Ecuador

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Ecuador's Labor Ministry suspended Vice President Veronica Abad for 150 days over claims that she abandoned her duties by arriving for an appointment in Turkey in September five days late, El Pais reported on Nov. 11. 

Ecuador: Vice President's Suspension Indicates Growing Political Instability Ahead of Election

Ecuador will deploy 288 police officers to protect 32 candidates running for president and vice president in the country's Feb. 9, 2025, general election, Deutsche Welle reported on Oct. 21.

Ecuador: Police Detachment Unlikely To Prevent Political Violence Ahead of Election

Colombia

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Colombia's Mines and Energy Ministry suspended electricity exports to Ecuador amid low rainfall and hydroelectric reservoir levels, El Colombiano reported on Sept. 30.

Colombia, Ecuador: Drought-Related Energy Crisis Will Pose Further Operational Risks

cuador has started a series of scheduled overnight blackouts to save electricity and carry out maintenance work amid the most severe drought in 60 years, DW reported on Sept. 19. 

Ecuador: Power Rationing to Pose Operational and Security Challenges 

Ecuador's opposition Citizen Revolution Movement, or RC, chose Luisa Gonzalez, who lost to President Daniel Noboa in the second round of the 2023 presidential election, as the party's candidate for the February 2025 presidential election, Reuters reported on Aug. 10.

Ecuador: Political Parties Choose Candidates for 2025 Presidential Election

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa declared a 60-day state of emergency in the provinces of Guayas, El Oro, Santa Elena, Manabi, Sucumbios, Orellana and Los Rios provinces, as well as part of Azuay province, in response to an increase in violent crime in the area, Reuters reported on May 22.

Ecuador: President Declares New State of Emergency Over Security Concerns

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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security proposed a new process that would disqualify individuals seeking asylum earlier in the asylum request process, allowing authorities to expel migrants quickly if they have been convicted of dangerous crimes, according to a May 9 statement. 

U.S.: Government Announces New Process To Expedite Expulsion of Some Asylum Seekers

The International Monetary Fund reached a staff-level agreement with Ecuador to provide approximately $4 billion in funding under a four-year Extended Fund Facility, with the deal still subject to executive board approval, Reuters reported on April 25.

Ecuador: Government Reaches Staff-Level Agreement With IMF

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A banner depicts IRGC missile models aimed at Israel on April 16 in the Iranian capital of Tehran. The ongoing confrontation may be entering a de-escalation phase after the April 19 Israeli counterstrike to Iran's April 13 salvo against Israel.

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Israel-Iran Conflict, Ecuador's Constitutional Referendum

Police guard stand outside the Mexican embassy in Quito, Ecuador, on April 8, 2024. 

President Noboa likely hoped the raid would show his commitment to combatting corruption, but it has only left his government with more enemies at home and abroad.

Ecuador's Raid on the Mexican Embassy Risks Backfiring on Its President

Ecuador's flag waves behind rows of coins.

While another IMF program may help Ecuador avoid a greater crisis in the years ahead, the government will continue to struggle to implement crucial structural reforms amid significant political constraints.

Can Ecuador Escape Its Cycle of Economic Instability?

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Policemen guard the car of Mayor Luis Chonillo after an attack on the official May 15, 2023, in Duran, Ecuador. Governments can take steps to stave off a surge in violence, but for many in the region, such measures will be politically and economically out of reach.

Governments can take steps to stave off a surge in violence, but for many in the region, such measures will be politically and economically out of reach.

Forecasting Latin America's Next Crime Hotspot After Ecuador

Police present detainees in the case of TC Television in which armed men broke into the station's live broadcast on Jan. 10, 2024, in Guayaquil, Ecuador. 

While the government may be able to temporarily secure crime hot spots, major constraints on curbing gang activity portend a protracted security crisis with potential political implications.

Ecuador Declares 'Internal Armed Conflict' as Gang Violence Escalates

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Israeli army Merkava battle tanks deploy Oct. 13, 2023, with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel. An invasion will greatly exacerbate the hardships caused by Israel's total siege of the strip, creating a humanitarian crisis that could cause Egypt to use force to ensure that Palestinian refugees do not enter Sinai.

