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Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio waves an Ecuadorian flag as he attends a rally in Quito, Ecuador August 9, 2023. REUTERS/Karen Toro/File PhotoAug 10 (Reuters) - Fernando Villavicencio, the Ecuadorean presidential candidate gunned down in Quito on Wednesday, was no stranger to threats and intimidation from powerful figures in Ecuador. Villavicencio also denounced high-ranking executives in Ecuador's oil, mining and power industries – and even big foreign companies including Chinese oil behemoths, Brazilian engineering firms and global oil trading firms. The murder is the first of a presidential candidate in Ecuador's history. A year later, in 2014, Villavicencio went on the run to avoid imprisonment for alleged defamation of then-President Correa.

Persons: Fernando Villavicencio, Karen Toro, Long, –, Rafael Correa, Correa, Villavicencio, I'm, Villavicencio's, Guillermo Lasso ., Steven Grattan, Joshua Schneyer, Brad Haynes, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, Mexico's, Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, Prensa, The Workers Press, National Assembly, Lasso, Thomson Locations: Quito, Ecuador, Belgium, Mexico's Sinaloa, Peru, China, London, New York

Quito, Ecuador CNN —A candidate in Ecuador’s upcoming presidential election, Fernando Villavicencio, was assassinated at a campaign event Wednesday, President Guillermo Lasso confirmed on social media, vowing the killing will not go unpunished. He was gunned down 10 days before the first round of the presidential election was set to take place on August 20. Ecuador’s Attorney General’s Office said the suspected gunman died in police custody following an exchange of fire with security personnel. Seven of the eight presidential candidates, including Villavicencio, were under police protection, Ecuador’s Interior Minister Juan Zapata said earlier this week, local media reported Tuesday. All the candidates in the country’s presidential election have pledged to rein in the escalation of violence.

Persons: Ecuador CNN —, Fernando Villavicencio, Guillermo Lasso, Villavicencio, Cristian Zurita, Rodrigo Figueroa, “, Lasso, ” Lasso, Juan Zapata, paz ”, Agustin Intriago, Ariana Chancay, CNN En, CNN En Español Conclusiones, ” Organizations: Ecuador CNN, Movimiento, CNN, Ecuador’s, General’s, Judicial, Fire Department, Ecuador Police, National, Lasso, paz, Security, CNN En Español Locations: Quito, Ecuador, Villavicencio, Peru, Colombia, South America, North America, Europe, Manta, Darien, United States

CNN —At least 11 “complete bodies” and dozens of body parts, including human heads, were recovered on Wednesday from a major prison in Ecuador, after days of deadly prison clashes. The remains were collected at the Litoral Penitentiary in Guayaquil, Ecuador, where violence first erupted on Saturday. Some of the victims appeared to have been beheaded, the National Forensic Service of Ecuador told CNN en Español Wednesday. Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso has also signed a decree declaring a state of emergency across the country’s entire penitentiary system for the next 60 days. Over the past two years, Lasso has named five different directors of the prison service, but none have proven able to reduce the violence.

Persons: Cesar Munoz, Guillermo Lasso, Lasso Organizations: CNN, National Forensic Service, Wednesday, AP, Security, Twitter Locations: Ecuador, Litoral, Guayaquil

☆ Ecudor crisis: How gang warfare jumped from Ecuador's prisons to the open street
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Stefano Pozzebon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Frantic purchases of ammunition, the daylight assassination of a mayor, and a growing body count inside Ecuador’s prisons signal that the country’s roiling security crisis is going from bad to worse. Violence has been most pronounced on Ecuador’s Pacific coast as criminal groups battle to control and distribute narcotics, primarily cocaine. The country has also lost control of its prisons, which are often ruled by the criminal gangs. Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso speaks during a meeting in the Carondelet Palace in Quito on November 10, 2021. The crisis has also affected the security and justice system with allegations of corruption swirling around some in courts and police.

Persons: Agustin Intriago, Ariana Chancay, Agustin Intriago's, Dolores Ochoa, Guillermo Lasso, Vicente Gaibor del Pino, Coronel Mario Pazmiño, CRISTINA VEGA RHOR, Lasso, ” Lasso, ”, Fausto Salinas, Luisa Gonzalez, Otto Sonnenholzner, Yaku Perez Organizations: CNN, Manta, Security, Authorities, Reuters, Ecuadorian Army, Getty, Public Security Council, Ecuadorian Locations: Ecuador’s, Guayaquil, Manta, Ecuador, South America, North America, Europe, Peru, Colombia, America, Bolivia, Carondelet, Quito, AFP, Manabi

CNN —More than 90 prison security agents are currently being held by inmates across five different prisons in Ecuador, according to the country’s penitentiary service SNAI, amid escalating violence in the country which saw the mayor of Ecuador’s sixth largest city killed over the weekend. Together with the National Police, SNAI said it was working to secure the agents’ release and return prisons to normal operations. Inmates at several prisons have begun hunger strikes as they demand better conditions in the cells. Hundreds of inmates have been killed in recent years in Ecuador as members of competing criminal organizations square off with each other inside the prisons, which are often self-ruled by the criminal organizations. A woman cries outside outside the Guayas 1 prison a day after a fight between rival gangs left six inmates dead in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on July 24, 2023.

