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☆ Party backing Ecuador's Lasso will not field candidates in elections
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

QUITO, June 6 (Reuters) - Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso's political movement Creating Opportunities will not field candidates for the country's early presidential or legislative elections, it said on Tuesday. Lasso, a conservative ex-banker, last week said he would not run as a candidate in presidential elections. Elected officials and the new president will only hold office until May 2025, when voting that had always been scheduled will take place. Members of Creating Opportunities can vote for whoever they like in the upcoming elections, but cannot support candidates who "do not respect the constitution and the law," Bernal said, without clarifying further. Reporting by Alexandra Valencia Writing by Oliver Griffin; editing by Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Guillermo Lasso's, Lasso, Ecuadoreans, Esteban Bernal, Bernal, Alexandra Valencia, Oliver Griffin, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Assembly, National Assembly, Thomson Locations: QUITO

A court in Ecuador sentenced Correa to eight years in prison in 2020 over accusations he broke campaign finance laws. His party, Citizen Revolution, was the biggest party in the assembly with 47 seats before Lasso dissolved it. The former lawmakers from Citizen Revolution will run in the snap election, Correa said, adding that he hopes the party wins at least 50 seats. Lasso - who has said he will not run in the upcoming elections - will rule by decree until the snap election, with laws subject to approval by the Constitutional Court. Any laws issued by decree - including an earlier move by Lasso to loosen gun controls - will be targeted following the election by Citizen Revolution politicians in government or the legislature, Correa said.

☆ Ecuador could hold early elections on Aug. 20: electoral court
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

QUITO, May 18 (Reuters) - Ecuador could hold early legislative and presidential elections on Aug. 20, the electoral court said on Thursday, a day after President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the National Assembly by decree and brought forward the vote scheduled for 2025. The embattled leader cited Ecuador's serious political crisis and domestic turmoil as reasons for making the move. Opposition lawmakers are hoping the Constitutional Court, Ecuador's highest court, will rule quickly to block Lasso's dissolution, which they have described as illegal. Lawmakers of the dissolved National Assembly said they will respect the court's decision, even if it upholds the president's actions. Lawmakers elected to power in the early elections would only serve until regularly scheduled elections are held in 2025.

☆ Ecuador president dissolves legislature, bringing elections forward
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso testifies at the National Assembly, as part of the impeachment process against him for alleged corruption, in Quito, Ecuador May 16, 2023. REUTERS/Karen ToroQUITO, May 17 (Reuters) - Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the National Assembly in a decree on Wednesday, bringing forward legislative and presidential elections, a day after he presented his defense in an impeachment process against him. Ninety-two votes form the 137-member legislature would have been needed to remove Lasso from office. Those voted into power in the early elections would only serve until the regularly-scheduled 2025 elections take place. The impeachment process was the first against a Ecuadorean president in decades.

☆ Ecuador assembly begins impeachment hearing against President Lasso
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

QUITO, May 16 (Reuters) - Ecuador's National Assembly on Tuesday began an impeachment hearing against President Guillermo Lasso, who could be removed from his post, though the process increases the likelihood he will dissolve the legislature to avoid a final vote. The opposition, including members of the party of ex-President Rafael Correa - himself accused of corruption - has been invigorated following the re-election of Virgilio Saquicela as president of the National Assembly on Sunday. "The Ecuadorean people want Guillermo Lasso (...) to go home," said opposition lawmaker Viviana Veloz while presenting a motion to vote on the censure and dismissal of the president. CONAIE, Ecuador's largest indigenous organization, backed the measure to remove Lasso in a statement, saying that "with Guillermo Lasso Ecuador doesn't have a future, only fear and uncertainty." The assembly voted to continue with the impeachment process last Tuesday with 88 votes in favor out of 116 legislators present.

