Cocaine packets pictured during a press conference on July 20, 2017 in Hamburg. Much of the cocaine arriving in Europe passes through the ports or coastlines of Ecuador. Photo by Christian Charisius / dpa / AFP) / Germany OUT.
Faced with soaring drug trafficking and homicides, Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency this week and said he is sending troops onto the streets to address the problem. Lasso’s declaration comes amid spiraling violence in the country, and just 18 days after a confrontation in an Ecuadorian prison between rival criminal groups left 116 inmates dead, including six who were decapitated. Lasso also declared a state of emergency in the prison system following the massacre. “There is only one enemy on the streets of Ecuador: drug traffickers,” he said on national television Monday. “When drug trafficking rises, hit men and homicides also increase, as do robberies of homes, vehicles, goods and people.”
“Our military forces and police will be felt strongly on the streets,” he added.Assassinations have doubled from January through August 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, according to El Comercio, an Ecuadorian newspaper. Most of the murders are occurring in the coastal city of Guayaquil–a major port for narcotics headed to the United States and Europe.
“There is a lot of desperation there among people shocked at the level of violence,” said Douglas Farah, president of IBI Consultants, a national security consulting firm in Latin America. “Both for the survival of the country and survival politically, [Lasso] has to take some steps because it's eating up the social fabric and resources of the country.”
“States of emergency in these situations haven’t historically solved the problems. But they probably think there’s nothing else they can do right now,” he added.Under the executive order, authorities have the power to restrict freedom of movement and gatherings. The edict also declares that the security forces will operate using the principles of “necessity, proportionality and humanity,” with adherence to the values of “progressive use of force.”But further measures by the president also suggest that human rights violations at the hands of the security forces as a result of the ruling could come to pass. Lasso announced the creation of a special legal unit to exclusively defend soldiers and police officers who are sued “for fulfilling their duties.” Judges should “guarantee peace and order, not impunity and crime,” Lasso added.
Ecuador is not a producer of cocaine, but has become a major transshipment point for drugs originating in South America. Its growing role has to do with crackdowns on drug trafficking routes out of Colombia, the dollarization of the economy and the country’s strategic location, which make it a convenient jumping off point for illicit drug shipments headed to the U.S. and Europe. Today, roughly a third of the cocaine produced in Colombia passes through Ecuador, according to estimates from Insight Crime, a think tank focused on organized crime in the region. The country’s ports are a major transit area, and with control low and corruption common, the high volume of container traffic passing through provides cover for drug stashes.
In August, Ecuador’s national police seized nearly ten tons of cocaine valued at around half a billion dollars, a record bust in the country. Police discovered the drugs hidden in a building disguised as a water purification factory in Guayaquil.
The historic seizure broke a record for Ecuador that had been set just two months earlier when port authorities found more than seven tons of cocaine stashed in shipping containers headed for Spain. The packets were hidden among tuna. Lasso, a conservative, took office in May, breaking more than 14 years of one-party rule.
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“Our military forces and police will be felt strongly on the streets,” he added.Assassinations have doubled from January through August 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, according to El Comercio, an Ecuadorian newspaper. Most of the murders are occurring in the coastal city of Guayaquil–a major port for narcotics headed to the United States and Europe.
“There is a lot of desperation there among people shocked at the level of violence,” said Douglas Farah, president of IBI Consultants, a national security consulting firm in Latin America. “Both for the survival of the country and survival politically, [Lasso] has to take some steps because it's eating up the social fabric and resources of the country.”
“States of emergency in these situations haven’t historically solved the problems. But they probably think there’s nothing else they can do right now,” he added.Under the executive order, authorities have the power to restrict freedom of movement and gatherings. The edict also declares that the security forces will operate using the principles of “necessity, proportionality and humanity,” with adherence to the values of “progressive use of force.”
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Ecuador is not a producer of cocaine, but has become a major transshipment point for drugs originating in South America. Its growing role has to do with crackdowns on drug trafficking routes out of Colombia, the dollarization of the economy and the country’s strategic location, which make it a convenient jumping off point for illicit drug shipments headed to the U.S. and Europe. Today, roughly a third of the cocaine produced in Colombia passes through Ecuador, according to estimates from Insight Crime, a think tank focused on organized crime in the region. The country’s ports are a major transit area, and with control low and corruption common, the high volume of container traffic passing through provides cover for drug stashes.
In August, Ecuador’s national police seized nearly ten tons of cocaine valued at around half a billion dollars, a record bust in the country. Police discovered the drugs hidden in a building disguised as a water purification factory in Guayaquil.
The historic seizure broke a record for Ecuador that had been set just two months earlier when port authorities found more than seven tons of cocaine stashed in shipping containers headed for Spain. The packets were hidden among tuna. Lasso, a conservative, took office in May, breaking more than 14 years of one-party rule.