Ecuador was one of the calmest countries in Latin America until about three years ago, when violence and cocaine-based criminality began taking over the prisons, streets, and now, potentially politics, according to some. 

Ecuadorian presidential hopeful, Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated earlier this month while campaigning. Under the protection of police and bodyguards, Villavicencio said before he was killed that cartels had corrupted judges and high-ranking politicians.

Colombian and Mexican cartels have settled into coastal cities like the economic hub of Guayaquil, shipping out hundreds of millions of dollars of cocaine. Violent deaths in Ecuador significantly increased from the first six months of 2022 to the same period in 2023. 

Drug gangs seeking more control in the Ecuador’s streets and prisons are causing fear and distrust to grow.

Ecuador is regarded as the ‘last stop’ for illegal cocaine shipments out of South America headed for the U.S. or Europe.

Ecuador’s government is struggling with a faltering economy, low funds, political infighting, claims of corruption and financing gaps for law enforcement and social programs.

Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso invoked a “muerte cruzada” in May, dissolving the National Assembly.  Lasso is now governing Ecuador by decree. 

Ecuador goes to the polls on Aug. 20 to elect a new president.

Poverty, made worse by the pandemic, made hungry Ecuadorian children prime recruits for criminal gangs.

Robberies are also becoming more common in Ecuador. Data from the National Police show 31,485 cases were reported last year, about 11,000 more than in 2020.

Many young Ecuadorians have migrated north, hoping to make it to the U.S.

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