Ecuador Calls for Foreign Forces to Fight Crime Surge

The Ecuadorian government, through a Wednesday announcement from the Presidency, proposes inviting foreign special forces to tackle surging organized crime.

President Daniel Noboa aims to bolster the nation’s struggling Armed Forces and National Police amid a violent crisis dubbed “narco-terrorism.” Transnational drug mafias, operating across borders, fuel this chaos, prompting officials to seek international aid.

Ecuador’s homicide rate skyrocketed from 5.8 per 100,000 in 2016 to 47.25 in 2023, reports the Ecuadorian Observatory of Organized Crime. Over 8,000 murders rocked the country in 2023 alone, a 430% spike in five years, according to Human Rights Watch.

Gangs like Los Choneros and Los Lobos, linked to Mexican and Colombian cartels, exploit Ecuador’s location between cocaine hubs Peru and Colombia. Noboa declared an “internal armed conflict” on January 9, 2024, targeting 22 gangs as “terrorists” after prison riots and assassinations escalated.

Security forces arrested 14,765 suspects by April 2024, seized 1,500 firearms, and confiscated 21.5 tons of cocaine in January alone. Yet, violence persists, with extortions rising and 460 inmates killed in prison clashes since 2021.

Ecuador’s Military Base Proposal

The proposal includes amending the Constitution to allow foreign military bases, reversing a 2008 ban set by ex-President Rafael Correa. Noboa urges the National Assembly to approve this shift, arguing it strengthens Ecuador’s fight against crime.

The Foreign Ministry now negotiates with allies, though no nations have committed yet.
Businesses face grim realities as extortion shutters shops and unemployment climbs, with 27% of Ecuadorians below the poverty line, per the World Bank.

Corruption hampers progress, as seen in the 2023 assassination of candidate Fernando Villavicencio, tied to gang influence. Experts warn military aid alone won’t fix weak institutions. This move marks a desperate bid to reclaim control, but skepticism lingers over its success.

Operations curbed murders slightly, yet kidnappings surged, and 200 excessive force allegations surfaced since January 2024, notes Human Rights Watch. Ecuador’s plea for help signals a nation at a tipping point, testing global willingness to intervene.

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