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Ecuadorian Conflict (2024–present)
On 9 January 2024, an armed conflict broke out in Ecuador involving Government of Ecuador, the country's government against several organized crime groups, most notably the Los Choneros cartel. Reports of armed attacks throughout Guayaquil and other parts of the country were widespread, occurring primarily in prisons, markets, roads, and universities. The large-scale attacks were a combination of responses to the prison escape, escape of Los Choneros leader José Adolfo Macías Villamar in Guayaquil, and President Daniel Noboa declaring a state of emergency and then an internal state of war. Background The homicide rate in Ecuador rose from 5 to 46 per 100,000 inhabitants between 2017 and 2023. According to political analyst Fernando Carrion, from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences, the turning point came when Lenín Moreno came into office in 2017. The new president embarked on a policy of austerity and the security apparatus was weakened by merging several minis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecuadorian Security Crisis
Since around 2018, Ecuador has suffered a security crisis resulting from conflicts between criminal organizations with connections to drug trafficking. In recent years, coca leaf production has risen in neighboring Colombia and Peru, with both cocaine and coca base entering Ecuador by land and leaving by sea. Ecuador is uniquely positioned to facilitate maritime drug trafficking given its location between these two countries and its ports on the Pacific coast. Meanwhile, FARC and the Colombian government reached a peace agreement in the mid-2010s. Multiple groups fought to fill the vacuum left by FARC, and FARC members who opposed the peace deal relocated to Ecuador. Additionally, Ecuador's use of the United States dollar makes it easier for gangs to launder money. Inter-gang conflicts began after the murder on 28 December 2020 of Jorge Luis Zambrano, leader of the criminal syndicate Los Choneros, considered one of the oldest and most dangerous in the country. Zambrano's de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