Persons: SNAI, ’, Agustin Intriago, Juan Zapata, Marcos Pin, Ariana Chancay, Guillermo Lasso, “, ” Intriago, Lasso, Luisa Gonzalez, Otto Sonnenholzner, Yaku Perez, Intriago Organizations: CNN, National Police, Manta, Getty, Authorities, Twitter Locations: Ecuador, Ecuador’s, Guayaquil, AFP, Ecuadorian, South America, United States, Canada, Asia, Colombia

☆ Mayor of Ecuadorian city of Manta assassinated in brazen attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

QUITO, July 23 (Reuters) - The mayor of the Ecuadorian Pacific port city of Manta, Agustin Intriago, was assassinated on Sunday, authorities said, in a brazen attack that stunned the political establishment. Police said the 38-year-old Intriago, who was re-elected as mayor of Manta in February, had been inspecting public works in the city at the time of the attack. The municipal government of Manta said on its Twitter account that Intriago had been shot dead. He emerged unscathed from the attack, but a policeman was killed and several other people were wounded, media reported. Intriago belonged to a local political party in Manta, a city of well over 200,000 inhabitants.

Persons: Agustin Intriago, Juan Zapata, Manta, Intriago, Guillermo Lasso, Rafael Correa, Alexandra Valencia, Diane Craft, Sonali Paul Organizations: Police, Manta, Interior, Twitter, Duran, Thomson Locations: QUITO, Ecuadorian Pacific, Manta

☆ OPEC chief says the search is on for new members of the oil producers' group
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Haitham al-Ghais, secretary-general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), speaking at the Energy Asia Summit on June 26, 2023. The secretary-general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Country signaled that the influential producers' alliance is actively open to recruiting new members. Asked if he is trying to expand the OPEC coalition, the organization's Secretary-General Haitham al-Ghais told reporters on Wednesday: "I am, yes." OPEC members coordinate the amount of oil they output in an effort to influence prices. He mentioned recent visits paid to oil-producing countries, however, including allies that currently implement a joint production strategy with OPEC countries, in a group known as OPEC+.

Persons: Haitham, Ghais Organizations: Organization of Petroleum Exporting, Energy Asia Summit, OPEC, Ecuadorian Locations: East, North, West Africa, South America, Ecuador, Ecuadorian, OPEC, Malaysia, Brunei, Azerbaijan, Mexico

☆ Julian Assange loses latest bid to stop extradition to the U.S. on spying charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A British judge has rejected the latest attempt by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to fight extradition to the United States to face spying charges. High Court justice Jonathan Swift said a new appeal would simply "re-run" arguments that Assange's lawyers had already made and lost. Assange is seeking to halt extradition by obtaining a new court hearing on parts of his case that were dismissed by the first judge. Assange's wife, Stella Assange, said the WikiLeaks founder would make a new appeal attempt at a High Court hearing on Tuesday. Sweden dropped the sex crimes investigations in November 2019 because so much time had elapsed, but British judges have kept Assange in prison pending the outcome of the U.S. extradition case.

Persons: Julian Assange, Jonathan Swift, Assange, Assange wouldn't, Swift, Assange's, Stella Assange, Julian Organizations: British, WikiLeaks, European, of Human, Twitter, Ecuadorian Embassy Locations: United States, U.S, British, Australia, Britain's, London's, Ecuadorian, London, Sweden

☆ Quito: Ecuador’s underrated capital city was the first to become a UNESCO site
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Sandra Macgregor | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —It’s hard not to feel a little sorry for the Ecuadorian capital of Quito. Singular churchesInside the Spanish colonial church of San Francisco in the city center of Quito. The museum even puts on a variety of shows, including a karaoke night of traditional Ecuadorian song. It’s especially busy at lunchtime when it fills to capacity with locals looking to indulge in affordable traditional Ecuadorian cuisine. Guided toursMetropolitan Touring’s “Live Quito Like a Local” walking tour is great for visitors with only a day or two to explore Quito.

