Travel Safety Ecuador

October 05, 2009

Quito, Guayaquil, and Manta Ecuador update on state of emergency

• The current state of emergency declared by the President has taken some swift steps over this past weekend. Both the military and police have been patrolling major areas of crime in the three major metropolitan areas. There has also been specific efforts made at nightclubs and other areas of entertainment.
• In Quito, police put emphasis by placing a patrol net operation around the exits of Quito, especially in the Southern sections of the city, along with night spots.
• In Manta police took into custody a fugitive who was conduction a sequestro express at the time of his apprehension against a taxi driver.
• In Guayaquil, 138 people were apprehended for various infractions and emphasis was placed on night spots and a number of malls.
• There are a significant number of vehicle stops being made at roadblocks with efforts to discover weapons.
• In Guayaquil taxis have until October 15, 2009, to register the vehicles with the National Transit Commission. Owners of taxis are required to provide all names of authorized drivers and this information will be required to be in the taxi with registration and required credentials. It is hoped with this information being visible to passengers, they will be able to avoid disguised taxis. All taxis will be placed in a database.
• It is highly recommended that passengers not be lured into taking a pirate taxi (unmarked).
• It is further recommended that you have some type of identification(Passports) on your person in the event you are asked for this information by authorities. Make sure you keep a copy of your passport.

(ECUADORRAVELADVISORY.COM)