Rafael Correa, President of Ecuador from 2007 to 2017, denounces an “acephaly” of the state and links the recent explosion of violence to a series of errors, omissions, the dismantling of institutions and the penetration of the drug trade into the various spheres of power. “I have never seen such rapid destruction of a country in peacetime. Without blockades and without sanctions,” he said post, in an exclusive interview via video conference from Brussels, the capital of Belgium, where he also emigrated with his family in 2017. The 60yearold economist asserts that Ecuador was the second safest country in Latin America during his time in office. “Today we are among the five most violent in the world,” he lamented. For 20 minutes he analyzed the Ecuadorian security crisis, accused the government of Lenín Moreno, his former deputy, of treason and abolition of the state and supported the actions of the current president. However, he said: “Daniel Noboa is not ready to govern.” Correa criticized the office of the current government and assured that there was no security plan in Carondelet Palace. He also admitted that Mexican drug cartels had found refuge in Ecuador after losing market share in North America, with the United States government taking tougher measures against drug trafficking.
What are the causes of the wave of violence affecting your country?
It is the accumulation of mistakes, hatred and instructions of the last seven years, as well as the changing international situation. The Mexican cartels lost market share in the United States and made a pact with Ecuadorian organizations. There is an enormous weakness in the Ecuadorian state, an acephaly. When I left government, we had almost 5.8 murders per nearly a thousand people. We were the second safest country in Latin America. In 2023, there were 42 homicides per 100,000 residents. We are one of the five most violent and dangerous countries in the world. I have never seen such rapid destruction of a country in peacetime. No bans and no sanctions.
And what led to this destruction?
In 2017 we won the elections with Lenín Moreno. He betrayed and persecuted us, with the support of the USA. It destroyed all state institutions, such as the Coordination Ministry for Security, which coordinated the entire security area with the binational border commissions, including with Colombia. The fight against crossborder crime must cross borders. The drug comes from Colombia. They eliminated these binational commissions as well as the Ministry of Justice, which was in charge of the prison system. Our prisons were an example for Latin America. We built 11 prisons. There have been three or four deaths in prisons every year in our government. In 2022 we had 400 deaths. They eliminated the Interior Ministry, which was responsible for policing and citizen security. Today the police are an independent and highly corrupt republic that is also infiltrated by organized crime. They cut the social rehabilitation budget by a third and ended the school for prison officers.
reproduction Rafael Correa, former President of Ecuador, speaks to Correio Braziliense
When did the security situation in Ecuador deteriorate?
The situation worsened in 2017 during the government of Lenín Moreno. He was our vice president and he betrayed us. The following year, they conducted a completely constitutional consultation to block us politically, but illegally took over three of the five functions of the state: electoral, judicial, and transparency and social control. By appointing a transitional council, they took over the Court of Justice, the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Auditor's Office, the State Ministry… It was a coup. They declared the constitutional vacancy for six months. They dedicated themselves to destroying the country and persecuting me. Meanwhile, organized crime was rampant and increasing. Added to this is the economic crisis, which has made it easier to attract unemployed young people, and the fact that Mexican cartels have lost market share in the north and increasingly targeted the south. These cartels made deals with groups such as Los Lobos and Los Choneros, which infiltrated the state, the armed forces, the national police, the judiciary, the prison system and Guillermo Lasso's own government. Now it is difficult to fight these powerful groups that have infiltrated the state. They have allies in the police and armed forces.
How do you view the measures announced so far by President Daniel Noboa? That's enough?
No, obviously not. But after accumulating mistakes, and he continues to make them, it was a great success to declare a state of emergency with internal conflicts so that the armed forces can be mobilized with lethal force. Because organized crime has declared war on the state. We can't allow that. That is why I offered my full support to President Noboa. But he is not ready to rule. He is the son of one of the richest men in the country, a banana producer who has millions and wanted to be president. He's not prepared. Tears flow in your office. The Minister of Defense (Gian Carlo Loffredo) is a Tiktoker. The Minister of the Interior (Mónica Palencia) doesn't know where she is. The security director is a businessman friend of the president. There is no government team. This worries and despairs me greatly. Our armed forces are very professional and will do what they have to do. But how far can they go without political and financial support?
So is Ecuador following a recipe for disaster?
