Ecuador's president says he loves US, distrusts its government

Published January 22, 2014

Associated Press

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  Ecuador's President Rafael Correa gestures at the end of a meeting with the foreign press at the government palace in Quito, Ecuador, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014. Correa, who was elected in January 2007, said the U.S. government and his are going through a tense relationship, clarifying that he personally likes the U.S. where he earned two university degrees. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa) (The Associated Press)
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  Ecuador's President Rafael Correa speaks to members of the foreign press at the government palace in Quito, Ecuador, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014. Correa, who was first elected in January 2007, said the relationship between his government and the U.S. government are tense and there is mutual distrust, clarifying that he is not anti-American and personally likes the U.S. where he earned two university degrees. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa) (The Associated Press)
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  Ecuador's President Rafael Correa gestures as he meets with the foreign press at the government palace in Quito, Ecuador, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014. Correa, who was first elected in January 2007, said the U.S. government and his are going through tension and mutual distrust, clarifying that he personally likes the U.S. where he earned two university degrees. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa) (The Associated Press)

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QUITO, Ecuador –  Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa says he loves the United States. He says he has a problem, though, with what he calls Washington's "clumsy" foreign policy toward Latin American governments it considers hostile.

Correa acknowledged in comments to international reporters Wednesday that there is considerable distrust between his leftist government and that of the United States, where he earned two degrees.

Correa's government recently announced it was asking the U.S. Agency for International Development to leave, accusing it of backing the opposition.

His government renounced eligibility for U.S. trade preferences last year when Washington was trying to pressure it into rejecting asylum for Edward Snowden, the U.S. leaker living in exile in Russia.
Correa is popular at home for his poverty-fighting programs but widely criticized for stifling civil liberties.

Ecuador's Correa wants US military to leave

21 hours ago

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Quito (AFP) - Ecuador's leftist President Rafael Correa said Wednesday he would ask the United States to withdraw American military personnel assigned to its embassy in Quito.

Correa said he became aware of what he described as an outsized presence after learning that four US military personnel were aboard an Ecuadoran military helicopter that came under fire on October 3 last year near the border with Colombia.

"That's when we learned of all this, of the military group, nearly 50 military personnel. This is inconceivable," he told foreign reporters.

"Unfortunately, these people have been so infiltrated in all the sectors that what is scandalous appeared normal."

Correa, an economist by training who has long railed against America's "imperialism" in its Latin American backyard, said Quito was "already taking measures" to address the issue.

US Embassy spokesman Jeffrey Weinshenker said the United States had not yet received "formal notification" of the Ecuadoran request.

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Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa (L) speaks at the Carondelet presidential Palace in Quito on Janu …

He said about 20 US Defense Department employees, both military and civilian, were assigned to the embassy and were "fully accredited."

"All our activities are carried out with the explicit approval of the Ecuadoran counterparts," he said.

In Washington, a US official also said that the 50 military personnel cited by Correa were "more than double the actual number.

'Mutual distrust'

Correa has been often at odds with the United States since first taking office in 2007.

"We want it to be better, but let's not fool ourselves: yes, there are certain tensions, there is mutual distrust," the president said, pointing to Washington's "goofy" policy toward governments it considers hostile.

"It's not that we are anti-American, but we will always denounce double standards in international policy, and if that strains our relations with America, we will never renounce our principles."

The United States is Ecuador's main trading partner, and has repeatedly questioned Quito's links with Iran and Belarus, its decision to grant asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and Correa's troubled relationship with the press.

In 2009, Correa declined to renew an agreement with the United States that had allowed it to operate a base for counternarcotics operations on Ecuadoran territory.

He has also criticized assistance the CIA provided to Colombia during a cross-border raid against FARC guerrillas in 2008.

The US Agency for International Development is ending its operations in Ecuador after failing to reach an agreement with the government, which had accused it of financing opposition groups.

Got mine, now how to get your Ecuador Cedula

After you get your permanent residency visa to live in Ecuador, doesn't matter which type, could be the investors visa, the pensioners visa, or even the professionals visa...

...you'll then have 30 days to get your mandatory Ecuadorian "Cedula", or official ID card.

The visa, or what is stamped in your passport, is the more complex part, the cedula which looks like a drivers license, is just a formality but you NEED it or they won't let you travel out of the country.

It's happened to me.  

You'll pass through the airline check in counter, then at immigration they'll tell you sorry, you can't board the plane without a cedula (if you are in Ecuador on a permanent residency visa).

