An armed group entered the studio of the TC Televisión channel on January 9, where they detained the staff through the use of force. The event culminated in the arrest of 13 individuals and the release of the workers. This attack, added to explosions, police kidnappings and prison riots are some of the violent events that Ecuadorians have experienced after the escape of the leader of the 'Los Choneros' gang and the subsequent implementation of a state of emergency by the Government.
Peace is gone. The moderate calm after the Ecuadorian elections ended on Sunday, January 7. That day the authorities reported that Adolfo Macías, also known as 'Fito' and leader of the dangerous gang 'Los Choneros', was not in his cell, and an operation began to find him and find out how he managed, for the second time, to escape from prison.
Alias 'Fito', recognized for his alleged links with Mexican cartels, went to prison for the first time in the year 2000. Accused of robbery, the man quickly became involved in the growing drug trafficking business that operates from the prisons of that country.
Public records show that 11 years later he was arrested again and sentenced to 34 years in prison for crimes including drug trafficking, organized crime and homicide.
'La Roca', the Men's Social Rehabilitation Center of Guayas No. 2, was his place of confinement from then until February 2013, when 'Fito' managed to escape in a movie escape: using boats to get out through the Daule River. , according to the authorities. As amazing as it may seem, it would be the first but not the last time.
While 'Fito' hid from authorities, Ecuador experienced increased police surveillance and economic growth fueled by the commodities boom. During the Rafael Correa Administration (2007-2017), the president canceled a rental contract with a US military base in Manta, affecting the fight against drug trafficking in a key area of the Pacific.
The absence of the base weakened security on the border with Colombia, facilitating drug distribution in Ecuador, located between two of the largest cocaine producers: Colombia and Peru.
When Lenín Moreno took office, he prioritized the payment of the country's external debt and promoted several budget cuts affecting public forces. This, according to several analysts, contributed to the rise of criminal gangs that expanded their control towards port cities, managing drug trafficking, while finding new forms of income in extortion and kidnapping.
The day 'Fito's luck changed forever
Months after his first escape, 'Fito' was recaptured by the authorities and transferred to the Litoral Penitentiary in the city of Guayaquil. In prison he continued to assume greater leadership in the 'Los Choneros' gang, formed in the 90s in Chone, a city on the coast of the province of Manabí, and whose tentacles manage drug trafficking routes in that country.
Several police reports indicate that the gang is in charge of transporting cocaine from Colombia to Central America or North America with links to the Mexican Sinaloa cartel.
“We are no longer facing common crime but rather the largest drug cartels in the world,” admitted former president Guillermo Lasso.
On December 28, 2020, 'Fito's luck changed forever. That day he took full control of the band 'Los Choneros' when the murder of the previous leader, Jorge Luis Zambrano, known as 'Rasquiña', became known. The crime boss was shot at in a shopping center cafeteria, just six months after being released from prison.
The death of 'Rasquiña' was seen as a moment of weakness by other rival gangs such as the 'Lobos', alleged allies of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, CJNG. The power vacuum generated bloody massacres in prisons, which, according to InsightCrime, became centers of criminal recruitment.
“There is no response capacity on the part of the State”: Carolina Andrade
Days before the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, 'Fito' appeared publicly to announce a truce with other criminal cells, such as 'Los Lobos' and 'Los Tiguerones'. “As a commitment of good faith, we voluntarily hand over our weapons, which demonstrates our faith in commitment, that peace and security return to the Ecuadorian country,” he declared from prison.
On August 12, 2023, after the murder of Villavicencio in the middle of the electoral campaign, the Government transferred José Adolfo Macías Villamar to a maximum security prison in Guayaquil. 'Los Choneros' had threatened the presidential candidate.
In an interview with France 24, Carolina Andrade Quevedo, Secretary of Security of Quito, recognized the lack of response capacity of the State to the security situation at that time.
“There are thousands of thousands of people who have been murdered in recent years. The country has hit an unexpected bottom. There is no response capacity on the part of the State, there is no leadership, there is no direction,” Andrade Quevedo admitted.
Security in Ecuador has experienced a notable deterioration since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, which has also significantly impacted the economy.
Official figures show that violent deaths nationwide increased to 8,008 in 2023, almost double the figure recorded in 2022, which was more than 4,500. The authorities attribute this situation to the growing reach of the gangs that compete for control of drugs.
Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city located on the coast, is considered the most dangerous in the country, and its ports have become an epicenter for drug smuggling.
Upon taking office in November, President Daniel Noboa presented his “Phoenix Plan” focused on security. The plan includes the creation of a new intelligence unit, the provision of tactical weapons for security forces, the construction of new high-security prisons and the implementation of reinforced security measures at ports and airports.
The plan would cost about $800 million, with a contribution of $200 million from the United States to acquire new weapons for the Army.
This Tuesday, violence took to the streets with the kidnapping of seven police officers in several incidents, as well as the takeover of a television channel and the confirmation of five explosions in various cities.
Noboa, firm in his position of not negotiating with “terrorists,” attributed the growing violence to a response to his government's plans. Following the recent incidents, Noboa declared an “internal armed conflict” in the country and branded gangs like 'Los Choneros' as “terrorist organizations.” The new president promised to “return peace to all Ecuadorians.” A peace that is now in flight.
With AP and Reuters
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