☆ Is Mexico doing the US’s ‘dirty work’ when it comes to migration?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Rafael Romo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

But the enforcement has been chaotic, sporadic and, in the words of a former top Mexican official, “inefficient.”Tonatiuh Guillén was commissioner of Mexico’s National Migration Institute until 2019. Luis Barron/Eyepix Group/NurPhoto/AP“Mexico became a control territory, [a place of] a severe migration policy, detentions, deterrence, and expulsions. ‘This is not about doing the United States’ dirty work’Mexican President Obrador denies Mexico is doing the US’s bidding when it comes to migration. Two months later, another 47 migrants were found alive crammed inside a truck in Matehuala (San Luis Potosí state), Mexico. Viangly, a Venezuelan migrant, reacts outside an ambulance while firefighters remove injured migrants, mostly Venezuelans, from a National Migration Institute building during a fire in Ciudad Juarez on March 27, 2023.

CNN —Ecuador’s embattled President Guillermo Lasso, who is facing a looming impeachment vote, has triggered a constitutional clause to dissolve government, a politically fraught move that could spark protests with the country already tackling a fragile security situation. Lasso, who took office in 2021, is accused of interfering in the negotiation of a shipping contract related to the export of oil products. The president’s decision to instate muerte cruzada means his government will remain in office until a new general election takes place in around six months. But calls for his resignation have grown louder in recent months, as Ecuador’s opposition and influential federation of Indigenous organizations accused Lasso of negligence in a country engulfed by a cost-of-living crisis and high rates of criminal violence. Will Freeman, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the application of muerte cruzada “would absolutely cause instability.”“Lasso is too unpopular to benefit from the impression that he’s overriding checks and balances to finally get something done,” he told CNN, before the announcement on Wednesday.

☆ An Irish newspaper published a hoax article calling false tan 'problematic' generated using ChatGPT by a fake journalist with a profile picture made on DALL-E
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Last Thursday, The Irish Times removed an opinion article which called fake tan "problematic." It was 80% generated by GPT-4, and the hoaxer used an AI profile picture, per The Guardian. A hoax newspaper article which was generated with AI by a troll using a DALL-E profile picture has prompted an apology from the editor, The Guardian reported. The Irish Times published the piece, titled "Irish women's obsession with fake tan is problematic," on Thursday. And the profile picture was created with DALL-E to show a stereotypically "woke" journalist with the prompt "female, overweight, blue hair, business casual clothing, smug expression."

And Ecuadorian authorities have struggled to tackle this public security crisis “efficiently because it is mired in (a) political crisis,” González says. Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso is at the center of this storm, and his popularity has tanked amid widespread discontent with spiraling crime rates. Before President Guillermo Lasso took office, Ecuador had already become a key transit hub for cocaine due to its location between Peru and Colombia. Lasso told Ecuador’s legislative commission investigating him that he had not evaded taxes and that his tax trajectory was legally supported. Members of unions and civil society groups march on International Workers' Day to demand that Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso, who is facing an impeachment process, leave office on May 1, 2023.

☆ 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.

☆ How being incarcerated affects your mental health, according to a psychologist and neurologist
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Emily Swaim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Developing or worsening mental health issues: Lack of proper mental healthcare and social isolation from friends and family raises the risk of conditions like depression. Visits from friends or family can make a huge different in a person's mental health while incarcerated. The resulting isolation can raise your risk of mental health issues, which is a major concern considering that two in five incarcerated people already have a history of mental health issues like depression — twice the rate of the general adult population. There are many reasons for this, one being the lack of proper mental health care and adequate medication. But a big determinant may also be a lack of socializing with friends and family.

Donziger's lawyers argued that this appointment violated separation-of-powers principles set out in the Constitution delineating the authority of the three branches of the U.S. government. In 2011, an Ecuadorian court entered an $18 billion judgment that was later reduced to $9.5 billion against Chevron for contamination resulting from oil production. In 2014, Kaplan concluded in that case that the Ecuadorian judgment against Chevron in Ecuador was obtained fraudulently through a corrupt process, rendering it unenforceable in the United States. When Chevron suspected Donziger was violating a related ban on trying to monetize or profit from the judgment, Kaplan ordered him to turn over electronic devices and email accounts for examination. After federal prosecutors in Manhattan declined to take the case, Kaplan in an unusual move tapped a private lawyer, Rita Glavin, to lead the prosecution of Donziger.