Besides, having a cedula qualifies you for a lot of benefits, especially senior benefits in Ecuador if you are over 65.

Even if you are not a senior, you can still get special pricing on certain things, like for one, trips to the Galapagos.

For instance, foreigners pay $465 round trip on Tame to the Galapagos from Quito right now.  Ecuadorians or foreigners which have perm resident status with Ecuadorian cedulas pay only $250.  And foreigners pay a $100 per head park entrance fee, people with Ecuador cedulas pay only a $10 per person entry fee upon arrival.

Getting your cedula is a recently streamlined, easy process and one I just did myself this week in January of 2014.

Once you pick up your visa that same day I recommend you get the document CERTIFICADO DE EMPADRONAMIENTO which costs $5 and only takes a few minutes to retrieve from the same immigration office that gives you your visa, in Quito its the one near the 6 de Diciembre and Colon intersection.

With that document you will need to wait 48 hours and then go to the REGISTRIO CIVIL (Civil Registry) on Naciones Unidas y Amazonas (if applying in Quito).  

You will need to bring the Certificado de empadronamiento, your actual passport and a color copy of your passport ID page and a copy of your current residency visa.

Upon entering the Civil Registry, you will have to take a turn and pay $5 to the bank counter that is within their offices there.

You will then go down the stairs and to the windows 24 and 25 and wait for your turn to appear on the screen.
Once you are called they will photo you, take your fingerprints and then in one hour you will receive your brand new Ecuadorian cedula!

No more need to walk around with your passport, in Ecuador your cedula is everything, you can even travel to nearby Andean countries like Colombia and Peru with just your cedula.

And of course, no reason to pay a lawyer to get a cedula for you!

Important changes since early 2013 (one year ago):  

Prefice: About a year ago in Guayaquil I helped a few friends get their cedulas.  And since then things have changed a bit, for the better!

A year ago, after applying for the cedula and getting your photo taken you had to come back in 3-5 days, not anymore, in one hour I got my cedula.

A year ago, they asked for an apostilled birth certificate, they never asked for mine although I still recommend bringing it down.

A year ago, they asked for proof of civil status, a marriage certificate or if you were single you had to do a really annoying hassle of going to a notary and doing a sworn statement saying you were single (declaracion juramentada).  Not anymore.  They didnt ask for me to prove my single status.

PS.  I highly recommend getting yiour cedula in Quito although you can get it in a few other cities in Ecuador.  Just easier.

Keep in mind.  

Unlike countries like the US, your civil status appears on your ID card, and if you are married then ANY legal transaction you want to do in Ecuador like sell a real property or a car you will have to have your wife sign off on it!

But what if your legal wife or husband is not in the picture?

In Ecuador, you are pretty much screwed if thats what appears on your ID cedula card.  Your transaction will be greatly difficulted or stopped.  So if they arent in the picture go for single if you can.

There you have it, the cedula, one less thing you need a lawyer for in Ecuador.

It's well documented that if i can i prefer to skip on lawyers in Ecuador I will, ive seen too many instances where people paid thousands of dollars to a lawyer in Ecuador that than essentially did... nothing!  There are a few good ones but the range of quality is great.

Often in real estate transactions the only thing they'll do for the hundreds or thousands they charge you is write up your sales deed.  

Speaking of not using lawyers, this week Im pleased to announce the release of my boilerplate contracts for the buy/sale of real estate, cars or other property in Ecuador, plus a boilerplate rental contract all in editable word format, just edit it your details and they are enforceable if they have been notarized.

They don't work for all situations, especially more complicated sales, but why pay a lawyer thousands to write up your property sales deed when you can do it yourself for a simple sale where you ve built up some trust in the seller?  Especially for small property purchases like cars or cheap real estate where most locals in Ecuador just use a similar template. 


Domenick Buonamici
Quito Airport Suites - Lodging minutes from the airport in Quito.  Your ideal jump off point in Ecuador.  

Chocolate Has New Latin King as Ecuador Overtakes Brazil

By Nathan Gill Jan 21, 2014 8:50 AM GMT-0500

Photographer: Claire Leow/Bloomberg

In Ecuador, where chocolate makers like Nestle SA, the world’s biggest food company,... Read More

Ecuador, where the fatty beans used to make chocolate have been grown since pre-Columbian times, is surpassing Brazil as Latin America’s top cocoa producer after boosting planting and offering education programs for farmers.

