QUITO.- The US donated a Hercules military plane to Ecuadorwith a large load capacity, as part of the cooperation to strengthen the armed forces and security in the South American country in the face of the rise of violence by criminal gangs linked to drug trafficking.
At the handover ceremony, at the Cotopaxi airport, 90 kilometers south of the capital, the Ecuadorian president, Daniel Noboathanked the donation and recognized that “the support of our allies against narcoterrorism is a key piece that contributes to the dismantling of transnational crimes.”
The United States ambassador to Ecuador, Michael J. Fitzpatrick, indicated that the delivery of the plane symbolizes his “commitment to strengthening the capabilities of the armed forces and supporting the security of each citizen” and commented that this aircraft is a utility type with greater logistics and work capacity.
The Hercules, with a value of 12 million dollars and delivered to Ecuador at no cost, was to arrive in 2026, but due to management by the Southern Command and the Embassy’s Cooperation Office, the delivery was brought forward two years.
The American ambassador recalled that his country’s collaboration also extends to other spaces, such as the exchange of information, increasing Ecuadorian capacity to join a regional network against illegal air and maritime trafficking, as well as the donation of 10 million dollars to repair and revitalize a part of this country’s air fleet.
For his part, President Noboa issued a warning to criminal gangs, to whom he attributes the increase in insecurity in the country for three years and the rise of crimes such as robberies, kidnappings, extortions, as well as violent deaths. “Know that you do not intimidate us, know that we are united to face you and defeat you”launched the president.
He also acknowledged that Ecuador is going through one of the “most difficult stages in history due to violence” of those groups. Since January, by presidential decree, the country has been in a state of internal armed conflict and criminal organizations were classified as “terrorists” by the government.
The country closed 2023 with a rate of violent deaths of around 40 per 100,000 inhabitants, according to police figures, considered the highest in the region, with almost 7,600 murders that year. Homicides also doubled consecutively in 2021 and 2022.
Ecuadorian authorities have linked the increase in crime to local gangs linked to international drug trafficking that dispute drug distribution territories within the country and seek to control export routes to Europe and the United States.
Last year, anti-drug agents in this country managed to seize around 220 tons of cocaine.
Source: With information from AP