☆ Supreme Court refuses appeal by lawyer jailed for contempt in $9.5 billion Chevron environmental case
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The Supreme Court refused Monday to consider the appeal of a disbarred lawyer jailed for contempt of court after he won a $9.5 billion judgment against Chevron in an environmental lawsuit in Ecuador . A group of Ecuadorians represented by Donziger filed a class-action suit against Chevron in Manhattan federal court in 1993. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit were awarded $9.5 billion from Chevron by a judge in Ecuador. Chevron then filed a legal action in Manhattan federal court and won an injunction against the enforcement of the judgment in any U.S. court. In the Chevron case, Gorsuch wrote, "However much the district court may have thought Mr. Donziger warranted punishment, the prosecution in this case broke a basic constitutional promise essential to ourliberty."

☆ Exclusive: Gunvor to expand in United States after strong profits - CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Julia Payne | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoSummarySummary Companies Gunvor on hiring kick, to expand in U.S. power, oil and LNGCEO says Europe only covered half of missing Russian gasCEO has been in dialogue with ADNOCLAUSANNE, Switzerland, March 21 (Reuters) - Energy trader Gunvor made strong profits last year and is looking to expand its oil trading and develop a significant power trading arm in the United States, its CEO told Reuters. Gunvor, traditionally focused on oil and gas, metals and bulk commodities, has in recent years also begun trading power in Europe. Tornqvist said the firm's traded oil and LNG volumes are more than 3 million barrels per day of oil equivalent. "We are looking at whether to take a provision on our books for 2022," Tornqvist said. As co-founder of Gunvor, Tornqvist remains the majority owner of the company but his stake slipped to 85.7% at the end of 2022, down from 88.4% year-on-year.

☆ 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.

☆ Women leaders sidelined at multilateral organizations, new study shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The study, to be released during this week's meeting of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, called for proportional representation of women at every level of multilateral organizations, from field offices to headquarters, as well as in secretariats and governing bodies. "But I also believe that women bring this combination of leadership, wisdom and empathy, and sometimes, an even greater understanding of what is happening in the world." Since 1945, the 33 institutions studied have had 382 leaders, but only 47 were women, the report showed. And despite recent progress, only one-third of the institutions are currently headed by women. GWL Voices said it would release a more extensive version of the report in September that would also look at the senior management teams and governing bodies of the 33 institutions.

☆ She's visited 63 countries by herself — and now coaches others on how to travel solo
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Lucy Handley | Chris Dwyer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

She's visited 63 countries alone, she said, and now coaches others on how to go solo. She said people enjoy solo travel because they don't need to take anyone else's interests into account. Group toursGroup tours are another popular option for solo travelers. It has added more single-occupancy cabins with no single supplement, which are extra fees that solo travelers are sometimes charged to stay in a room by themselves. Solo travel tipsHoffman offered advice for people who are traveling alone.

☆ A 20-year-old indigenous climate activist says the World Economic Forum is the perfect time for corporations to 'show their commitment' to breaking up with fossil fuels
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Freya Graham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Helena Gualinga is an Indigenous youth climate advocate from Ecuador. Gualinga wants to bring Indigenous and youth perspectives to climate conversations at Davos. The 20-year-old Indigenous youth climate advocate is speaking on several panels at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week, sharing the stage with the likes of John Kerry, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, and IKEA CEO Jesper Brodin. Much of the green transition is about electrification — for instance, switching from gas cars to electric ones. Corporations must commit to making a changeAt Davos this year, Gualinga wants to see "a real commitment to climate action."

☆ Ecuador not looking for new agreement with IMF, will maintain ties
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GUAYAQUIL, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Ecuador has fully financed its budget for next year and is not looking for a new credit agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the country's economy minister said on Friday, adding that the government will maintain close ties with the fund. The IMF this week concluded the latest review of its $6.5 billion financing agreement with Ecuador, opening the way for a final disbursement of $700 million to the South American nation. "We have already financed next year's budget without counting on resources from a potential program with the IMF," Arosemena told reporters in Guayaquil. The IMF agreement that ends this year established goals that included tax reform, audits of public companies such as Petroecuador, anti-corruption efforts and aid to the poor. The Ecuadorian government will decide during the first quarter of 2023 if it needs a new credit agreement with the IMF.

☆ Ecuador's trade agreement with China is 'practically closed,' says Lasso
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso said on Wednesday that the country is on the verge of closing a free trade agreement with China, a deal that would increase exports and boost employment in the South American country's manufacturing industry. "A highly efficient negotiation has been carried out in less than 10 months and I can confirm that the agreement is practically closed," Lasso said during a meeting of businessmen from China and Latin America in the city of Guayaquil. The deal is set to secure an additional $1 billion in Ecuadorian exports to China. "Our industrial sectors' interests have been taken into account, having guaranteed the protection of employment in manufacturing areas," Lasso added. Ecuador also planned to sign a trade agreement this year with Mexico, to ensure its entry into the Pacific Alliance, besides agreements with South Korea and the Dominican Republic.

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