Cocoa-bean output rose 13 percent last year to 220,000 metric tons and the South American country is poised to become the world’s fourth-biggest producer by 2015, said Ivan Ontaneda, president of Ecuador’s National Cocoa Exporters Association, known as Anecacao.

Ecuador, an OPEC nation better known for heavy crude oil and bananas, is taking advantage of rising global demand for chocolate to boost output and diversify exports as economic growth slows and its trade deficit widened to the worst level in three years. Output will continue to climb as trees planted in 2009 and 2010 begin to bear fruit and farmers helped by government programs improve harvests, Ontaneda said.

“In terms of total production, we outstripped Brazil in 2013,” Ontaneda, who’s also chief executive officer of cocoa exporter Eco-Kakao SA, said in an interview at his office in Guayaquil. “In 2015, we estimate we’ll produce more than 250,000 metric tons and we’ll become the number-four producer of cocoa in the world.”

Photographer: Diego Granja/Bloomberg

Santiago Peralta, founder of Pacari Chocolates, winner of the gold medal for dark... Read More

In Ecuador, where chocolate makers like Nestle SA (NESN), the world’s biggest food company, operate, the establishment of new farms with higher yields are boosting cocoa output, according to a December report by the London-based International Cocoa Organization. “Ideal weather conditions” should help increase the 2014 harvest, the organization said in the report.

Gold Medal

Ecuador, the world’s top grower of flavored beans used in fine chocolate, is benefiting from increasing demand in Asia, Europe and Latin America for specialty sweets made with the country’s higher-quality beans, said Santiago Peralta, the 42-year-old founder of Quito-based Pacari Chocolates, winner of the gold medal for dark chocolate at the 2013 International Chocolate Awards in London in October.

“In terms of chocolate, the world now respects Ecuador a lot,” Peralta said in a Jan. 14 telephone interview from South Korea where he was traveling to promote his products. “Sadly, fine cocoa production is limited, so prices for Ecuador’s cocoa are going to increase.”

Peralta, who compared the market for fine chocolate to specialty wines, expects Pacari’s sales to grow by more than 30 percent in 2014 as consumers become pickier about flavor, growers’ labor conditions and sustainable farming practices. The price of the country’s beans may triple in coming years as economic growth raises global demand for gourmet foods, he said.

Witches’ Broom

Cocoa jumped 21 percent in New York last year on rising emerging-market demand and concerns dry weather in western Africa will cut output. Cocoa for delivery in March fell 0.7 percent to 1,729 pounds a ton on NYSE Liffe at 1:39 p.m. in London today. The contract for delivery in the same month fell 0.2 percent to $2,694 a ton on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. Prices will fall to $2,469 a metric ton this year, according to the median forecast of four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Brazil’s cocoa output fell 15 percent last year to 194,382 tons from 228,881 tons a year earlier, according to Thomas Hartmann, head of statistics at the commercial association of Bahia state, where most of Brazil’s cocoa is grown.

An outbreak of the witches’ broom fungal disease in Brazil reduced the nation’s cocoa production last year. Repeated outbreaks of the disease since the 1980s displaced Brazil from the position of top producer and have since discouraged planting, while African countries took the lead.

Cocoa Disneyland

Bad weather also contributed to declines, Hartmann said. Ecuador’s cocoa crop doesn’t compete with Brazil’s and increased production in the Andean country shouldn’t affect the Brazilian market, he said.
Brazil’s “prospects for 2014 are better, of course -- as always -- depending on the weather, which so far has been friendly,” Hartmann said in an e-mailed response to questions.

West Africa accounts for about 70 percent of global cocoa output. The Ivory Coast is the world’s top producer, followed by Ghana.

The improving outlook for Ecuador’s crop is also pushing more local farmers to convert their coffee and banana fields into cocoa, Anecacao’s Ontaneda said. Exporters are working with the government to help promote cocoa similar to how Colombia promoted the Juan Valdez brand of coffee, he said.

“Ecuador is the Disneyland of cocoa, everyone wants to come here,” Ontaneda said. “There’s not a single bean that goes unsold.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Nathan Gill in Quito at ngill4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Attwood at jattwood3@bloomberg.net

President Correa: hanging tough on the international issues of drilling and abortion....

Ecuador's Correa rebukes 'intrusions' by UN, Americas court 

QUITO: Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa on Saturday rebuked requests by major international bodies for clarification on his anti-abortion position and decision to extract oil from an Amazon reserve.

