Gangs and Violence Overwhelm Ecuador
Ecuadorian police seize cocaine attempting to exit the country (Wikipedia Commons).
Ecuador, once considered to be one of the safest countries in Latin America, is now engulfed in gang violence since the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020. A perfect storm of events led to the violence-ridden status-quo.
For starters, the upheaval created by the pandemic left many with job and economic insecurity, making citizens increasingly vulnerable to gang recruitment.
And while historically Ecuador was not a major player in the cocaine trade, after the 2016 demobilization of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Colombian coca fields began to sneak closer to the Ecuadorian border. By the time the pandemic rolled around a power struggle ensued for control over the cocaine industry.
Ecuador was soon overrun by international gangs including the Colombian/Mexican Los Choneros, the Albanian mafia, and the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel all of whom have attempted to capitalize on the opportunity.
A failure of law enforcement to respond to these developments and overall political instability resulted in a country where the government lost control over the prison system. Following the killing of Jorge Zambrano, the leader of the Los Choneros Gang, in 2020 a gang war erupted. Ecuador has been gripped with violence ever since.
How does this directly impact the lives of Ecuadorians? Since 2016 the homicide rate in Ecuador has increased by almost 500%. Ecuador reported 4,600 homicides in 2022, the highest number in its history and double the number from 2021. This increase in violence directly correlates to the increase of cocaine trafficking. In 2022 three times the number of cocaine was seized at ports in Ecuador compared to 2020.
Fernando Villavicencio, a presidential candidate known to be tough on drugs, admitted to being threatened by the Los Choneros gang. Shortly thereafter on August 9, 2023 he was murdered at a rally.
Just three weeks later the capital of Ecuador, Quito, suffered multiple car bombings and the kidnapping of over 50 law-enforcement officers in prisons. Meanwhile, the leader of Los Choneros, “Fito”, was most recently seen in a music video he filmed in prison where he lauded his status as untouchable.
Power and control in Ecuador no longer lies with the state, but with the foreign drug cartels. The perilousness of the situation cannot be overstated.
An aid to former Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Holguin said that “In 10 years, this could be a failed state.” This is the same state that in recent memory was a popular place for study abroad programs, road trips, and family vacations.
So, what steps are being taken to lift Ecuador from this violence? State of emergencies have been invoked, night curfews enacted, and firearms have been legalized in the hopes that citizens can now protect themselves, but nothing has been able to make inroads in stopping the cartels.
The real victims of these developments are the average people of Ecuador that fall prey to the gangs. Ecuador is the world’s main exporter of bananas, an industry which is now infiltrated by cocaine in attempts to smuggle the drug out of the country. Everyone is now impacted by the drug industry.
Attempts to combat this drug epidemic by the Ecuadorian government prove to be too little too late. In Guayaquil, the main smuggling port, the government continues to delay the installation of electric scanners to locate contraband. And the recent accusations of government corruption is not helping cement the government’s legitimacy.
When asked how they felt about their safety Ecuadorian citizens responded with words like “outraged”, “angry”, “concerned”, “worried”, and “hurt”. Parents expressed fear for bringing their children outside, business owners admitted worry about economic failure, and everyone exhibited a lack of faith in the Ecuadorian government.