☆ Ecuadorean authorities detain former energy minister in bribery probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

QUITO, May 15 (Reuters) - Ecuadorean authorities have detained a former energy minister amid an investigation into alleged bribery linked to state oil firm Petroecuador, the attorney general's office said on Monday. An investigation of Xavier Vera, Ecuador's former minister of mines and energy, began last October following several corruption allegations, including that he arranged jobs at Petroecuador in exchange for bribes. "The attorney general's office, with the support from (Ecuadorean police) executed an arrest warrant against Xavier V., within an investigation for alleged bribery," the attorney general's office wrote in a message via Twitter, referring to Vera. He isn't running away from the investigation, he isn't running away from the process," Vera's lawyer, Carlos Sanchez, told local television channel Ecuavisa. Reporting by Alexandra Valencia in Quito Writing by Sarah Morland Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ecuador lawmakers re-elect National Assembly president
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

QUITO, May 14 (Reuters) - Independent lawmaker Virgilio Saquicela was re-elected president of Ecuador's National Assembly on Sunday, supported by politicians who want an impeachment process against President Guillermo Lasso to advance to a vote for his possible removal. Saquicela, who took over as president of the National Assembly in May last year, has become a principal figure in the process against Lasso, who is accused of embezzlement in an oil transportation contract. The assembly voted to continue with the impeachment process on Tuesday in a session convened by Saquicela with 88 votes in favor out of 116 legislators present. A majority of 96 lawmakers of the 136 present voted to re-elect Saquicela. He was supported by allies of former President Rafael Correa, who is convicted of corruption, as well as other opposition and independent parties.

☆ Ecuador deploys soldiers against illegal mines in Amazonian areas
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

QUITO, May 8 (Reuters) - Ecuador's government is deploying soldiers and police in nine provinces to combat illegal mining, officials said on Monday, in a bid to stamp out the unlawful mines mostly targeting gold and copper deposits. The announcement came after some 1,000 security forces destroyed machinery in a raid on illegal miners in the eastern Amazonian provinces of Napo and Orellana. Earlier this year, President Guillermo Lasso declared illegal mining a threat to national security, linking the practice to organized crime, including money laundering and arms and fuel trafficking. So far this year, raids authorized by authorities on illegal mines have documented the seizure of heavy machinery and even a helicopter. The government has not given figures on the increase in illegal mining, nor the total number of hectares (acres) affected in the most affected areas, but it has described it is a growing activity.

☆ Ecuador committee fails to pass report saying no cause for Lasso impeachment
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The report, which says there is no cause for Lasso's trial or removal, was shot down by five of the committee's nine members. Despite the outcome of the committee vote, the report will now pass to the plenary of the 137-member assembly, which will decide whether to possibly remove Lasso. Other opposition parties are divided on whether to back Lasso's removal, while his allies have said they have enough votes to block the motion. Lasso's lawyer has said the opposition failed to establish what alleged loss of funds took place in relation to the contract. Under Ecuador's constitution, Lasso could call early presidential and legislative elections rather than face a removal vote.

☆ Ecuador committee report does not recommend Lasso removal, lawmaker says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

QUITO, May 5 (Reuters) - The oversight committee of Ecuador's National Assembly will debate a draft report that concludes President Guillermo Lasso did not participate in embezzlement and recommends against his impeachment, a lawmaker said on Friday. Oversight committee president Fernando Villavicencio said the draft report is based on an analysis of all the evidence presented in hearings by the committee. "We have prepared and concluded the report which recommends that there is not cause to try or remove President Guillermo Lasso," Villavicencio told TV station Teleamazonas. Regardless of the committee's decision, the report will then pass to the plenary of the 137-member assembly, which will decide whether to hold hearings and possibly remove Lasso. Under Ecuador's constitution, Lasso could call early presidential and legislative elections rather than face a removal vote.

