POPULATION:
16,561,250
LITERACY RATE:
91%
SELF DEFENSE FORCES:
Ecuadorian National Armed Forces
LANGUAGES:
 Spanish (official), Amerindian
ETHNIC GROUPS:
mestizo 65%, Amerindian 25%, Spanish and others 7%, black 3%
BORDERING COUNTRIES:
Peru, Columbia
Ecuador - In mid 1994, tensions between Ecuador and Peru again rose to a boiling point over the Condor Mountain Range, along disputed patch of rain forest nestled on the border between the two countries once again.  This small area of land had already been the source of two major, albeit brief, conflicts between the countries, once in 1941 and again in 1981.  In both instances, The Peruvians overcame the Ecuadorian military, and mediation was performed by the US, Brazil, Chile and Argentina to bring about a ceasefire.  However, by 1994, the US Government, already embroiled in military conflict all over South America, and being crushed under the weight of its the world economic crash, was no longer in a position to mediate.  The other South American countries, either embroiled themselves, or maintaining a strict isolationist policy to prevent conflcit from reaching them, were in similiar situations.

In Early 1995 the Cenapa War began when Ecuadorian military forces attacked and drove out a Peruvian advance base.  Over the next few months, causalities were kept to a minimum and the fighting was described as "Low-Intensity Conflict" until 1996.  When the US, shattered under the weight of problems at home, withdrew completely from South America, Peru and Ecuador attempted one final time to negotiate a peace treaty.  However when the Peruvian delegations helicopter crashed in the Condor Mountains under "mysterious" circumstances, decades of resentment could no longer be contained, and total war broke out between the two countries.

Over the next 2 years, Ecuador and Peru waged an unrelenting war, what had been a conflict with relatively few casualties quickly escalated and both sides were suffering massive losses.  The war devastated the economies of both countries, and left them wide open to foreign interests.  The Peruvians, supplied with Russian Surplus weapons and vehicles soon gained the upper hand when Columbia (at this point fully controlled by the Cartels) began supporting them.  Ecuador, supplied by the EEC had superior weapons, but inferior training.  In late 1998, Peruvian Forces pushed back the Ecuadorians, eliminating the last of their outposts in the Disputed region.  Crippled by the war, peace negotiations were once again entered.  With Peru nearly as decimated as Ecuador, Columbia stepped in as mediator, and essentially strong armed Ecuador into joining the loosely formed South American Alliance (Columbia, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador).  The Ecuadorian people protested this, especially the new Cartel imposed emphasis on Synthcoke production, and soon Ecuador found itself occupied by Peruvian and Cartel forces who harshly dealt with any opposition.

When the US again invaded South America in 2003, Ecuador was one of the primary targets.  The Ecuadorian military, as well as the civilian population, immediately sided with American forces, and helped to eliminate all South American Alliance forces from the country.  With the entire population turned against them, their was simply no where for them to hide, and no where they could gain a foothold against the Superior US forces.  The liberation of Ecuador in 2005 was one of the unquestionably decisive and lasting US victories in the Second South American War.  The Ecuadorian military, newly supplied by current US technology, and in support of American troops, began acting on the offensive against Alliance forces encroaching on its borders.  They also allowed the US to set up their own bases and outposts along their borders, and use them as a staging point for military actions into Peru and Columbia.

When the Second South American Conflict came to its tragic climax, Ecuador offered to ferry those left behind home, knowing full well that any US person ell attempting to join the long walkers to the the north would first have to travel through Peru and Columbia, which would simply be suicide.  The newly re-equipped Ecuadorian Navy began transporting US forces left behind back to US soil.  In exchange, the abandoned US forces left behind any and all military resources and equipment that had been deployed to the area.  The American officers in Ecuador, like everywhere else, had been ordered to destroy anything they couldn't take with them, but these orders were ignored to ensure safe passage for the contractors and person ell that were left behind.

Ecuador put these resources to good use, and immediately tightened its borders while the Peruvians and Colombians were busy chasing US walkers.  And by the Time the South American Alliance turned its eyes back towards Ecuador for its treachery, the Ecuadorian military was fully capable of defending itself.

In the years that followed, Ecuador maintained its independence from Cartel influence, and managed to maintain its borders without conflict.  It wasn't easy, as the newly found prosperity gave the population of Ecuador a chance to address some of the inequalities in the country, particularly for the indigenous populations.  Despite this, Ecuador has emerged as one of the more stable areas of the region, making it an inviting location for corporations and foreign interests.  And while they have struggled to keep the foreign corporations on a leash, their influence is beginning to effect the political landscape of the country.  On the economic side this has been a great boon to Ecuador, which has not only become a leading agricultural producer in the region, but it's tourism industry has boomed as well as a wealthy foreigners flock to the Megadiverse country and its relative safety. 

While most of the rural areas of the country remain somewhat antiquated, and the country still contains many areas where tribal life is the norm, its major cities, particularly the capital of Quito are the equal to any first world equivalent.  The Galapagos Islands, birthplace of Darwins Origin Of The Species, have been hit somewhat hard by global pollution and climate change.  While conservations efforts from Green groups have focused heavily on treating the ecological damage, rising sea levels are threatening to erase the islands altogether.  Last spring, an eco-terrorist group destroyed an oil rig that was being transported to a location 4 miles from the islands, and it is rumored the group responsible has taken up permanent residence in Ecuador, also targeting logging and other agri-corps operations on the mainland.  Biotechnica has positioned a floating research station just of Española Island.  In their public statements they claim the center is merely for cancer research and conservationist and sampling efforts at eliminating the non-native animals from the island that are devastating local ecology, however rumors abound that they are working on designer viruses.

Ecuador has remained a staunch American ally, and American forces have already begun deploying there in preparation for the Third South American War. 

(Written by Deric "D" Bernier.)