The president revealed that his government had received letters from the UN and Inter-American Court of Human Rights pressing him on the matters, which he says are domestic.

 

Speaking on his weekly radio and television program, Correa said the inter-American court had inquired into the government’s controversial plans to  extract oil in Yasuni Park. 

 

The move is opposed by environmentalists and indigenous groups hoping to protect the UNESCO biosphere reserve.

 

Correa also said that a UN rapporteur had sent him a request to explain his  anti-abortion position.

 

Last year Correa threatened to leave his  majority-holding party if Congress decriminalized abortion in all cases of rape.

 

“Gentlemen, go mind your business and not the affairs of a sovereign country like Ecuador,” Correa said.

 

He also pointed to what he said was interference by the UN’s International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) in Uruguay’s recent decision to regulate the production and sale of marijuana. The body has said Uruguay’s move breaks international law.

 

But, Correa said, there was a lack of international criticism over legalised marijuana use in the United States where the states of Washington and  Colorado have permitted citizens to use the drug recreationally.

 

“It’s a terrible double standard; they treat us like colonies,” the  president, a leftist and economist by training, said. Her urged his countrymen  to free themselves from “illegitimate and illegal intrusions by this  international bureaucracy.” AFP

The top 10 retirement destinations in the world....and Ecuador is NOT No. !

Post retirement, a person looks for easy life, better access to healthcare and cheaper cost of living.
International Living assessed various countries around the world based on real estate prices, retirement benefits, cost of living, ease of integration, entertainment and amenities, health care, retirement infrastructure and climate, to find best destinations for the seniors.
Let’s take a look at best places to retire.
Source: International Living

Thailand
Rank: 10
Score: 83.5
Culturally rich Thailand offers new way of life to pensioners. There are over 40,000 expats residing in the country as of now.
 
Uruguay
Rank: 9
Score: 83.7
Uruguay is the second smallest sovereign nation in South America and the third smallest territory.
The landscape features mostly rolling plains and low hill ranges with a fertile coastal lowland.
Uruguay has a climate that is relatively mild and fairly uniform nationwide.
 
Malta
Rank: 8
Score: 84.1
Malta is a favoured tourist destination with its warm climate, numerous recreational areas, architectural and historical monuments, including three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, most prominently the Megalithic Temples which are some of the oldest free-standing structures in the world, according to Wikipedia.
 
Mexico
Rank: 7
Score: 84.2
Mexico has a really vibrant and colourful culture and has over a million expats residing in the country.
Is also has one of the most diverse weather systems and also one of the countries with the best biodiversity.
Mexico has the 14th largest nominal GDP and the 11th largest by purchasing power parity.


Colombia
Rank: 6
Score: 84.2
Colombia is one of the megadiverse countries in biodiversity, ranking third in living species and first in bird species.
The geography of Colombia is characterised by its six main natural regions that present their own unique characteristics. It also features as one of the top destinations in the world list by many publications.
 
Spain
Rank: 5
Score: 85.8
The country has one of the largest expat populations in Europe. The climate of Spain, historical and cultural monuments and its geographic position together with its facilities make tourism one of Spain's main national industries.
 
Costa Rica
Rank: 4
Score: 86.8
Costa Rica has consistently been among the top Latin American countries in the Human Development Index (HDI). It is also the only country to meet all five criteria established to measure environmental sustainability in the Environmental Performance Index. It has ropical climate all year round.


Malaysia
Rank: 3
Score: 88.5
Malaysia has everything for a best retirement life. It has stable climate, beaches, islands, jungles, and best food in Asia


Ecuador
Rank: 2
Score: 91.1
Ecuador is a destination that offer best value for money when it comes to cost of living, real estate and healthcare. It also has friendly local population, who have a lot of respect for seniors.
 

Panama
Rank: 1
Score: 91.2
Panama is one country that has pensioner visa and offers various discounts to seniors. It also has friendly population.

