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Ecuador is struggling to control the spiral of violence, with mayors fearing for their lives and the national government acknowledging a rise in extortion and kidnappings as part of a 90-day state of emergency declared to fight criminal groups.
Over the weekend, the country’s youngest mayor, 27-year-old Brigitte Garcia, and her communications leader were discovered dead from gunshot wounds, according to Ecuadorian police.
The killing, described by some politicians as an assassination, followed an outbreak of unrest in January, when gunmen stormed a live television programme and many criminals were taken hostage, while police officers were kidnapped.
In response, the government of President Daniel Noboa ordered widespread operations through security forces. Between Jan. 9 and March 10, about 13,000 more people were arrested, according to the government, bringing the total to 280 for alleged links to terrorism.
Security in Ecuador has deteriorated since the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit the Andean nation’s economy.
Noboa’s predecessor, President Guillermo Lasso, fought violence and resorted to measures such as relaxing the weapon to allow civilians to protect themselves.
The number of violent deaths rose to 7,994 in 2023, according to police, just two-thirds more than in 2022. The violence spilled into the political arena last year when anti-corruption presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated.
The government attributes this to the growing influence of cocaine gangs, which have destabilized large areas of South America.
In Ecuador’s prisons, gangs have taken advantage of the merit of a weak state to expand their power. Prison violence has become increasingly common, leading to many deaths in incidents that the government has attributed to gang fights over prisons.
Currently, about 10 prisons across the country are under the control of security forces, plus the military, Interior Minister Monica Palencia said on local television on Wednesday.
Garcia, who is mayor of San Vicente, is the latest example of the murder of a local official in the Andean country.
According to the Association of Municipalities of Ecuador (AME), 22 officials – including Agustín Intriago, the mayor – have been murdered since last year.
At least 45 other people have sought police protection and others have asked for personal protection to protect themselves, AME Executive Director Homero Castanier told Reuters in an interview this week.
It is only the mayors who are in the crosshairs of the violence.
In January, he also killed prosecutor César Suárez, who was focusing on transnational organized crime in Guayas province and investigating the attack on the television station.
Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest coastal city, is the country’s most dangerous, and its ports serve as a hub for drug trafficking.
Noboa, 36, took office in November and is touting his “Phoenix Plan” to build a new intelligence unit, supply tactical weapons to security forces, build new high-security prisons and beef up security at ports and airports.
Some $800 million will be collected, he said, and $200 million in new weapons will be provided to the Ecuadorian military through the United States.
The protracted state of emergency (which ends on April 8) forces the military to patrol, expand prisons and impose a nationwide nighttime curfew.
The president also indicted 22 terrorist groups, paving the way for army operations against the armed groups.
In February, Noboa secured a legislative increase in VAT to fund security spending.
The country’s electoral tribunal will also hold an 11-question referendum on strengthening security, which will take place on April 21.
According to Interior Minister Palencia, homicides have dropped by just over a quarter under Noboa’s administration.
However, he said extortion and kidnappings had increased, adding that the government would create a police unit to combat both crimes.