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2024-01-12 Caribbean-Latin America
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Street war in Ecuador: executions of officials and indulgences for security forces
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Direct Translation Via Google Translate. Edited.
by Ol'ga Kuznetsova
[REGNUM] For several days now, the small South American country has been making waves all over the world: criminal gangs have actually entered into a war with the government of Ecuador, staging terrorist attacks and riots throughout the country. Local security forces are also no strangers - they received an order to eliminate the bandits, as well as a full pardon for their actions in detaining those who are potentially considered members of an organized crime group. By January 11, the number of possible victims of the Ecuadorian events, according to official data, barely exceeded 20 people. As for the number of liquidated criminals, local authorities prefer not to throw around numbers for now.
| Hopefully it is a nice round number that translates as lots. |
Some experts are seriously betting on whether the new President Daniel Noboa will pass such a test. True, some nuances make us think that what is happening in the capital of Quito and other Ecuadorian cities is not at all a test for the team of the new president. On the contrary, it is an opportunity.
Continued from Page 1
| We all benefit when the narco gangs are brought to heel. Getting rid of them altogether is a nice dream, but so long as there are customers for the product and officials eager to take bribes, that won’t happen. |
"LOS CHONEROS" AND "LOS LOBOS"
An aggravation of the situation was recorded on January 8 (in Ecuador - the 7th), when the leader of the Los Choneros criminal group, Alfredo Macias, nicknamed Fito, mysteriously disappeared from the Litoral prison in the port city of Guayaquil. Some sources report that the crime boss’s disappearance was discovered during morning roll call.
What's interesting here is that Fito isn't just some crime boss. He is the leader of the largest gang and "the most wanted criminal in the country." Fito was accused of threatening and organizing the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio last summer. Moreover, it is assumed that he could participate in these processes while in prison.
In this regard, Fito was previously transferred to a regime of enhanced security, but disappeared from a prison with less stringent security measures. This raises logical questions for the management and employees of the Litoral prison - who, however, have already been dismissed or under investigation.
On January 9, it became known about the escape of another person - Fabrizio Colon Pico. This is also not the last person in Ecuador, the leader of the second known gang “Los Lobos” - the main competitor and enemy of “Los Choneros”. Pico escaped not alone, but accompanied by an unknown number of associates.
Against the background of the escapes of the leaders, the prison management quite predictably intensified repressive measures against the remaining prisoners, who, at the same time, did not lose their heads, coordinated and started riots, taking their own guards hostage.
There is nothing surprising in this story. The problem of prison riots in the last few years has become traditional for Ecuador: lack of premises, harsh conditions of detention, and a serious corruption factor have led to overcrowding in penitentiary institutions.
The consequence of overcrowding was the cessation of control over the system of housing criminals. Members of the same gang ended up in the same prison, built a system of interaction and continued to “work” directly from their places of detention, bringing in communication equipment and even weapons for bribes.
SECURITY FORCES ARE BECOMING MORE INFLUENTIAL
After Fito's escape and a series of prison riots involving the taking of hostages who were threatened with execution (which eventually happened in some cases), the Ecuadorian authorities declared a state of emergency in the country for a period of 60 days.
Considering that such a situation was observed in the country for almost the entire last year, none of the locals attached much importance to what was happening. The situation changed when the president sent more than 3 thousand military personnel to ensure law and order, and military equipment began to be deployed to large cities.
At this moment, criminal groups began distributing videos with demonstrative reprisals against government officials, as well as leaflets threatening to attack schools, kindergartens and state-owned enterprises.
Soon, more terrible events occurred - an attack on the TC Television channel in Guayaquil with the taking of hostages, an invasion of the territory of a local university, shooting at civilians on the streets of the same Guayaquil and Esmeraldas. And in such a situation, it is quite logical to recognize the existence of an internal armed conflict and declare a number of organized crime groups as terrorist organizations, as well as warring non-state actors subject to liquidation.
Ecuadorian lawmakers also said any police or soldier involved in the fight against terrorists would be pardoned and exempted from harsh criminal prosecution for potential violations.
In addition, all large state enterprises and city services were ordered to provide all possible assistance to the security forces - to provide vehicles, tents and everything necessary.
Soon, businessmen also joined in: large supermarkets began distributing free food and water to military personnel. And the local population has stepped up, creating self-defense units that patrol neighborhoods together with the police.
In fact, literally in a matter of days, the status of the security forces in Ecuador significantly strengthened and became to some extent elitist - not only from the point of view of the authorities, but also from the population.
And in this “unexpected” result lies another nuance.
DRUG TRAFFICKING IS CENTRALIZED
The news that President Noboa plans to hold a referendum in the spring of 2024, as a result of which the police and army will be given greater powers to ensure law and order, has remained outside the focus of international attention.
For example, it is planned to use military personnel constantly in the fight against terrorists and drug traffickers, and not only during periods of emergency. Similar mechanisms already exist in El Salvador, Colombia, Brazil and Mexico.
They do not have a significant impact on reducing drug trafficking, but they provide good support for the current government from a loyal security apparatus that can be used to fight both crime and competitors.
And if before the January 2024 event, this would have been considered as the formation of a new dictatorship (which, by the way, is often blamed on the President of Salvador Nayib Bukele, who arranged the same thing), now it is taken for granted.
Additionally, in Ecuador, not only the status of the security forces is changing, but also what is called rapid digitalization is taking place. During the unrest, provincial authorities, city prefectures, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs are transferring most services to digital mode.
This will fundamentally change the approach not only to interaction with government agencies, but will also have a direct impact on corruption and other types of crime. Which, of course, will not disappear, but will begin to invent other, more expensive ways to interact with the system.
But it is extremely imprudent to expect that this will have an impact on reducing drug trafficking. On the contrary, digitalization will make it possible to strengthen control over supplies and throw random characters out of the local market.
And their share in the illegal business will be redirected both to the pockets of local officials and to the accounts of their more privileged patrons in the United States.
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Posted by badanov 2024-01-12 00:00||
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Posted by Skidmark 2024-01-12 07:00||
2024-01-12 07:00||
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