In Rosario there are no classes in schools, no public transportation, no waste collection. The city remained semi-paralyzed on Monday due to the social impact caused by the four murders of different workers, which were interpreted as mafia messages from criminal organizations against local and national authorities, for which the national government announced the sending of a contingent of federal security forces with logistical assistance from the military to stop a wave of cold-blooded murders. The escalation of insecurity resembles the beginnings of another case of drug violence in the region that ended up becoming the main problem in Ecuador, a country that used to be considered an island of peace: the city of Guayaquil.
Guayaquil, a large port city in the southwest of Ecuador and the epicenter of violence in the South American country, almost daily is a macabre litany of shot, burned or mutilated bodies. Neighborhoods controlled by gangs, massacres among prisoners in overcrowded prisons and a police force overwhelmed by drug fire transformed the country’s main commercial port into a crime capital. So much so that the neologism “GuayaKill” became popular on social networks.
At the end of November 2023, Guayaquil registered an increase in homicides of up to 80%according to Insight Crime, and Ecuador ranked as the most violent country in South America with a homicide rate of 44.5 per 100,000 inhabitants, far above countries historically affected by drug violence, such as Colombia, Venezuela or Mexico.
Export points for cocaine produced in neighboring Colombia and Peru, the ports of Guayaquil became a key attraction for drug trafficking gangs, which constantly compete to dominate the drug trade. In addition to local criminal groups, it has been detected the presence of transnational organized crime, such as the Italian mafia, the Albanian mafia and the Mexican and Colombian cartels.
Insecurity in Guayaquil affects all aspects of society. Several schools had to resort to virtual classes last year; The vast majority of neighborhoods are closed by bars installed on each corner and monitored by private security hired by neighbors; and merchants from the country’s main industries – such as shrimp exporters – must spend millions of dollars to protect their workers in port areas.