European Commission to Ban Heirloom Seeds and Criminalize Plants & Seeds Not Registered With Government

It is popular today to pride ourselves on the level of personal liberty and individual freedom that we have achieved. However, in the age of unsurpassed electronic technology this is largely an illusion. From the tracking and spying of governmental and non-governmental commercial agencies we are the most surveilled, least private of civilizations in human history. Additives to our foods from pesticides and chemical fertilizers to GMO’s, all without our permission I might add, have been embedded in the food chain with nary a whimper from the citizen-consumers. Overhead satellites and drones record our every individual move providing real-time tracking and observation so precise that license plates and even ranks and name-tags of military personnel can be read by the eyes in the skies. Truly, we’ve entered the age of the realization of the Orwellian Nightmare. Now, just when you think that the above has reached a pinnacle of nightmarish intrusion into your personal affairs, another outrage assaulting your human dignity arises. Indeed, we are being forced into a “hive” mentality where all is uniform and well-regulated. The European Commission is changing the European Union’s plant legislation, apparently to enhance food safety across the continent. This move has sparked a heavy opposition from many, saying that the measure will threaten seed diversity and favour large agrochemical businesses. This new law creates new powers to classify and regulate all plant life anywhere in Europe. You can view the entire proposal in the list of sources at the bottom of this article. The “Plant Reproductive Material Law” regulates all plants. It contains restrictions on vegetables and woodland trees, as well as all other plants of any species. It will be illegal to grow, reproduce, or trade any vegetable seed or tree that has not been tested and approved by the government, more specifically the “EU Plant Variety Agency.” This agency will be responsible for making a list of approved plants and an annual fee must also be forwarded to the agency if growers would like to keep what they grow on the list. The new law basically puts the government in charge of all plants and seeds in Europe, and prevents home gardeners from growing their own plants from non-regulated seeds. If they did, they would now be considered criminals. The draft text of the law has already been changed several times due to a large backlash from gardeners. This law will immediately stop the professional development of vegetable varieties for home gardeners, organic growers and small scale market farmers. Home gardeners have really different needs – for example they grow by hand, not machine, and can’t or don’t want to use such powerful chemical sprays. There’s no way to register the varieties suitable for home use as they don’t meet the strict criteria of the Plant Variety Agency, which is only concerned about approving the sort of seed used by industrial farmers – Ben Gabel, Director of The Real Seed Catalogue It seems the government is taking over everything, virtually all plants, vegetables seeds and gardeners are to be registered by the government. What’s even more disturbing is that all heirloom seeds will be criminalized. This means that saving seeds from one generation to the next will become a criminal act! This law was written for the needs of the globalized farm seed industry, who supply seed by the ton to industrial farmers. It should not apply at all to seed used by home gardeners and small market growers. Freely reproducible seeds should be (read: is; Editor) a human right, they are part of our heritage. I understand this is to protect the business of big agri-companies, but registration and testing should be voluntary for all non GMO, non-patented and non-hybrid seed. The amazing aspect of this is that people will clamor for such draconian governmental intrusion based on a Bill of Goods sold to them regarding permaculture, sustainability, green living, and other nonsensical smokescreens and illusions of false environmental concern under the UN Agenda 21 mandates. Folks, it is time to take responsibility for your food security, the most basic of human rights, into your hands. Buy, plant, grow, harvest, and become adept at seed-saving to insure that no matter what the government mandates and implements you will be able to grow and provide your own food. In addition to plant regulation I predict that we will very soon witness restrictions on backyard and smallholdings animal husbandry in the name of food safety and animal rights. So begin now to raise chickens, rabbits, goats and other unobtrusive and clandestine animal husbandry. Learn, and learn quickly, how to raise, care-for, humanely dispatch, process, and store small-scale livestock. Though seven years ago when CRS was first published, such actions as this newly proposed EU regulation would have seemed a paranoid speculation, we can see by similar actions already instituted and enforced, these food regulations and compulsory uniformity of the populous is well within the range of truth. And he shall make all, both little and great, rich and poor, freemen and bondmen, to have a character in their right hand, or on their foreheads. And that no man might buy or sell, but he that hath the character, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Apocalypse 13:16-17 Here is the web citation: http://healthydebates.com/european-commission-ban-heirloom-seeds-criminalize-plants-seeds-registered-government/#sthash.c3glKdrK.dpuf Richard of Danbury, D.S.G. Catholic Rural Solutions | January 15, 2014 at 19:31 | Categories: Current Events, Economics, Homestead | URL: http://wp.me/pVecg-yt Comment    See all comments

Ecuador residency visa: No investment, no pension needed

I can't think of how else to put this.

But sometimes I really think Ecuador is kind of like your friends slutty sister.

She may look good from a distance, but the more you get to know her, the less you trust her and although you may have a casual fling with her, chances of a serious comitment are slim.

