QUITO.- Some 10,134 people have been detained by the authorities of Ecuador since the beginning of the “internal armed conflict”, which was decreed by the government to confront the criminal gangs that have caused a wave of violence in the country, according to a recent official report.
President Daniel Noboa decreed the “internal armed conflict” at the beginning of January, after several violent events were recorded in several cities in the country following the escape from prison of a dangerous criminal leader of one of the largest gangs in Ecuador “Los Choneros.”
The declaration of internal conflict It also occurred a day after Noboa decreed a state of emergency for 60 days throughout Ecuador due to the country’s serious prison and security crisis.
Ecuador is experiencing a wave of violence caused by the action of organized crime gangs, which have allied themselves with Mexican drug trafficking cartels. The government announced that it was considering these gangs as terrorist groups.
According to the balance, the security forces have carried out 126,436 operations since the day the decree came into force, last January 9. The report highlighted that 171 of these operations have been against criminal gangs. Of the total number of detainees (10,134), 268 were charged with terrorism.
Likewise, the authorities have seized 64 tons of drugs, 3,040 firearms, 20,000 explosives, 214,000 bullets, 1,353 bullet magazines and some 4,200 knives.
In addition, the balance included that the authorities have killed nine people who were identified as terrorists, while on the side of the security forces three police officers have died.
After the escape of the leader of Los Choneros, Adolfo Macías alias “Fito”, riots were reported in at least six prisons in Ecuador. Also, there were several bomb attacks throughout the country, as well as kidnappings of police officers. The crisis reached its peak when a group of criminals broke into the facilities of a television channel in Guayaquil and subjected the workers to gunpoint while the broadcast was live.
Since 2021, more than 400 deaths have been reported in Ecuador’s prisons due to gang clashes.
In recent years, Ecuador has become a key point for cocaine trafficking in South America. The homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants in the country increased more than 300% in the last seven years. Several high-profile politicians and candidates have been murdered after denouncing these crimes and corruption.
Such was the case of journalist Fernando Villavicencio, who was murdered on August 9, 2023, in the middle of the electoral campaign, when he was leaving a premises where he had participated in a political event. Villavicencio, a journalist with extensive experience in Ecuador, had investigated the activities of Ecuadorian criminal groups, as well as corruption during the mandate of Rafael Correa (2007-2017). On several occasions, Villavicencio had reported that he received death threats from criminal gangs.
Source: EDITORIAL / With information from Infobae / El Universo
