Chopped Up Bodies & Mass Shootings: Violence in the Cartel Controlled Regions of Ecuador
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| Guayaquil After the Attack [Source: BBC] |
The city of Esmeraldes in Ecuador is plagued by cartel violence, surpassing the levels witnessed in Colombia during the 1980s. Beheadings, killings, and assaults on women are all too common, leading to a staggering 180% increase in the murder rate from 2021 to 2022. The once peaceful nation, which had previously avoided the widespread violence associated with cartel epidemics, has now earned a reputation as the murder capital of the world. In an effort to tackle the escalating cartel violence, President Guillermo Lasso has enforced martial law in Esmeraldos.
However, martial law has proven ineffective in halting the cartel attacks. Just a few weeks after its imposition, the cartels beheaded three men, their heads subsequently discovered wrapped in black bags. Such methods of attack are distressingly frequent, with different cartel gangs employing distinctive "signatures" for their beheadings, whether it involves discarding the head in a plastic bag or removing the victim's intestines. Following these beheadings, many victims are hanged, their decapitated bodies left hanging from road signs, bridges, and buildings. Most recently, a massacre occurred at the city's port, where, in broad daylight, thirty members of the Los Tigeros gang opened fire on civilians, resulting in the deaths of nine innocent individuals. This audacious attack, carried out amidst a significant military presence and during daylight hours, was unprecedented. The heinous nature of the assault was so outrageous that Ecuador's Secretary of Defense, Diego Ordonez, resigned. It is believed that the port was targeted due to illicit dealings between boatmen and rival gangs. Esmeraldes' position as a port town on the border with Colombia makes it an ideal location for gangs to launch smuggling operations. Similar cartel attacks have also occurred near the port city of Guayaquil, resulting in three fatalities.
While hangings, beheadings, and shootings serve as public displays of cartel horror, there are also covert acts, including the kidnapping and torture of young women. In one instance, three young women were discovered in shallow graves near the Esmeraldes River. The violence in the region is extensive, involving multiple gangs not only from South America but also from different parts of the world.
The most notable European gang present in the violent regions of Ecuador is composed of Albanian traffickers who smuggle cocaine from South America to Britain and mainland Europe. The Albanian Gang is believed to be involved in an almost two billion pound cocaine enterprise that has permeated nearly every area of the UK. Ecuador serves as the starting point for these cocaine smuggling operations. The Albanian Mafia receives assistance in Ecuador from a street gang known as The Alligators. Other gangs are affiliated with prominent Mexican cartels, carrying out their bidding hundreds of miles away in Ecuador. The two largest cartels operating in Ecuador are the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation Cartel, both of which employ street gangs. The aforementioned Tiguerones are aligned with the Jalisco Cartel, alongside the Wolves and Chinolone Gangs. The rival Sinaloa cartel has the Panatones, The Gangsters, and the Choneros. These gangs have filled the void left by the now-weakened FARC and other powerful Colombian cartels. Ecuador has become a highly sought-after territory for Mexican and European gangs to conduct lucrative drug smuggling enterprises. In an interview with VICE (2023), Derek Maltz, a former head of the DEA Special Operations Division, stated, "The Mexican cartels are expanding not only north of the border but also south of the border and pretty much around the world... They approach it like a Fortune 500 company, considering the best countries for their product. They are flooding Europe with cocaine."
The situation in Ecuador is dire. The government appears to be struggling to control the spread of this criminal activity, even with the implementation of martial law. President Lasso, who is facing unrelated impeachment charges, seems to be losing his grip on the country, with his approval rating plummeting to thirteen percent. Lasso has sought to strengthen relations with the US. Perhaps future cooperation in drug enforcement between the nations can help curb the power of these drug gangs.
