The city of Guayaquil, located in the Guayas province of southwestern Ecuador, has been under a state of emergency since January. Authorities are striving to quell escalating violence in this once-tranquil South American nation. Ecuador, with a population of 18 million, is grappling with the presence of approximately 20 criminal gangs engaged in illicit activities such as drug trafficking, kidnapping, and extortion. Situated between major cocaine-producing countries Peru and Colombia, Ecuador has become a battleground for these criminal organizations. Transnational cartels have rapidly expanded their operations in recent years, utilizing Ecuador’s ports, particularly in Guayaquil, as key points for the transportation of drugs to destinations in the United States and Europe. The homicide rate has seen a dramatic increase from six per 100,000 inhabitants in 2018 to a staggering 47 in 2023.
President Daniel Noboa, who assumed office in November 2023, implemented a state of emergency and launched a military crackdown to address the escalating violence. As a result, the homicide rate decreased to 38 per 100,000 in the following year, as per official statistics. In January 2024, Noboa declared a state of “internal armed conflict” following a series of brutal clashes triggered by the escape of a prominent crime kingpin. Recently, an unsettling incident occurred where assassins targeted Colonel Porfirio Cedeño, a key figure responsible for leading anti-drug operations in another part of Guayaquil. Colonel Cedeño, who commanded an air force special operations unit, was fatally shot while en route to a military event.
President Noboa is currently campaigning for re-election, with a runoff scheduled for April after an inconclusive initial round that narrowly placed him ahead of challenger Luisa Gonzalez. In a strategic move over the weekend, the president appointed retired police general Fausto Buenano as the new interior minister. Buenano, boasting extensive experience in combating narco gangs, has been tasked with enhancing security measures. Notably, last month, authorities apprehended a prominent leader of one of Ecuador’s largest criminal syndicates, known as Los Lobos, in the city of Portoviejo. Los Lobos was identified by the United States as the foremost drug trafficking organization in Ecuador.
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