☆ 'More than enough' evidence to remove Ecuador's President Lasso -opposition
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Assembly members attend a hearing as lawmakers seek to remove Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso from office over alleged embezzlement, in Quito, Ecuador April 26, 2023. REUTERS/Karen ToroQUITO, April 26 (Reuters) - There is more than enough evidence that corruption at a public company was allowed by Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso, justifying his removal from office, an opposition lawmaker testified to congress on Wednesday. Opposition lawmakers have pushed impeachment hearings against the conservative former banker, alleging Lasso disregarded embezzlement connected to an oil shipping contract between public company Flopec and a private sector business. Lasso did "nothing" when warned about irregularities in the contract, opposition lawmaker Viviana Veloz testified to the congressional oversight committee tasked with recommending whether or not Lasso should be removed. Another opposition lawmaker said they have complained to the attorney general's office over Lasso's alleged connections to Flopec corruption.

☆ Explainer: Why are Ecuador lawmakers trying to impeach President Lasso?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso participates in an interview at Carondelet Palace, in Quito, Ecuador April 26, 2022. REUTERS/Santiago Arcos/File PhotoQUITO, April 24 (Reuters) - Ecuadorean opposition lawmakers and President Guillermo Lasso - or his lawyer - are scheduled to testify this week in impeachment hearings that could see the conservative former banker censured and removed from office. Lasso has denied the charges, pointing out the contract was signed in 2018, three years before he took office. Estupinan is a key witness for opposition lawmakers, who say the former manager claims to have warned Lasso about contract irregularities allegedly committed by Luque, but got no response. Lawmakers from the Revolucion Ciudadana party of former President Rafael Correa, fierce opponents of Lasso, have pledged to cast their 47 votes for removal.

☆ Gang clash leaves at least 12 dead in Ecuador prison
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

QUITO, April 15 (Reuters) - At least 12 inmates were killed in an Ecuadorian jail amid a new clash between gangs, the SNAI prison agency said on Saturday, in the latest chapter in the South American nation's prison violence. The confrontation occurred on Friday in the prison known as La Penitenciaría, in the city of Guayaquil, one of the country's most dangerous. The entity added that the prosecutor's office and the police are in the prison for the identification of the dead bodies. Last year, a United Nations delegation found that the violence in Ecuador's prisons was caused by years of state neglect of the penitentiary system. Friday's clash follows the murder of three female prison officers outside the prison in Guayaquil.

☆ Number of dead from Ecuador landslide rises to 23
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

QUITO, March 31 (Reuters) - Ecuador's government on Friday raised the number of dead from a landslide in the Andean city of Alausi to 23, while rescue teams continued to look for missing people. The incident took place on Sunday night in a part of the city, which is located in the province of Chimborazo. The landslide has affected some 850 people and destroyed 57 buildings, according to official figures. The number of dead is growing gradually as rescue groups gain access to houses that were covered by huge amounts of earth. Ecuador's disaster agency had warned of potential landslide danger for a 247-hectare (610-acre) area in Alausi in February, which included part of the zone where Sunday's landslide hit.

☆ Ecuador's top court says Lasso impeachment hearings can proceed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

QUITO, March 29 (Reuters) - Ecuador's constitutional court said on Wednesday that impeachment hearings for embezzlement against conservative President Guillermo Lasso, requested by opposition lawmakers over alleged corruption at state companies, can proceed. The decision may make it more likely that Lasso will dissolve the assembly and call early elections for both his post and legislators' seats. Fifty-nine opposition lawmakers formally requested the hearings in mid-March, accusing Lasso of involvement with embezzlement and bribery, which he has always denied. The court's approval enables the assembly to hold the hearings but does not constitute a backing of the claims by judges. The constitution enshrines so-called two-way death - allowing Lasso to call elections for both his post and the assembly instead of facing hearings.