It may be funny to hear this from a so-called 'Ecuador expert', but the truth is Ecuador is a great place for that exciting high risk-high reward 10% part of your portfolio but its certainly not smart to sell everything and invest it all in Ecuador.

Don't do that!  Seriously.

I'm sorry but while (currently) Ecuador is a great place to casually live, and a great place to generate wealth, its not a good place to store wealth and in fact, like many countries in the world, I'm afraid Ecuadors heading in the wrong direction.  A lot of factors there.  Just my opinion.

Opps, maybe I spilled the beans on that one.

Ecuador, really not much different from any 'third-world' country, is certainly not a smart place to park $25k in a CD for a right to a residency visa.  This past year alone one 'real' bank failed (Banco Territorial), and one 'coopera' or credit union-type-thing failed too.

People lost money.  Not everyone got paid back.

And contrary to popular opinion, its also not smart to base your visa off a real estate investment valued over $25k, cause if you sell the investment, you lose your visa, and boy would it stink to get stuck in a bad investment and miss an opportunity just cause your money was tied up for your visa.

While many of us, either too young or for whatever reason, don't count on a steady pension in order to apply for the pensioners visa.  
Well, fear not, there's another little-known option many of us qualify for.

And you don't have to invest a cent.  Nor do you need a pension.

Besides, the only investments you should make are good ones, not ones based on getting a residency visa.

This type of visa is the one I got.
I got it, all by myself, with no help from a lawyer (it wasn't necessary).

Recently too, I got approved last month.
Introducing the 9-V Professionals permanent resident visa.

All you need to qualify is a degree from an accredited university and to have the degree validated by the Ecuadorian institute of higher education (SENESCYT).
Its actually even easier than it sounds.

You see, Ecuador immigration law is actually quite dated.  Written several years ago before there was a sizable demand of incoming migrants.  And understandly, countries without much incoming demand have more open doors, cause it doesn't matter, on the flip side, a country like the US has the doors so closed to immigrants they often have to do illegal stuff just to get in and stay in.
Some countries offer a Professional type visa for college grads, like Australia, but only for certain majors, the specialists they need.  Which makes more sense than the current Ecuadorian system if you think about it.
You see, if they'll approve someone from my major, they'll take, well, anyone.

Why?

Well, my major was .. duh duh ...duh duh... Spanish.

Yea.  Damn.  Think they got enough Spanish speakers in Ecuador?

If anyone were screwed it'd be me right?

Well, I guess not, I guess they needed one more spanish speaker in Ecuador, and one that speaks with a gringo accent.

Cause I got approved.

But anyway, now you see, any major will do as per the current Ecuadorian law.

So why don't more people go for this permanent resident visa type?

They just don't know.

But what if you don't have a university degree from an Ecuadorian recognized institution, nor a pension, nor the money or desire to invest thousands in Ecuador?

You've got another option or two we'll be covering in the next week.  So stay tuned.  

Now of course, I did run into a few irritating challenges during the visa application process, mainly due to lack of experience, and they almost costed me the visa!

For instance, before you even think about applying for the professional visa...

To keep reading this full article and to learn the exact step-by-step process I went through to get my permanent Professional residency visa last month (DEC 2013), where I wasted money while applying (so you don't have to) and how to avoid the common pitfalls that almost cost me the visa click here.  



hasta pronto, 

Domenick Buonamici
Quito Airport Suites - Lodging minutes from the airport in Quito.  Your ideal jump off point in Ecuador. 

More on the end of the dollar......

36 U.S. Cities in 20 States "Abandon" the Dollar

By MONEY MORNING STAFF REPORTS

Recently, famed billionaire Warren Buffett warned we should "fear paper money."

And with the U.S. dollar losing 38.5% of its value since 2002, Buffett's concerns are unfortunately justified.

However, he probably couldn't have imagined a secret currency crisis that's developing very quickly across America now.

36 cities in 20 states have taken aggressive measures to abandon the U.S. dollar.
Did Your City Just "Dump the Dollar?"

Click the infographic above to find out

And more are planning to do so in the near future.

In an exclusive interview with Money Morning, Silicon Valley veteran and Fox Business analyst, Michael Robinson investigated this startling trend.

"These cities and towns are essentially telling people they no longer want them to pay their water and heating bills, or parking tickets, really anything with U.S. dollars anymore," Robinson said.

