In early April, Ecuador re-elected conservative millionaire Daniel Noboa as president, extending his term for four more years following his initial win in a 2023 snap election. At just 37, Noboa entered politics with limited experience, but gained popularity for his hardline stance on gang violence—a pressing issue in Ecuador. The country has been grappling with surging organized crime, largely due to the presence of powerful cartels, including the Mexican Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation, which have exploited Ecuador’s strategic Pacific ports to traffic drugs northward, despite Ecuador not being a cocaine-producing nation.

Noboa’s presidency has been marked by aggressive anti-gang strategies. Ecuadorian voters were mainly concerned about the escalating violence, according to an article by Sky News, which has gotten out of control in 2021.

The surge in violent crime began back in 2020, marked by a string of brutal prison massacres between rival gangs — a chilling preview of the chaos that would soon spill onto the streets. Once plagued by gang control, many prisons have seen a shift in power dynamics since being taken over by the military, curtailing the ability of incarcerated gang leaders to operate freely and conduct businesses from inside. In January 2024, Noboa declared an “internal armed conflict,” enabling the deployment of thousands of soldiers to combat organized crime and classify suspects as terrorists. This militarized response led to mass arrests, frequent raids, and the military takeover of several prisons.

While these efforts contributed to a drop in homicide rates—from 46.18 per 100,000 people in 2023 to 38.76 in 2024—they remain significantly higher than the 6.85 per 100,000 seen in 2019. Noboa’s approach has sparked controversy, with reports of human rights violations, including arbitrary detentions and extrajudicial killings. Yet many Ecuadorians continue to support him, driven by fear of the violence that has escalated since 2021.

Ecuador’s transformation into a crime hotspot didn’t happen overnight. The roots trace back to the 2016 peace deal signed with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which officially ended the guerilla group’s 53-year-old insurgency. The group had maintained a relatively orderly control over drug trafficking routes into Ecuador. Its demobilization created a power vacuum and, with coca production at record highs in Colombia, local Ecuadorian gangs vied for dominance.

This internal struggle soon attracted foreign criminal syndicates. Mexico’s Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels, already engaged in fierce rivalry at home, extended their operations into Ecuador by allying with local gangs. The Albanian mafia also entered the scene, leveraging its prior connections with FARC to establish drug routes into Europe.

Ecuador’s growing role in the international drug trade, combined with systemic issues in governance and security, created the volatile environment Noboa inherited. His zero-tolerance policies appeal to a population desperate for safety but raise significant legal and ethical questions. Moving forward, he faces the challenge of balancing security with human rights while attempting to stabilize a country caught in the crosshairs of global drug trafficking networks.

By Nazrin Sadigova

Source: caliber.az