• Ecuador Tortured and killed key businessman in the main scandal of the Lasso government

The unprecedented wave of violence suffered by Ecuador has forced the government of conservative Guillermo Lasso to decree a state of emergency for 60 days in zone 8, which includes the city of Guayaquil, Durán, Samborondón and the provinces of Santa Elena and Los Ríos. The presidential initiative includes a curfew between 1:00 and 5:00 in the morning.

So far this year through mid-March, violent deaths in Zone 8 total 434, more than a third of the 1,151 murders reported nationwide.

"The biggest fear today is feeling insecure. That is why we announce three immediate measures in this crusade for your security to combat the greatest enemy we have, which is crime, drug trafficking and organized crime," said Lasso, who faces uphill the political trial launched by the opposition in the National Assembly.

The most controversial measure is undoubtedly the modification of the decree that allows the possession and carrying of weapons "for civilian use for self-defense," added Lasso, who limited the measure to compliance with the requirements set by law. The use of pepper spray has also been authorized. Private security guards will have the obligation to support the Police in citizen surveillance.

Insecurity has become the main headache for Ecuadorians. And the fight against violence is the first demand to the government, which for months has accused of not acting with an iron fist while crimes multiplied, especially in Guayas, whose capital is Guayaquil, and in Esmeraldas.

Despite the struggle led by the president himself, the violent events impact almost every day a terrified society, which one day lives live how the artificers save the life of a jewelry store guard, kidnapped by a gang of extortionists who placed a bomb vest on his chest and abdomen. and the next he receives the news of the discovery of the head of a man in Esmeraldas.

The national homicide rate has doubled in a single year, between 2021 and 2022, adding 25 per 100,000 inhabitants. In parallel, cocaine seizures have also grown, more than 400 tons in two years.

To further entangle the national ravings, among the four tortured and executed in a house in Punta Blanca, which is part of the zone with a state of emergency, is the controversial businessman Rubén Cherres, a key player in the first corruption scandal that shook the presidency because of his closeness to Lasso's brother-in-law.

The government's commitment to heavy-handed rule is accompanied by strong criticism against the "bad judges" who free drug traffickers, as has happened with "Gordo Lucho," leader of the Los Lobos gang, who left the Cotapaxi prison thanks to a judicial decision.

Lasso has adapted some of the controversial initiatives of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who fights with a "very hard" hand the gang members of El Salvador. In Honduras, ruled by leftist Xiomara Castro, a state of emergency has also been imposed against gang members.

"According to a heartless inept like Lassus, war is citizen-criminals and not state-crime. That's why the carrying of weapons! The solution is that, with the exception of the public force, no one carries weapons, starting with criminals and that is possible. We already did it," recalled former President Rafael Correa, who is leading the impeachment process against Lasso from abroad.

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