How drug gangs brought bloodshed to Ecuador

Ecuador’s president, Daniel Noboa, has said his country is ‘at war’ with drug gangs. Armed men stormed a TV station live on air, while prison guards were being held hostage and police officers killed, in a new wave of violence.

The surge of violence promoted the president to issue a decree, designating nearly two dozen gangs as terrorist groups, authorising the military to ‘neutralise’ crime factions. Noboa, who was elected in October, promised to crack down on violent crime and vowed to build new maximum security prisons. This has led to retaliations from drug gangs who have made Ecuador a transit state for cocaine from neighbouring countries. Thousands are fleeing the country as a result.

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