☆ Digging with scant hope, families search for dozens missing in Ecuador landslide
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] People dig amid debris as they look for relatives, following a landslide, in Alausi, Ecuador March 28, 2023. REUTERS/Karen ToroALAUSI, Ecuador, March 28 (Reuters) - Families and rescue groups in Ecuador worked to find dozens of people still missing after a landslide smothered buildings and a stadium in the small city of Alausi, with the official death toll of seven expected to rise. Some 64 people were missing as of Monday night, according to Ecuador's disaster agency, and around 32 survivors had been rescued. Using spades, relatives dug through the dirt in spots they believe their loved ones were when the landslide hit. President Guillermo Lasso visited the area on Monday night and offered to extend the rescue efforts to find the missing.

☆ Ecuador, Peru authorities assess damage after earthquake that killed at least 15
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] A woman sitting on a hammock holds her baby next to the destroyed wall of her house following an earthquake in Isla Puna, Ecuador March 18, 2023. REUTERS/Maria Fernanda Landin/File PhotoMarch 19 (Reuters) - Ecuadorian and Peruvian authorities worked on Sunday to assess the damage caused by the previous day's strong earthquake that shook the region, leaving at least 15 dead and hundreds injured. State-run oil company Petroecuador reported that an offshore platform near the epicenter suffered damage that caused machinery to fail, temporarily reducing production. Peruvian authorities reported one death, four collapsed homes and five more left uninhabitable, while essential services and transportation infrastructure were undamaged. During his Sunday message, Pope Francis sent his condolences for the losses and "all those who suffer" due to the earthquake.

☆ Magnitude 6.8 earthquake shakes Ecuador, at least four deaths reported
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] A damaged car and rubble from a house affected by the earthquake are pictured in Cuenca, Ecuador. REUTERS/Rafa Idrovo EspinozaQUITO, March 18 (Reuters) - A magnitude 6.8 earthquake shook a coastal region of Ecuador and northern Peru midday Saturday, leaving at least four people dead and resulting in some structural damage. In the community of Machala, three people were killed and multiple structures collapsed, including a two-story home and a wharf, while multiple communities lost power. The earthquake also led to structural damage in two other provinces, including a collapsed wall in a supermarket, and was felt in more than half of the country's 24 provinces, the Secretariat said. The initial quake was followed by two weaker aftershocks in the following hour, according to the Geophysics Institute of Ecuador.

☆ Declassified documents do not mention Ecuador's Lasso -regulator
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

QUITO, March 15 (Reuters) - Ecuador President Guillermo Lasso and his family members do not appear in declassified documents released by the country's companies regulator, the agency said on Wednesday, referring to files which opposition lawmakers had sought to shore up a possible impeachment bid. Lasso has denied corruption allegations and said his government will fully cooperate with ongoing investigations by the attorney general into alleged graft at state companies. "There is not one single clue or document that involved Mr. Guillermo Lasso in what was just declassified from the Superintendency of Companies," Pachakutik party legislator Ricardo Vanegas told journalists. "They are looking for ways to tie this soap opera to a reason to remove President Lasso," he said. "They want to keep Guillermo Lasso as president."

☆ Ecuador lawmakers declassify documents in bid to impeach Lasso
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Legislators of Ecuador's National Assembly attend a session to debate a report recommending the opening of impeachment hearings against President Guillermo Lasso, in Quito, Ecuador March 4, 2023. REUTERS/Karen ToroQUITO, March 14 (Reuters) - Ecuador's national assembly on Tuesday voted to declassify documents tied to investigations into allegations of corruption at public companies, in a bid to shore up impeachment charges against President Guillermo Lasso. Lasso has denied corruption accusations and said his government will cooperate fully with the investigations by the attorney general's office. Any impeachment process against Lasso - who survived an ouster attempt last year during anti-government protests - would also require approval by the constitutional court. The CONAIE Indigenous organization, which led protests last year, has called for Lasso's resignation but so far not backed national protests.

