Violence overflows in Ecuador. The Government’s message that the country has changed and that peace has returned is a questionable truth. President Daniel Noboa and his ministers base their opinions on the fact that they have reduced 485 violent deaths so far in 2024, compared to the same period last year. The problem is that 2023 was the most violent year in the history of the country. There is no precedent like what happened at that time, where the homicide rate reached 40 per 100,000 inhabitants. But with 2,400 crimes in six months, security remains their unmet priority.
“We are at war, and wars are not one day, they are not one week, they are long-term,” warned the Minister of Defense, Gian Carlo Loffredo. And in the middle of the war there are people who do not belong to any side and who are murdered for being on the street when a shooting occurs, or even the house is no longer a safe place. In the last week alone, 127 people have been shot, of which 33 were murdered when they were in their homes. Most cases are recorded in the cities on the country’s coast. The hitmen take advantage of the open windows and without seeing, they shoot five, ten, fifteen times. This is how a woman and her 13-year-old daughter were murdered this Sunday while they were having lunch. The gunmen reached through the window and fired without caring if the target they were looking for was there, a survivor said. The crime occurred in Durán, where violent deaths have increased by 1,300%, and where people couldn’t get over the shock when they saw the body of a 17-year-old teenager lying on the sidewalk who was murdered when he was leaving a school where he left to a family member who attended classes.
The violence has been focused on seven of the country’s 24 provinces, say the authorities, and they justify the signing of a new presidential decree of a state of emergency in those places, without explaining what the strategy is beyond increasing the presence of the military and police. on the streets. One of the cities that has become the epicenter of violence is Manta, a small city in the Pacific, which is used by organized crime to transport drugs and money to international destinations. “Criminal behavior seeks to adapt and move and make its criminal activities and forms of financing viable,” explains Mónica Palencia, Minister of the Interior, in a press conference given by the security bloc made up of the Police, the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defense hours after a triple crime in Manta. It happened on Sunday night outside a circus, where hundreds of people were lining up to pay their ticket and see the show. Among those attending was Cristhian Nieto, an alternate legislator; That is, she replaces an assembly member of the Citizen Revolution party who is the holder of the position. Nieto was one of the administrators of the circus that has been operating in Manta for about two weeks. The crime was recorded on social media because people were broadcasting live just before the shooting began. The following images are of chaos and fear, of fearful people running for cover. Nieto, his wife and a 24-year-old young man who was in line waiting to buy the ticket, died.
The crime in the circus led to the signing of a new presidential decree, this time ordering the security block to move to Manta. “From there this war and this internal armed conflict are fought,” said Daniel Noboa. So far this year, 150 violent crimes have been recorded in that city, 53% more than in 2023. In the document, the president provides that the four security institutions temporarily exercise their functions and powers from Manta.
The violence does not give truce among Ecuadorians who have agreed for the Government to increase the VAT tax and to take the military to the streets. He has said yes to everything to stop insecurity. While this report is being written, a new crime is being committed, kidnapping a person and extorting a merchant, a teacher or a family, according to official statistics.
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