However, it's not just the cities taking steps to protect themselves from the rapid decline of the once mighty dollar.

It's the citizens themselves.

"Look at Vicco, Kentucky. Everything escalated here so fast, police are refusing to be paid their salaries in U.S. dollars." Robinson revealed.

"And the mayor and city commission couldn't do anything to stop it.  In fact, they had to pass legislation to allow it."

And if that wasn't shocking enough, this crisis is now spreading from local governments into the private sector.

Throughout America, 200,000 businesses have followed the lead of these cities and are now giving their employees the option of being paid their salaries in something other than the U.S. dollar.

But it's what that "something" is that has many people at the Federal Reserve and on Capitol Hill worried.
More: What is replacing the dollar in these U.S. cities and companies? That was the most shocking part of the Robinson interview. (Click here to watch it).

Michael Robinson is a former board member of one, Silicon Valley venture capital firm and a senior advisor for two others.

He worked alongside Lee Iacocca and Roger Smith, the CEOs of Chrysler and GM, as they led the robotics revolution that saved the U.S. automotive industry in the 1980s.

In the 1990s he was one of five people involved in the early meetings for what would become the $160 billion "cloud computing"phenomenon.

And post-911, as cyber security was becoming a focus for our National Intelligence Community, Robinson was with Dave DeWalt, the CEO of McAfee Inc.

But his Silicon Valley, venture capital background is only one hat of many he's worn during his career.
A Dangerous Trend For Paper Money

Since 1913 every major currency has lost over 90% of its value.  Click here to see what's replacing "money" all over the world.

Robinson was also a Pulitzer Prize-nominated, investigative journalist, who has been featured in The New York Times, Detroit News, The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Examiner, and the Kansas City Times.

Robinson made international headlines when he exposed an $80 million scandal at Bank of America that forced the financial giant to shake up its executive ranks.

 And his 1990s book, Overdrawn: The Bailout of American Savings, correctly predicted the corrupt dealings of our financial institutions would eventually drive the country to the brink of an economic collapse.

Michael began tracking this trend of U.S. cities taking aggressive measures to abandon the dollar after uncovering and closely examining a transcript of a secret 5-hour meeting that took place in a rural, UK cottage.

Attending this meeting was the head of Google, Eric Schmidt, as well as an advisor to the Secretary of State, a Director of the International Crisis Group, and the Vice President of the Council on Foreign Relations.

They discussed a new form of money they believed was "changing society."
A Dangerous Trend For Paper Money

Infographic: One chart reveals how this currency crisis could crash the stock market at a moment’s notice.
Click here to view it.

And judging from what is taking place in these American cities and businesses, that is exactly what's happening.

After conducting the interview, Money Morning Publisher, Mike Ward, mentioned one particular part that startled him the most. 

"Michael pulls out a chart that shows how this dollar crisis can cause a massive stock market collapse, we're talking historic, at any moment.  I couldn't believe my eyes. People need to see this before it's too late." Ward said.

 Michael Robinson predicts that, as more U.S. cities take action to abandon the dollar, it will become clear this is the most important economic story happening in the world.

"Folks need to understand, this isn't just happening in America. In China they're abandoning both U.S. dollars and gold for this new form of currency. In Germany, entire towns have abandoned the EURO. So no money is sacred," Robinson warned.

Editor's Note: After initially airing this interview exclusively for their readers, Money Morning has released it to the public, so that people across America can understand exactly what’s happened and what's coming. Cl

Money laundering or new regional currency in South America.....this has the US worried

Who Needs Bitcoin? Venezuela Has Its 'Sucre'

By Mercedes Alvaro January 2, 2014 6:5

 

QUITO, Ecuador—Satoshi Nakamoto and Hugo Chávez had at least one thing in common: Both created virtual currencies whose popularity is growing but which are also raising alarms among law-enforcement officials.

Where the pseudonymous Mr. Nakamoto is credited with creating bitcoin, the late Venezuelan president created the sucre, a virtual currency designed to dethrone the dollar as the main trading currency used with his country's regional trading partners: Ecuador, Cuba, Bolivia and Nicaragua.

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, left, with Venezuela's then-president, Hugo Chávez, in June 2011.

The sucre was introduced at Mr. Chávez's urging in 2010, taking its name from the Spanish acronym for the Unified System of Regional Compensation. Sucre is also the last name of 19th-century Venezuelan independence leader Antonio José de Sucre y Alcalá. In subsequent years, Mr. Chávez frequently promoted its use.

