Yesterday and today have been rather dramatic days in the history of Ecuador, although we are pleased to say that things seem to be settling down slightly. Yesterday, President Rafael Correa was attacked with tear-gas while speaking to a rally of police officers, many of whom are opposed to his reforms to cut civil service benefits as part of a wider austerity programme. Although not seriously hurt, the President was taken to hospital for treatment, but the hospital was then surrounded by groups of police and the situation deteriorated until he was rescued by units of the army.
Quito's main airport was also occupied by disaffected police and the situation on the streets remained tense until the early hours of this morning, when the head of the armed forces made a public statements affirming the loyalty of the army, and the commander in chief of the police resigned with immediate effect. A state of emergency has now been declared, but businesses and transport are now operating normally again, although it is still not clear what the political fallout from this episode will be.
For a country of such friendly, easy-going people, this kind of political instability is nothing new for Ecuador and unfortunately we have a lot of experience in dealing with the repercussions. We are, of course, in touch with all our customers currently in-country or on their way to Ecuador, but our understanding is that there are no problems currently affecting travel either within Ecuador or to and from the country. Keep your eyes on our RSS feed for updates...