Ecuador, located between two of the largest cocaine producers in Latin America, Peru and Colombia, has become increasingly violent in recent years. Ecuador’s president, Daniel Noboa, told the BBC he wants foreign military aid to help fight his “war” against criminal gangs, and he desires US President Donald Trump to identify Ecuadorian gangs as terrorist groups, making it easier for US law enforcement to intervene.
How has it come so far that Ecuador is facing so much violence from criminal gangs?
Ecuador has faced an increase in gang violence in recent years, factors such as the cocaine demand from Europe and the USA, as well as Ecuador’s institutional crisis are big contributors. From the 1990s, the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), Colombia’s largest left-wing guerilla group, controlled the drug trade and trafficking routes from southern Colombia into Ecuadors pacific ports. The drug trade finances political and military battles. Through suppressing other criminal groups, the FARC gained a regulatory position until it was largely demobilised in 2016. A power vacuum emerged in north Ecuador, with other gangs taking over trafficking routes. Following the leader of Ecuador’s two largest gangs’ assassination in 2020, Mexican and Venezuelan cartels began to play a large role in the country’s drug trade. Cocaine demand also shifted from the USA to Europe, supply reaching a “record high” in 2022 according to the World Drug Report 2024 from the United Nations. The report stated that cocaine consumption in Europe increased by 80% since 2011.
COVID played a large role in increasing unemployment, making young people more vulnerable to gang recruitment. Ecuadorian freelance journalist Carolina Loza León specified in a telephonic conversation: “I feel that the drug trafficking cartels are very skilled, noticing needs in a community, using it as a breeding ground, and how they can exploit that.” The country’s weak justice system and corrupt institutions allowed criminal networks to take advantage. Gangs were able to maintain control within prisons and continue operating from there. As a result, Ecuador’s organized crime index score reached 7.07, placing it 11th out of 93 countries in 2023, according to the Global Organized Crime Index, funded by the European Union and the USA.
What are gangs doing, and why are they so dangerous?
Gangs are characterised by continuity and a level of organisation. Gang members share a common identity and mostly engage in criminal behavior. According to Statista, a website providing data, Ecuador’s homicide rate tripled – 14 homicides per 100.000 people in 2021 to 44,5 in 2023. Under the presidency of Daniel Noboa, it fell to 38,8 in 2024. According to Loza León, the country faces widespread criminal activity by gangs, including kidnapping for ransom, extortion, robbery, and human trafficking, with victims subjected to sexual exploitation and forced labor. People smuggling and exploitation within family circles are significant issues. Additionally, contract killings, illegal mining, and money laundering are prevalent. Gang wars have intensified as they fight for control of drug trafficking routes.
What has Ecuador’s government done so far?
Ecuador’s current government responded to the gang violence crisis by militarising streets and giving police more power to use force and raid buildings. Ecuador’s president, Daniel Noboa, declared on 9th January an “internal armed conflict”, “a 60-day state of emergency” and designated 22 criminal gangs as terrorist groups, giving the state legal authority to fight them. A referendum was held on 21st April, with most Ecuadorians supporting Noboa and his approach, triggering changes within the country’s constitution, giving the military greater power. In a “classic military response that deals with a problem that is much more structural”, says journalist Carolina Loza León, the Ecuadorian government deployed military into prisons, establishing greater restrictions. This was met with claims of human rights abuse.
Why did Ecuador’s president call on American, Brazilian and European militaries, and how would they help?
“A country is dealing with the violence that is created by a transnational issue. You cannot tackle a war of that magnitude with limited resources”, states journalist Carolina Loza León. Europe and the USA are affected by the consumption of drugs but not from the violence of drug trafficking. Domenica Avila-Luna, expert on Ecuador’s economy and politics, says: “I don’t think anybody has a really well thought-out policy on how we can really target this, but so far Daniel Noboa has been selling his image on this iron fist approach. That’s how this call to Europe, the USA and Brazil to reinforce these military resources is coming into place.” According to Avila-Luna, Ecuador’s economy, low employment rate and demand for drugs from outside Ecuador will not be helped by this approach. The upcoming election is scheduled for 9th – 13th April. Noboa’s campaign focuses on security through a transnational security policy. With security being the top issue for the voter, he is aiming to get re-elected.
In 2009, America’s Air Force was removed from its command post within an Ecuadorian air force base. According to plans obtained by CNN, preparation for constructing a new naval facility in Manta is set, with the expectation of American occupation. Allowing foreign military bases in the country would mean a change to Ecuador’s constitution. Even with the help of foreign armies, Ecuador’s economic and political expert Domenica Avila-Luna believes “organised crime groups are developing new tactics to basically waive the military, developing new ways to produce these illicit economies and at the end the problem is still going to be there.”
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