There are differences between the virtual currencies. The sucre is managed by a board of central-bank representatives, which has helped bolster its use. Bitcoin, by contrast, has no government backing.
In addition, bitcoin can be directly used by its holders. The sucre is a trading currency. Importers and exporters make and receive their payments in their local currencies.

Another difference is that Venezuela has promoted the sucre with the idea it may eventually evolve into a hard, regional currency, along the lines of the euro. Until now, almost all the trading using the sucre has been between Venezuela and Ecuador.

Ecuadorean companies exported $737 million worth of goods to Venezuela using the sucre system in the first nine months of 2013, an 80% increase from the same period in 2012, according to Ecuador's central bank.
That growth has drawn attention from the country's regulators, which are cracking down as fraud involving the virtual currency rises.

Ecuadorean prosecutors have filed money-laundering charges against 19 people, nine of whom have been arrested while the others are still on the run from authorities.

"It's a very big operation, and we're working in coordination with the prosecutors' office in Venezuela," said Galo Chiriboga, Ecuador's top prosecutor. "We've detected criminal organizations that operated in Ecuador, sending money not just to Venezuela but also to other countries."

Mr. Chiriboga declined to provide more details because the investigation is continuing.
Officials from the Venezuelan Embassy in Quito declined to comment on the sucre or the money-laundering investigations.

The heightened scrutiny of the sucre comes as law-enforcement officials and policy makers around the world are paying more attention to the risks posed by proliferation of virtual currencies. China, for example, recently moved to restrict its banks from using bitcoin amid concerns about money laundering. European regulators have warned of the risks of using bitcoin.

In the U.S., the Federal Bureau of Investigation in October announced the seizure of 144,336 bitcoins from the computer of the alleged owner and operator of Silk Road, a website the FBI says was set up to trade in illegal goods, including drugs. The website has been shut down and several individuals have been arrested and charged in connection with it, including the alleged owner, Ross William Ulbricht, who has denied the charges.

For companies in Ecuador, the sucre's appeal is its implicit payment guarantee. A combination of falling oil revenue and currency controls have resulted in a dollar shortage in Venezuela that has left many importers of basic goods hamstrung. Ecuador exports to Venezuela everything from carts to tuna to diapers.

In a typical sucre transaction, a company in Ecuador sends the Venezuelan importer an invoice denominated in U.S. dollars, which is Ecuador's national currency. The Venezuelan company then sends that invoice to the Venezuelan central bank, handing over bolívares. The Venezuelan central bank converts the bolívares to sucre and transfers the sucre to Ecuador's central bank. There, it is converted into U.S. dollars, Ecuador's national currency, and the exporting company receives its payments.

NeoHyundai SA, a distributor of Hyundai Motor Co. vehicles based in Ecuador, exports trucks to Venezuela using sucre. The biggest advantage is the ability "to secure payment without relying on the availability of foreign exchange in Venezuela," said Jose Avila, a marketing manager at NeoHyundai.
In Venezuela, the sucre is also a way to expedite deliveries from outside the country.
Emilia Gómez, an employee at Pavco de Venezuela SA, a company that manufactures and sells pipes and fittings, said it can take as few as 15 days to receive approval for payments when using sucre. Without it, approvals take almost a year.

"The advantage is that is makes the process of importing and paying easier," she said.

But prosecutors in Ecuador say they have uncovered instances when "ghost companies," often set up as joint ventures between Ecuadorean and Venezuelan firms, have sent invoices to Venezuela with inflated prices for goods.

One company in Ecuador exported calcium carbonate, which has many industrial uses, at a price of $1,000 a kilogram, when the actual cost of the shipment was 17 cents a kilogram, according to prosecutors. Another company exported handicraft equipment at a stated value of $250,000, whereas the actual cost was between $600 and $1,200.

Experts say some companies exploit the wide disparity between official and black-market exchange rates in Venezuela to make sucre more attractive. Officially, $1 buys 6.3 bolívares in Venezuela. But $1 is worth about 10 times that on the black market, according to several websites that give the unofficial rate.

Venezuela's currency controls "unfortunately have created incentives for hidden transactions and a black market" in sucre, said Daniel Legarda, vice president of the Ecuadorian Federation of Exporters.

Write to Mercedes Alvaro at mercedes.alvaro@wsj.com and Jeffrey T. Lewis at jeffrey.lewis@wsj.com