The Weekly Rundown: A Gaza Ground Invasion, a Parliamentary Election in Poland

Ecuadorean presidential candidate Daniel Noboa (center) gives a thumbs up as he rides on top of a truck during a campaign caravan in Quito, Ecuador, on Oct. 11, 2023. 

The Oct. 15 presidential run-off could end years of political deadlock, but the country's security and economic challenges will almost certainly persist regardless of the outcome.

The Challenges That Await Ecuador's Next President

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Soldiers conduct a patrol on July 22, 2023, in the Salvadorean municipality of Colon, where the MS-13 gang reportedly remains active. 

The success of El Salvador's counter-crime state of emergency in reducing the country's homicide rate will be hard to replicate, despite the efforts of nearby countries.

The Appeal (and Perils) of Crime Crackdowns in Latin America, Part 1

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Supporters of Guatemalan presidential candidate Bernardo Arevalo attend a campaign rally in the Central Square in Guatemala City, Guatemala, on Aug. 16, 2023. 

The Weekly Rundown: Lunar Landings, the BRICS Summit and a Host of Elections

Snapshots

Policemen stand guard while supporters of slain Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio pay their respects at the Quito Exhibition Center in Quito, Ecuador, on Aug. 11, 2023. 

The Aug. 20 vote may see the emergence of a wildcard presidential candidate, while a simultaneous referendum could threaten the country's oil output.

Ecuador Braces for a High-Stakes Election

Police officers stand guard at the National Service of Legal Medicine and Forensic Science on Aug. 10, 2023, in Quito, Ecuador, following the assassination of a candidate running in the country's upcoming presidential election.

Fernando Villavicencio’s murder signals increasingly brazen political violence that could bolster support for tough-on-crime politicians in the Aug. 20 election.

A Presidential Candidate's Assassination Deepens Ecuador's Security Crisis

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What Q3 security risks should companies expect and prepare for?

Essential Geopolitics: An Overview of RANE's Q3 Forecast

Ecuador straddles the equator on the Pacific Coast of South America. Colombia sits on its northern border, and Peru wraps around its eastern and southern boundaries. Geographical barriers divide the country into three parts. The east is part of the Amazon rainforest, the Andes Mountains run down the center, and the west is in the coastal zone.     The country's major territorial conflict with Peru was settled in 1998. The dispute dated back to the time when Ecuador was part of Gran Colombia, which included Colombia, Venezuela and Panama, in the early 19th century. With the dissolution of Gran Colombia, Ecuador inherited a territorial dispute that took over 150 years to be settled.     Although there is no territorial conflict with Colombia, Ecuador's border with its northern neighbor poses a major security challenge for the government in the capital, Quito, because it is a major route for Colombian drug trafficking and armed groups. Criminals and rebels tend to cross into Ecuador to escape Colombia's security forces. Ecuador and Colombia almost went to war at the beginning of the 21st century when Colombia bombed Ecuadorian territory in an operation against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.     The country's core regions are the Quito metropolitan area and Guayaquil, home to Ecuador's major port. Those two areas hold more than half of the country's population. Over 70 percent of Ecuador's population is mestizo, and less than 10 percent is indigenous. However, indigenous groups have clashed frequently with the central government because they oppose oil and mining activities, especially in Ecuador's Amazon region. Oil and mining products are two of the country's key export products, representing almost 40 percent of total exports.

SITUATION REPORTS

Ecuador: Vice President's Suspension Indicates Growing Political Instability Ahead of Election

Ecuador: Police Detachment Unlikely To Prevent Political Violence Ahead of Election

Colombia, Ecuador: Drought-Related Energy Crisis Will Pose Further Operational Risks

Ecuador: Power Rationing to Pose Operational and Security Challenges

Ecuador: Political Parties Choose Candidates for 2025 Presidential Election

Ecuador: President Declares New State of Emergency Over Security Concerns

U.S.: Government Announces New Process To Expedite Expulsion of Some Asylum Seekers

Ecuador: Government Reaches Staff-Level Agreement With IMF

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