In the very colorful city of Guayaquil, Ecuador, a dark attack left 20 injured and five dead on Sunday. The government currently attributes it to organized crime. “Mercenaries from organized crime (…) are attacking us today with explosives. (…) It is a declaration of war against the state,” tweeted Interior Minister Patricio Carrillo.
The explosion, the exact circumstances of which have not yet been established by the police, also caused the destruction of eight houses and two cars, according to the emergency services (SNGR). “Either we can unite to fight (organized crime) or the price to society will be even higher,” Patricio Carrillo warned.
Shortly before the explosion, two strangers arrived at the scene on a motorcycle and left “a bag” near a restaurant, which in all likelihood contained “a powerful explosive device”, explained General Zarate and reported on the first elements of the investigation. “Either we can unite to fight (organized crime) or the price to society will be even higher,” Patricio Carrillo warned, announcing a $10,000 reward for anyone with information about the attack would deliver .
A fragile country
Once a pacified neighbor of Colombia and Peru, the world’s two biggest cocaine producers, Ecuador is now a hub for shipping white powder to Europe and the United States and a site of territorial disputes between multiple gangs, authorities and analysts say. Mexican cartels, intent on managing all business activities from production to shipping, have found in Ecuador a dollarized economy where they can launder their illicit earnings and government agencies unprepared to deal with gangs and fast-tracked by the economy are overwhelmed by corruption.
The country, which for years was just a transit point, has become a “haven for organized crime,” said former military intelligence chief Mario Pazmiño recently.
On the podium of the largest cocaine seizures
According to a recent report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Ecuador, with a population of 18 million, is the third largest country in the world with the highest number of cocaine seizures in 2020, after Colombia and the United States, or 6th .5% of the 1,424 tons seized worldwide. Between 2021 and today, more than 300 tons of cocaine have been seized, Interior Minister Patricio Carrillo said. But the seizures, which hit an annual record of 210 tons in 2021, represent less than 30% of what actually circulates in ports and airports.
This lucrative trade leads to many lusts and violent settlements that the authorities find difficult to control. According to Interior Ministry statistics, the homicide rate has increased from 6 to 14 per 100,000 population between 2018 and today. Clashes between gangs have also spread to prisons, killing more than 350 prisoners since February 2021.