose

(Newser) - Ecuador said Thursday that vaccination against the coronavirus will be mandatory for most citizens. Only those with a medical condition that could be complicated by vaccination will be exempt from the new rule, the government said in a statement. Those people must have documentation to prove it, according to the...

Prison Gun Battle Leaves 68 Dead In Ecuador

Prison Gang Battle Leaves
68 Dead in Ecuador

Nov 14, 2021 8:31 AM CST

Prison Gang Battle Leaves 68 Dead in Ecuador

At least 25 wounded in the coastal city of Guayaquil

(Newser) - A gun battle between rival gangs inside Ecuador’s largest prison killed at least 68 inmates and wounded 25 on Saturday, while authorities said it took most of the day to regain control at the Litoral Penitentiary, per the AP . The killing erupted before dawn at the prison in the...

After Riot, Pope
Addresses
Prison Life

Oct 3, 2021 10:10 AM CDT

After Riot, Pope Addresses Prison Life

'May God help to heal the wounds of crime that enslave the poorest,' Francis tells crowd

(Newser) - Pope Francis on Sunday called for "more humane" prison life in the wake of bloodshed in a prison in Ecuador in which 118 people died and dozens more were injured. Francis told the public in St. Peter’s Square that he was "very pained" by what happened last...

Prison Riot Leaves 116 Dead,
5 of Them Beheaded

Sep 30, 2021 7:05 AM CDT

Prison Riot Leaves 116 Dead, 5 of Them Beheaded

It was Ecuador's worst ever

(Newser) - At least 116 people were killed after the deadliest prison riot Ecuador has ever seen erupted Tuesday. Five of the dead were beheaded, and another 80 were hurt in the melee between rival gangs linked to international drug cartels at the Litoral Penitentiary in the coastal city of Guayaquil, the...

Ecuador Revokes
Julian Assange's Citizenship

Jul 28, 2021 12:11 AM CDT

Ecuador Revokes Julian Assange's Citizenship

Wikileaks founder's lawyer pledges to appeal

(Newser) - Ecuador has revoked the citizenship of Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks who is currently in a British prison. Ecuador’s justice system formally notified the Australian of the nullity of his naturalization in a letter that came in response to a claim filed by the South American country’s...

Shrunken Head
Used as Movie Prop
Was the Real Thing

May 11, 2021 2:27 PM CDT

Shrunken Head Used as Movie Prop Was the Real Thing

It was borrowed from university for John Huston's dark 1979 comedy 'Wise Blood'

(Newser) - A shrunken head used as a prop in a 1970s movie was made of real human skin, researchers have discovered. The head, known as a "tsantsa," was attached to a fake shrunken body in John Huston's dark 1979 comedy Wise Blood, People reports. Tsantas, talismans made of...

'Guerrillas' Try to Sway
Election, Bird Blows It for Them

Feb 9, 2021 8:11 AM CST

'Guerrillas' Try to Sway Election, Bird Blows It for Them

Attempt to influence Ecuador polls with fake 'guerrilla' vid fails after bird guide hears bird call

(Newser) - Nothing gets past an eagle-eyed, carefully listening ornithologist—not even a propaganda video meant to sway an election. Manuel Sanchez, a bird-watching guide based in Ecuador, was watching just such a video shared on social media, supposedly showing three armed left-wing men from Colombia's ELN guerrilla force deep in...

Kids' Zoom Class Went From
Normal to Criminal in Real Time

Kids' Zoom Class Went From Normal to Criminal in Real Time

One of their classmates got robbed during online class in Ambato, Ecuador

(Newser) - A class of Ecuadorian students had their Zoom class go from perfectly normal to terrifying in an instant: Per the Daily Dot , a teacher was instructing a class of two dozen students online when, to the horror of the kids watching, one of their classmates got caught in the middle...

Chinese Fleet Raises
Alarms at the Galapagos

Jul 30, 2020 4:09 PM CDT

Chinese Fleet Raises Alarms at the Galapagos

260 fishing vessels are just outside the international boundary

(Newser) - Some call it a floating city, a flotilla of 260 mostly Chinese fishing vessels near the Galapagos archipelago that is stirring diplomatic tension and raising worries about the threat to sharks, manta rays, and other vulnerable species in waters around the UNESCO world heritage site, per the AP . Yet the...

They Saved Their Species.
Their Reward: Homecoming

Jun 17, 2020 11:40 AM CDT

They Saved Their Species. Their Reward: Homecoming

Sex-crazed Diego among 15 giant tortoises returned to native island

(Newser) - Mission accomplished for a group of 15 male giant tortoises credited with saving their species from extinction. The tortoises—part of a breeding program that began in the 1960s when there were just two males and 12 females left in the wild, per CNN —were returned to their home...

Ecuador's Ex-President
Sentenced to 8 Years

Apr 7, 2020 3:03 PM CDT

Ecuador's Ex-President Sentenced to 8 Years

Rafael Correa, 19 others guilty of corruption

(Newser) - Former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa moved to Belgium after leaving office in 2017—and a court judgment Tuesday makes it unlikely that he will soon return to his homeland, let alone return to politics. A court found Correa, first elected in 2007, guilty of corruption and sentenced him to eight...

Welcome to the World
of Coronavirus Shaming

Apr 4, 2020 4:15 PM CDT

Welcome to the World of Coronavirus Shaming

For Bella Lamilla's loved ones, grief is compounded by people's intolerance

(Newser) - Bella Lamilla was hospitalized in terrible shape, but did she know what others were saying? One hopes not. "It was ugly," says her great-nephew. "It hurt a lot." That's because Lamilla, Ecuador's "patient zero," was ripped apart on social media for contracting...

'Illegal and Dangerous':
Oil Spill in the Galapagos

VIDEO

Dec 23, 2019 10:25 AM CST

'Illegal and Dangerous': Oil Spill in the Galapagos

Crane falls on vessel, causing boat to tip, oil to seep into water off of San Cristobal Island

(Newser) - CNN notes that environmentalists are likely to be fuming after an accident in the Galapagos Islands over the weekend that dumped 600 gallons of oil into the water. The spill happened early Sunday as a crane was lowering a container onto a cargo vessel on San Cristobal Island, lost...

After 10 Days of Protests,
Ecuador Axes Austerity Plan

Oct 14, 2019 12:11 AM CDT

After 10 Days of Protests, Ecuador Axes Austerity Plan

'We did it!' protesters shouted

(Newser) - Ecuador's President Lenín Moreno and indigenous leaders celebrated a deal struck late Sunday to cancel a disputed austerity package and end nearly two weeks of protests that have paralyzed the economy and left seven dead. Under the agreement, Moreno will withdraw the International Monetary Fund-backed package known as...

Dear Everyone in Ecuador,
We Have Bad News

Sep 17, 2019 8:43 AM CDT

Dear Everyone in Ecuador, We Have Bad News

A breach has exposed your personal data

(Newser) - A security company has discovered a data breach that exposed the personal data of more than 20 million Ecuadoreans—which is especially impressive considering that Ecuador has a population of about 16.6 million. It seems the breach not only covers every living person in the country, but it affects...