Category Archives: Ecuador

In too deep: the epic, doomed journey of Europe’s first narco-submarine

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Former boxer Agustín Álvarez jailed for piloting a sub carrying 3,000kg of cocaine across the Atlantic

Twenty-eight months after it began in a clandestine shipyard deep in the Brazilian Amazon, one of the more unlikely criminal voyages of all time came to an end on Tuesday with the seven sentences handed down by a court in north-west Spain.

Agustín Álvarez, a 31-year-old former Spanish amateur boxing champion, was jailed for 11 years for piloting a semi-submersible “narco-submarine” carrying 3,068kg of cocaine worth an estimated €123m (£104m) across the Atlantic. His two crewmates, Ecuadorian cousins Luis Tomás Benítez Manzaba and Pedro Roberto Delgado Manzaba, received the same sentence, while four Spaniards who conspired with Álvarez to help guide the sub ashore were jailed for between seven and nine years.

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Landslide sends waves of mud through streets of Ecuadorian capital Quito – video

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A landslide in Ecuador's capital city of Quito has left at least 24 people dead and dozens injured or missing after the heaviest rains in decades caused a landslide near the neighbourhoods of La Gasca and La Comuna. Authorities have not ruled out the possibility of further landslides. The mayor's office has set up shelters for affected families and has started clearing streets in the city

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Frog back from the dead helps fight plans for mine in Ecuador

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Campaigners say if copper mine gets go-ahead in cloud forest, the longnose harlequin, once thought to be extinct, will be threatened again

Reports of the longnose harlequin frog’s death appear to have been greatly exaggerated – or, at least, premature. The Mark Twain of the frog world is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as extinct, which may come as a surprise to those alive and well in the cloud forests of Ecuador’s tropical Andes.

Known for its pointed snout, the longnose harlequin frog (Atelopus longirostris) is about to play a central role in a legal battle to stop a mining project in the Intag valley in Imbabura province, which campaigners say would be a disaster for the highly biodiverse cloud forests.

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Ecuador: 68 inmates killed and 25 injured in latest prison massacre

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Deaths at Litoral penitentiary part of wave of prison violence that has claimed more than 280 lives

At least 68 prisoners have been killed and 25 injured in a jail in the city of Guayaquil in Ecuador after bloodletting between rival gangs broke out on Friday night, the attorney general’s office said on Saturday.

The latest massacre occurred in the Litoral penitentiary, the same jail where at least 119 inmates lost their lives a little more than a month before in the country’s deadliest ever prison riot.

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Latin American countries join reserves to create vast marine protected area

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‘Mega-MPA’ in Pacific will link waters of Ecuador, Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica to protect migratory turtles, whales and sharks from fishing fleets

Four Pacific-facing Latin American nations have committed to joining their marine reserves to form one interconnected area, creating one of the world’s richest pockets of ocean biodiversity.

Panama, Ecuador, Colombia and Costa Rica announced on Tuesday the creation of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor (CMAR) initiative, which would both join and increase the size of their protected territorial waters to create a fishing-free corridor covering more than 500,000 sq km (200,000 sq miles) in one of the world’s most important migratory routes for sea turtles, whales, sharks and rays.

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Sprinter Alex Quiñónez, 2019 world bronze medallist, shot dead in Ecuador

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  • Quiñónez, 32, reportedly killed outside a shopping centre
  • Country’s president pledges to ‘act forcefully’ in response

Sprinter Alex Quiñónez has been killed in his home country of Ecuador. The 32-year-old, who finished third in the 200m at the World Athletics Championships in Doha two years ago, was reportedly shot dead outside a shopping centre in the port city of Guayaquil on Friday night, along with another unnamed person.

The Ecuadorian sports ministry announced the news in a statement on its Twitter feed, saying: “Today we lost a great athlete, a person who made us dream, who made us excited. The National Police are at the scene and the authorities are conducting the corresponding investigations. He will forever remain in the hearts of all Ecuadorians.

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Agony of Ecuador’s brutal prison massacre endures for bereaved relatives

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At least 119 inmates died in a Guayaquil jail after local gangs’ links with Mexican cartels brought a new level of horror

It was in mid-morning when María Elena Villacís got a WhatsApp message from her brother Darwín, who was jailed in the Litoral penitentiary, a notorious prison in the coastal Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil.

“They’re starting a war in [Wing] 5,” it read. “Call the law, tell them to get into [Wing] 5.”

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‘Strategy of terror’: 116 dead as Ecuador prisons become battlegrounds for gangs

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Struggle between cartels to control smuggling routes leads to third – and deadliest – prison riot this year

A bitter struggle between rival Mexican cartels to control cocaine trafficking routes in Ecuador has erupted in a day of bloodshed inside a high-security prison which left 116 inmates dead. Many of the victims were butchered with chainsaws or beheaded with machetes.

As security forces battled to retake the Litoral penitentiary in the coastal city of Guayaquil on Wednesday, scores of bodies were found dumped in bathrooms and corridors, piled and burned in courtyards, or even stuffed into air ducts.

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Death toll in Ecuador prison riot exceeds 100 with some inmates beheaded

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Clash is the most deadly act of violence ever reported in the country’s prison system

The death toll in a gang battle at one of Ecuador’s largest prisons rose to 116, president Guillermo Lasso said, as authorities discovered the bodies of more victims including at least six that had been beheaded.

Another 80 inmates were injured during the Tuesday night clashes at the Penitenciaria del Litoral in Guayas province, which has been the scene of bloody fights between gangs for control of the prison in recent months.

