
The inhabitants of Pacto state that their main livelihood is agriculture, specifically the cultivation of sugar cane and the production of panela.
Photos: Luis Argüello / PlanV

Jorge Luis Zambrano, alias Rasquiña or JL, while leaving Latacunga prison, on June 6, 2020.

Before being extradited to the United States, the drug lord ordered the killing in Ecuador of several officials and police officers who managed his capture. Photo: EFE

This is one of the few images of Telmo Castro when he was captured for the second time in 2013.

This small plane, captured in Guatemala in October 2017, left Ecuador loaded with 382 packages of drugs. The aircraft had a malfunction and fell in Jutiapa. The pilots were Mexican. Photo: Prensa Libre, Hugo Oliva

3.2 tons of drugs mixed with animal feed in Guayaquil seaport was the last major capture of 2019. Photo: El Universo

On October 22, nine Ecuadorians and two foreigners were arrested in an operation and 446 kilos of cocaine that was destined for Mexico were seized. Photos: Antinarcotics Police.

The need to make transparent the millions of dollars that the extractive industry moves is a challenge EITI in Ecuador.

Cleanup of one of the spills that occurred in the community of 18 de Noviembre, in Shushufindi, Sucumbíos. This image was taken during the visit of a commission of assembly members to the area last December. Photo: Municipal Autonomous Government of Shushufindi.
On June 26, Ecuador celebrated 49 years of having transported for the first time a barrel of oil through the Trans Ecuadorian Pipeline. Since then, the country's economy has been anchored to oil production. But this bonanza has also meant serious environmental impacts. In Ecuador, during 2020, there were an average of almost two oil spills every week, according to official figures from the Ministry of Environment accessed by PlanV.

Last May, there was a mobilization of Hanrine company workers against the National Police Command in Quito. The company has accused this institution and the Ministry of Government of not opening the public access road to one of the concessions, which is occupied by the inhabitants of La Merced de Buenos Aires, in Imbabura.

Large mining projects such as Cascabel coexist in the country with small artisanal mineral exploitations. Photo: Courtesy

Cajas, from one of its highest points, Tres Cruces, at 4,150 meters above sea level. This is an ancient lake and moorland system where two of the four rivers that cross the city of Cuenca originate. It is a protected area and any type of mining is prohibited. Photos: Luis Argüello / PlanV

Illegal mining left a bare, pitted and contaminated mountain. The State -through its ministries of Energy and Environment- has not taken care of the environmental liabilities. Photos: Luis Argüello / PlanV

Border patrol agents search unaccompanied minors in the city of La Joya, Texas, neighboring Ciudad Juarez, through which most Ecuadorians seeking to reach the U.S. transit. Photo: Hector Guerrero
Between October 2020 and May 2021, the U.S. Border Patrol found 1,988 Ecuadorian children and adolescents at the border with Mexico. All of these minors were without their parents. Recent data released by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) show the accelerated increase of minors from Ecuador transiting one of the most dangerous borders in the world.

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Ecuador surpassed 200,000 reports of suspected child sexual exploitation in 2020. That implies an increase of more than 100% over 2019 when 98,669 incidents related to child pornography or child sex trafficking were recorded. This data belongs to the U.S.-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which obtains its data through CyberTipline.

Panoramic view of the entrance to the parish of La Merced in Buenos Aires. Photos: Luis Argüello / PlanV

Josefina Tunki, 59, lives and commutes in the heart of the Cordillera del Cóndor, where thousands of tons of gold and copper are extracted. She is the first president of the Shuar Arutam people. Photos: Luis Argüello / Plan V
Josefina Tunki asked those attending a press conference not to worry about her bare feet. The Shuar leader traveled to Quito, which received her with rain and less than 50 degrees Fahrenheit, this Tuesday, June 15. She headed the table of defenders threatened and criminalized for their struggle against extractivism and in favor of Nature.