Gangs spread throughout Latin America, creating zones of influence in which insecurity is the predominant note. In Ecuador, the number of murders increased by 60% over the previous year and now stands at 1,200. The city of Guayaquil is one of the hardest hit by a cocktail of violence that also includes drug trafficking, prison massacres and overwhelmed security forces From the port of the enclave, drugs are sent to Europe and the United States. In 2021 the seizure record was reached with 210 tons, most of the cocaine.
The population is frightened by the frequent shootings. “When there is a shooting, what we do is throw ourselves on the ground because you imagine, these walls hold up, but the ceiling doesn’t. These walls hold up because they are made of concrete, this holds up to a bullet, but the zinc does not hold up to a bullet and when we listen to the shots we say: ‘shooting’. For us it is already normal “, assures an anonymous citizen.
Just this week, the military police took control of a neighborhood in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, dominated by gang members. The criminals had forced the resident families to leave their homes. In this country, violence also has figures: over 18 murders per 100 thousand inhabitants so far in 2022.
The agents want to ensure the well-being of the territory, as Wilmer Torres, director of planning of the National Police explains: “Our responsibility as an institution at the moment is only to deal with the problems of the community, and to be able to generate the conditions of security so that the population in the first place remains safe and calm and that those who have made the decision to leave their homes can also make the decision to return ”.
Honduras is part of the so-called Northern Triangle of Central America, together with Guatemala and El Salvador, one of the areas in the world with the highest number of violent deaths. It is the territory in which criminal organizations such as Mara Salvatrucha or Barrio-18 operate, in most cases with impunity.