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Belarus repression and the Taliban advance: human rights this fortnight – in pictures

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A round-up of the coverage of the struggle for human rights and freedoms, from Thailand to Mexico

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‘Mega-drought’ leaves many Andes mountains without snow cover

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Satellite images confirm snow decrease spurred by climate crisis as glaciers recede and communities reliant on mountain water face shortages

The Andes mountain range is facing historically low snowfall this year during a decade-long drought that scientists link to global heating.

Scant rain and snowfall are leaving many of the majestic mountains between Ecuador and Argentina with patchy snow cover or no snow at all as dry, brown earth lies exposed.

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Julian Assange stripped of citizenship by Ecuador

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Authorities cite unpaid fees and problems in naturalisation papers relating to WikiLeaks founder

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 naturalisation in a letter that came in response to a claim filed by the South American country’s foreign ministry.

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Ecuador abortion laws discriminate against minority ethnic women – report

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Criminalisation disproportionately affects indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian women and exacerbates inequality, says Human Rights Watch

Gladys, an indigenous woman from rural Ecuador, went to hospital after injecting poison into her stomach to end her pregnancy. Doctors went straight to the police, and she was sentenced to two months in jail for having an abortion with consent.

Elsewhere in the South American country, a 20-year-old Afro-Ecuadorian woman went to hospital after a fall, and found out she was pregnant and miscarrying. She was swiftly arrested and spent four months awaiting trial, where she was cleared.

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Covid tourism freeze could cost global economy $4tn by year end

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Turkey, Ecuador and South Africa will be among hardest hit as pandemic-related losses reach $2.4tn, says UN report

The cost to the global economy of the tourism freeze caused by Covid-19 could reach $4tn (£2.9tn) by the end of this year, a UN body has said, with the varying pace of vaccine rollouts expected to cost developing nations and tourist centres particularly dear.

Nations including Turkey and Ecuador will be among the hardest hit by the severe disruption to international tourism, with holiday favourites such as Spain, Greece and Portugal also badly affected. Pandemic-related losses have reached up to $2.4tn this year, according to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad). The potential lost tourism-related income in 2021 is equivalent to the effect of switching off 85% of the UK economy, while projected losses over 2020 and 2021 could equate to removing Germany from the global economy for two years.

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Galápagos tortoise found alive revealed as species thought extinct 100 years ago – video

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A giant tortoise found in the Galápagos Islands has been confirmed as a species thought to be extinct a century ago. The tortoise was found in 2019 on Fernandina Island and identified as the Chelonoidis phantasticus species by scientists from Yale University. The Galápagos national park is preparing an expedition to search for more of the giant tortoises in an attempt to save the species

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Giant tortoise found in Galápagos a species considered extinct a century ago

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Ecuador confirms turtle found two years ago on Fernandina Island is a Chelonoidis phantasticus species

Ecuador has confirmed that a giant tortoise found in 2019 in the Galápagos Islands is a species considered extinct a century ago.

The Galápagos National Park is preparing an expedition to search for more of the giant tortoises in an attempt to save the species.

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Oxygen shortages threaten ‘total collapse’ of dozens of health systems

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Data reveals Nepal, Iran and South Africa among 19 countries most at risk of running out as surging Covid cases push supplies to limit

Dozens of countries are facing severe oxygen shortages because of surging Covid-19 cases, threatening the “total collapse” of health systems.

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism analysed data provided by the Every Breath Counts Coalition, the NGO Path and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) to find the countries most at risk of running out of oxygen. It also studied data on global vaccination rates.

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Galápagos rock formation Darwin’s Arch collapses from erosion

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Boat tourists reportedly saw the rocky structure collapse into the Pacific Ocean

Darwin’s Arch, a rock formation south-east of Darwin Island in the Galápagos archipelago, has collapsed due to natural erosion, Ecuador’s environment ministry said.

Images on the ministry Facebook page on Tuesday show two rocky pillars left at the northernmost island of the Pacific Ocean archipelago, which lies 600 miles (1,000km) off South America.

The post said: “This event is a consequence of natural erosion. Darwin’s Arch is made of natural stone that at one time would have been part of Darwin Island, which is not open to visits by land.

“This site is considered one of the best places on the planet to dive and observe schools of sharks and other species.”

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Leonardo DiCaprio pledges $43m to restore the Galápagos Islands

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Environmentalist actor, with other conservation groups, aims to rewild the entire archipelago and other Pacific islands in Latin America

Leonardo DiCaprio has announced a $43m (£30.4m) pledge to enact sweeping conservation operations across the Galápagos Islands, with his social media accounts taken over by a wildlife veterinarian and island restoration specialist.

The initiative, in partnership with Re:wild, an organisation founded this year by a group of renowned conservation scientists and DiCaprio, the Galápagos National Park Directorate, Island Conservation, and local communities, aims to rewild the entire Galápagos Islands, as well as all of Latin America’s Pacific archipelagos.

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‘Shortsighted’: UK cuts aid to project preparing cities for natural disaster

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From Quito to Kathmandu, millions will be endangered by cuts affecting planning for floods, earthquakes and fires, experts say


UK aid cuts to a programme working to reduce the disaster risk to poor communities around the world could endanger millions of lives and slam shut a brief window of opportunity to build safer cities for centuries to come, experts have warned.

Professor John McCloskey, from Edinburgh University, said the 70% cut to this year’s budget for the Tomorrow’s Cities project was an act of “vandalism” that had wrecked the past two years of collaboration with scientists, NGOs, authorities and communities in Ecuador’s capital Quito, Nairobi, Kathmandu and Istanbul.

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