The president was never prepared, he lied during the campaign. They have naturalized the lie. The Fênix security plan envisaged more than spectacular police forces, better than Robocops, with drones. But they don't exist, there is nothing. He doesn't have a security plan. Now the Bundeswehr had to be deployed because we are in open war with these groups and political and economic support is needed.
How should your country emerge from this crisis?
With unity. Political sectors offered support. We have the option of having a national coalition government or ultimately a large group of national advisers. From people who know security and support the measures. But there must be a budget for this.
How should the government combat violence in its structural causes?
The president had to react. It was urgent… When there's a fire, you worry about putting the fire out. Then think about how you will organize the firefighters. Organized crime declared war on the state and began carrying out terrorist attacks. It is necessary to respond with the full might of the state. Then we can talk about how we can prevent further violence. There are two elements of violence: general crime, which has a lot to do with the economic crisis and the deterioration of government services (health, education, etc.); and organized crime, which follows a different logic. To combat crime, the police are necessary, but so is socioeconomic development. Organized crime is not dependent on economic conditions. What to do? This depends on external causes, from drug users in Europe and the USA, from cartels in Mexico. Internally, the strategy to block organized crime consists of three axes: intelligence, to discover the leadership structure, money flow and drug route; technology, such as blocking cell phones in prisons and detecting weapons; and international cooperation. The drug comes from Colombia, in the Putumayo department, and goes to Belgium, the Netherlands and the USA. Countries must come together to cut off the source of funding and combat drug production and consumption.
What help can Brazil offer Ecuador in this regard?
Any help is welcome as long as a country's sovereignty is respected. I think we have everything for it. We have a very professional army, the police have more problems. If they want to use technology to help us track drugs and weapons, track money; If you have intelligence experts who would like to help us discover the structures of these organizations, this would be a welcome help.
What actions would you take if you were the current president?
I would urgently adopt the state of emergency decided by Noboa. However, with a strategy and a government team to tackle the problem from multiple fronts. A good Minister of Justice, after we restore the Ministry of Justice, which was abolished… He would try to restore prisons and social rehabilitation. It appears that crime boss “Fito” escaped from prison on December 25th. In theory, prison officials conduct two searches per day. How could that happen? Obviously because of corruption. We must put an end to prison corruption and recover the technical equipment. When it suits them, they work. We must save control systems, install cell phone jammers and isolate the leaders of criminal groups. The police had to be on the streets, not in the offices. There are 5,000 police officers in the bureaucratic sector. The immigration officer turns the other way and the person walks past. We need a work team that works on multiple fronts and consistently.
AFP Soldiers search a suspect during a patrol in the Lucha de los Pobres neighborhood in the southern region of Quito
Has drug trafficking infiltrated Ecuador's state structure?
As for the political power in the current government, I don't know. This was clear in the previous government. I don't know if Noboa's party was financed by drug trafficking. It is clear that the drug trade has infiltrated judges and prosecutors. It is necessary to install faceless prosecutors and judges. But we must clean up the justice system, the armed forces and the national police. I would use the polygraph (lie detector). We conducted a trust test on every police officer. All of that has been cancelled. The police have been taken over by corruption and infiltrated by these groups.
Some experts and Minister Mónica Palencia say the situation has worsened during her term…
How crazy! Just look at the numbers. We were the second safest country in Latin America. Mónica Palencia is not an expert in anything. She is a Mexican who was nationalized by them because she wanted to be president. Let them provide proof of this. It's barbaric, they say. They said I had made a pact with organized crime. If that were true, we would have been the main importers of medicines into Europe. Yes, we are the main players. It's a lot of irrationality.
Do you see the actions of Mexican cartels in Ecuador?
According to intelligence reports, the most credible hypothesis is that these cartels began to invade your home like dogs starting in 2017 with the weakening of the state and loss of markets in North America that occurred in 2010 or 2011. They made pacts with organized crime groups such as Los Lobos and Choneros. The Choneros have allied themselves with the Sinaloa Cartel and the Lobos have split off and are doing business with the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel. With the weakening of the state, they had the resources and the economic crisis to capture, arm and smuggle in young people. The authorities know where the drugs come from: the port of Guayaquil. Why don't they install scanners? Export permits for letterbox companies have multiplied. They do not do anything. Because the drug trade has infiltrated the state.