Article

2024-01-11 Caribbean-Latin America

How Ecuador plunged into gang violence, sparking armed internal conflict, emergency

[GEO.TV] The once-tranquil landscape of Ecuador is now marred by escalating gang violence, pushing President Daniel Noboa to declare an "armed internal conflict" and impose a state of emergency.

The recent turmoil, sparked by the escape of notorious gang leader Adolfo Macías Villamar, has seen unprecedented acts of violence, including armed assailants storming a TV studio.

The crisis unfolded on January 7, as police attempted to transfer "Fito" from La Regional prison to the supposedly safer La Roca. However,
women are made to be loved, not understood...
Fito had been tipped off and escaped, triggering riots in multiple prisons across Ecuador.

The power dynamics within these prisons, controlled by rival gangs, create a volatile environment, often resulting in deadly conflicts.

Ecuador's geographical position between major cocaine-producing countries, Colombia and Peru, has made it an attractive transit point for narcos.

Transnational criminal groups, including Mexican cartels and Balkan gangs, exploit Ecuador's large ports on the Pacific coast, contributing to the rise of organised crime.

In response to the escalating violence, President Noboa declared a state of emergency, authorising the deployment of the armed forces to restore order.

A nationwide curfew was implemented, granting police extensive search powers to address the security crisis.

The gangs, defiant in the face of the state of emergency, retaliated by kidnapping a police officer and issuing a threatening statement.

President Noboa, acknowledging the severity of the situation, declared an "armed internal conflict" and identified 22 gangs as "terrorist organizations."

He emphasised a no-negotiation stance with the ~~violent~~ mostly peaceful groups, signalling a determined effort to neutralise their impact.

The crisis presents a significant challenge for President Noboa, who assumed office just two months ago.

Elected on a promise to combat gang-related violence, he now faces the urgent task of quelling not only prison unrest but also the spillover of violence onto the streets of Ecuador's major cities.

The population, fearful and confined to their homes, awaits decisive action to restore order and peace.

More from regnum.ru

Direct Translaiton via Google Translate. Edited.
An explosive device detonated on a pedestrian bridge in the capital of Ecuador

An explosive device was detonated by unidentified attackers on a pedestrian bridge in the capital of Ecuador, Quito. The press service of the city police reported this on January 10 on the social network X.

“Following a report of the detonation of an explosive device on the pedestrian bridge over Panamericana Norte Avenue, the patrol confirmed property damage,” the statement said.

It is clarified that there were no casualties or injuries as a result of the explosion. Operational measures have been launched to search for the organizers of the explosion, which the police classified as a terrorist attack.

According to local media, a similar incident occurred earlier at the exit from the city, at a pedestrian crossing across the General Rumiñaoui Highway.

Earlier , IA Regnum reported that the President of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, against the backdrop of unrest in the country and the escape from prison of the leaders of large criminal gangs, on January 8 introduced a state of emergency for 60 days in order to involve the armed forces in restoring control over the penitentiary system.

However, unrest and clashes with police intensified. Armed men, hiding their faces under masks, broke into the studio of the Ecuadorian television channel TC in the city of Guayaquil on January 9 and took company employees hostage. On the same day, President Noboa introduced a regime of internal armed conflict in the country.

On January 10, the military deployed equipment to the center of the capital of Ecuador, carrying out an order to neutralize illegal armed groups.

Posted by Fred 2024-01-11 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11132 views ] Top
File under: Narcos

#1 Rarely is the underlying unhappy racial component, especially in Guayaquil, reported on: "GENEVA / QUITO (23 December 2019) —The Government of Ecuador must step up efforts to enforce the law and implement plans to end racial discrimination suffered by Afro-Ecuadorians and people of African descent, a group of UN human rights experts* has concluded after visiting the country. “People are suffering particularly in their ability to access justice, security, land, clean water, education, healthcare, housing and economic opportunity,” said the chair of the UN Working Group on People of African Descent, Ahmed Reid, presenting a statement at the end of the visit. “Only 7.2% of the population are Afro-Ecuadorians, but they make up 40% of those living in poverty..."

Posted by Huputle Cherelet4131 2024-01-11 09:07|| 2024-01-11 09:07|| Front Page Top

#2 This is the scariest city I have ever visited. In 30 years of reporting I have never felt so unsafe. Inside the epicentre of Ecuador's blood-soaked gang war where assassins are as young as 12 and you never know who to trust

Never been to Chicago or DC, eh?

Posted by Skidmark 2024-01-11 09:25|| 2024-01-11 09:25|| Front Page Top

#3 #2Been to Chicago, no sweat. FYI: The Conversation, Dec 17, 2017. "A second critique of racism in Mexico is that yes, it exists, but it is not as bad as in other places in the region, like Brazil or the United States. Our study runs contrary to that argument. Among nations surveyed in the Americas Barometer, Mexico ranks fourth in terms of the negative impact of skin-tone on an individual’s wealth, behind Bolivia, Uruguay and Ecuador. On the relationship between race and lower levels of education, Mexico moves up one spot to trail only Ecuador and Trinidad and Tobago. Indeed, the sole place in the Americas where people of color seem to fare worse overall than in Mexico is Ecuador, where Americas Barometer data shows that having dark skin reduces educational achievement by one year more than it does in Mexico.

Posted by Huputle Cherelet4131 2024-01-11 13:31|| 2024-01-11 13:31|| Front Page Top

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