The country is in a security crisis that seems unstoppable after three days marked by the escape of a dangerous gang leader, recurring mutinies in prisons, the declaration of a state of emergency and the kidnapping of police officers in particular.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa declared the country in a state of “internal armed conflict” and ordered the “neutralization” of criminal groups involved in drug trafficking. This emerges from a decree published on Tuesday January 9, following the recent and spectacular episode of crisis and unprecedented security situation in Ecuador. Gunmen stormed into the set of a public television station in Guayaquil (southwest) on Tuesday afternoon and briefly took journalists and other station employees hostage.
“Don’t shoot, please don’t shoot!” shouts a woman in the midst of the gunfire, while the attackers armed with pistols, shotguns and grenades beat the frightened people and force them to stand. Masked, wearing hoods or hats and with their faces uncovered, some film themselves and use the fingers of both hands to make the usual identifying marks of the criminal gangs that are linked to the drug trade and are unleashing a reign of terror in Ecuador.
“Internal armed conflict”
This presidential decree recognizes “the existence of an internal armed conflict” and orders “the mobilization and intervention of the armed forces and the national police (…) to ensure sovereignty and national integrity against organized crime, terrorist organizations and non-state belligerents.” President Noboa also orders the “neutralization” of all these criminal groups, of which he provides an exhaustive list: “Aguilas, AguilasKiller, Ak47, Caballeros Oscuros, ChoneKiller, Choneros, Covicheros, Cuartel de las Feas, Cubanos, Fatales, Ganster, Kater “Piler, Lagartos, Latin Kings, Lobos, Los S.27, Los Tiburones, Mafia 18, Mafia Trébol, Patrones, R7, Tiguerones”.
These criminal gangs, which until a few years ago were largely simple street gangs, have become bloody drug trafficking players with international tentacles as Ecuador has become the main export country for cocaine produced in Peru and neighboring Colombia. In the final point of his decree, the head of state underlines the need for the armed forces to act “in accordance with international humanitarian law and with respect for human rights.”
“My God protect us”
“They came to kill us, my God protect us,” one of the captured journalists wrote in a WhatsApp message to an AFP correspondent. Amid the gunfire, these surreal images were broadcast live for several minutes, even though the lights went out on set and the camera froze. Until the police apparently intervened and shouted “Police!” Police!”.
This new high-profile incident, the outcome of which is still uncertain, culminates a security crisis that seems to be unstoppable after three days marked by the escape of a dangerous gang leader, increasing mutinies in prisons and the declaration of terrorism were a state of emergency and in particular the kidnapping of police officers.
“These are extremely difficult days,” the executive branch has “taken the important decision to act directly against these terrorist threats,” commented Presidential Communications Secretary Roberto Izurieta on Tuesday. The crisis began on Sunday with the spectacular escape of 44-year-old Adolfo Macias, alias “Fito”, the leader of the “Choneros”. According to experts, a gang of around 8,000 men has become the main player in Ecuador's thriving drug trade.
The man often described as public enemy number 1, suspected of being involved in the assassination of a major presidential candidate in August 2022, disappeared from a high-security facility in the vast Guayaquil complex where he had served a 34-year prison sentence since 2011 for organized crime, drug trafficking and murder. He had already escaped from a high-security prison in 2013 and was caught again three months later.
His escape was followed by several mutinies and hostage-takings of guards in various prisons, all spread through frightening videos broadcast on social networks showing prisoners being threatened with the knives of masked inmates.
“Declaration of war”
The youngest president in Ecuador's history, President Noboa, 36, declared a 60-day state of emergency throughout Ecuador on Monday. The army is therefore authorized to maintain order on the streets (with a night curfew) and in prisons.
So far with apparently little effect: seven police officers were kidnapped in the night from Monday to Tuesday. Explosions also occurred and vehicles were set on fire in an attack on a police station and the home of the President of the National Court. The local press spoke of a “night of terror” and a “failed state”.
A video published on social networks shows three of the kidnapped police officers who were forced, under threat of small arms, to read a message addressed to the head of state: “You have declared war, you will have war (…).” They have it State of emergency declared, we declare police, civilians and military as spoils of war.”
New humiliation On Tuesday, authorities announced the escape of another drug trafficker, Fabricio Colon Pico, a leader of Los Lobos, a criminal gang that competes with the Choneros. He was arrested on Friday for the crime of kidnapping and his alleged role in an assassination attempt on the Attorney General.
The government complained of a “very high level of infiltration” by criminal groups within the state and described Ecuador’s prison system as a “failure.” “We will not negotiate with terrorists and will not stop until we bring peace to all Ecuadorians,” President Noboa stressed on Monday.
In underwear
Starting on Sunday, heavily armed police and soldiers entered several prisons, including those where guards had been sequestered. Security forces released dramatic images of these interventions, showing hundreds of detainees in their underwear, hands on their heads, lying unceremoniously on the floor. The prison administration (SNAI) confirmed that no one was injured in these “incidents”.
These images are in every way reminiscent of the communication of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who is credited with restoring security in his country thanks to his “war” against gangs, but at the price of restricting the rights of prisoners, according to the human rights organization .
Once a safe haven, Ecuador has become a logistics hub for shipping cocaine to the United States and Europe. The country is now plagued by violence from gangs and drug traffickers. The number of homicides increased by almost 800% between 2018 and 2023, from 6 to 46 per 100,000 residents.
In the overcrowded prisons with more than 31,000 inmates, there are repeated massacres between rival gangs, at least twelve since February 2021, in which more than 460 inmates have died.