Ecuador: state of emergency extended for another 30 days
In Ecuador, the government extends the state of emergency for another 30 days.
The army is deployed on the streets across the country to fight against an explosion of violence linked to drug trafficking.
This situation has been going on since January 8, and the escape of a dangerous gang leader.
Soldiers stand guard outside the Zonal 8 prison, January 11, 2024. © Henry Romero / Reuters
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This Friday, March 8, was to put an end to the 60 days of state of emergency that punctuated the lives of
Ecuadorians
.
The deployment of military forces will ultimately continue until April 8.
The country is shaken by what Quito describes as an
“
internal armed conflict
”
, a real war between the army and drug traffickers, right in the heart of the streets.
Soldiers have already arrested more than 7,500 people and seized some 65 tons of drugs in two months of operation.
In total, around twenty gangs are believed to be involved in the clashes shaking Ecuador.
These gangs are linked to Mexican cartels and the Albanian mafia, which control cocaine trafficking in the country.
Ecuador is located between the two main producers, Colombia and Peru.
A risk of humanitarian crisis
The starting point of this violence was
the January 7 escape
of Adolfo “Fito” Macias from a prison in Gayaquil.
Still on the run, he is the leader of Ecuador's largest criminal group, “Los Choneros”.
In the process, 200 police officers and prison guards were kidnapped.
Faced with insecurity, the International Rescue Committee included Ecuador for the first time, this Thursday, March 7, on its watch list of countries at risk of humanitarian crisis.
Also listen to Ecuador: the trauma, one month after the attack on TC Télévision
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