☆ Ecuador, Belgium sign deal to fight crime after mega cocaine bust
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Karen ToroQUITO, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Ecuador and Belgium on Monday agreed to increase bilateral cooperation in their fight against international organized crime, a day after Ecuadorean police seized nearly nine tonnes of drugs bound for the European country. Ecuadorean police found some 8.78 tons of cocaine hidden in a container with bananas, the organization said on Sunday. The size of the seizure over the weekend makes it necessary for Ecuador to further strengthen cooperation with the Belgian government, Ecuador's Interior Minister Juan Zapata told reporters. Of the 201 tonnes of drugs seized in Ecuador last year, almost 18% was destined for Belgium, specifically Antwerp, Zapata said. So far in 2023, Ecuador has seized some 39 tonnes of drugs, especially cocaine, according to police data.

☆ Ecuador Indigenous organization ends talks with gov't, calls for Lasso resignation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Leonidas Iza, leader of Ecuador's indigenous organization CONAIE, and leaders of the indigenous nationalities of the Sierra, the coast and the Amazon celebrate, on the day of a meeting held by Ecuador's top indigenous organization CONAIE along with other campaign groups to discuss a date for new protests against the government of President Guillermo Lasso, in Quito, Ecuador February 24, 2023. REUTERS/Karen ToroQUITO, Feb 24 (Reuters) - A major Ecuadorean Indigenous organization said on Friday it will not continue talks with the government of President Guillermo Lasso, saying the government has not complied with accords, and called for Lasso's resignation over alleged corruption. The government has said it reached dozens of accords with the CONAIE indigenous organization, including a temporary moratorium on oil blocks in the Amazon and suspension of new mining concessions in ancestral territory until community consultation laws can be passed. "CONAIE breaks this process of dialogue and retires from monitoring efforts," its president Leonidas Iza told journalists after meeting with other Indigenous groups. "Mr. Guillermo Lasso for the dignity of our country, for your inability to govern and resolve the most important problems of Ecuadoreans, present your resignation," Iza said.

☆ Ecuador prosecutor asks for corruption charges against former president
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

QUITO, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Ecuador's attorney general on Wednesday said she will ask for charges against former President Lenin Moreno and three dozen others for alleged corruption surrounding the construction of the country's largest hydroelectric plant between 2009 and 2018. The investigation "reveals a structure of corruption around the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric project," the prosecutor said in a message posted on social media. Moreno's wife, one of their daughters, two of his brothers and two sisters-in-law are also among those allegedly connected to the case, Salazar said. Former managers at Coca Codo and former legal representatives of China's Sinohydro, which was in charge of building the plant, were also allegedly involved with corruption, Salazar said. China has not responded to a request for assistance in the case, Salazar said.

[1/6] Workers carry a mix of seized cocaine and coca paste with industrial waste to produce cement slurry to be used in a construction, at a waste treatment plant at an undisclosed location, in Ecuador February 10, 2023. REUTERS/Karen ToroQUITO, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Huge quantities of seized drugs in Ecuador are presenting the Andean country with an unlikely new construction material: cocaine. The amount of drugs seized in Ecuador almost doubled in 2021 versus the previous year to more than 210 tonnes, mostly cocaine, according to the country's police. So far some 350 tonnes of crushed cocaine and coca paste - a cocaine precursor - seized between 2021 and 2022 have been used to fill the hole, according to plant technicians. Some 83 tonnes of cocaine are waiting to be encapsulated.

☆ Bird flu spreads to new countries, threatens non-stop 'war' on poultry
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Tom Polansek | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Argentina found the virus in wild birds, while dead swans in Uruguay tested positive. The United States, Britain, France and Japan are among countries that have suffered record losses of poultry over the past year, leaving some farmers feeling helpless. Poultry in the Northern Hemisphere were previously considered to be most at risk when wild birds are active during spring migration. Some experts suspect climate change may be contributing to the global spread by altering wild birds' habitats and migratory paths. Farmers are trying unusual tactics to protect poultry, with some using machines that make loud noises to scare off wild birds, experts said.

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