The explosion of violence in Ecuador reached a new low last night: the prosecutor who investigated the attack on a TV studio earlier this month was shot dead. Everything points to a liquidation by drug criminals. Residents and experts have long seen a growing influence of drug gangs in Ecuador. The fact that the South American country became a hub in the drug trade is also partly the responsibility of major buyers such as the Netherlands, they say.

"You always had to be careful here and not walk across the street with your phone in your hand, for example", says Dutch doctor Els van der Linden, who has lived in Ecuador's largest city Guayaquil for sixteen years. "But from the pandemic onwards it became more and more dangerous."

"Until three years ago, Ecuador was known as a haven of peace between Colombia and Peru", confirms Ecuador expert Maria Gabriela Palacio (Leiden University). "Until then, we had managed to escape quite well from the high levels of violence in our neighboring countries."

According to Gabriela Palacio, this was mainly due to agreements between the government and drug gangs. "Three years ago, those agreements were broken and we saw a huge increase in violence." Professor Ramiro Avila (Simón Bolívar University) is a former judge of the Constitutional Court of Ecuador and has noticed a tense calm in the country for a long time. He also says that the "relative peace" was only possible because the government turned a blind eye to the drug trade. That policy has changed recently. Last August, a presidential candidate was shot dead, prompting the new government of President Daniel Noboa to promise to take tough action against the gangs.

This is how Ecuador became the new cocaine hub (dutch)

A few weeks ago the situation got further out of hand. The leader of one of the country's largest drug gangs escaped from a prison in Guayaquil. President Noboa then declared a state of emergency and announced that he would deploy the army against the drug gangs. The incidents of violence followed in quick succession. For example, armed men invaded a TV studio and riots broke out in six prisons. Prison staff were taken hostage, police officers kidnapped and notorious prisoners escaped.

Public life has come to a standstill in many places. "We don't go out in the evening anymore," says Van der Linden. “We live in fear.” She is pleased with President Noboa's tough action, even though that approach produces violent counter-reactions. “Finally the president is doing something to change the situation.”

Former judge Avila agrees with her. "The drug criminals have been corrupting the government for years, they are part of it. The murdered prosecutor tried to tackle organized crime, and had to pay for it with his death. With his murder, the gangs are trying to scare the system. The government has "We have no choice but to take back the monopoly on violence from the gangs by force."

However, the government should not go too far, Avila warns. He fears that many poor Ecuadorians living in slums are being unfairly targeted. "We are already seeing mass arrests, unwarranted searches and excessive force. Soon we will have thousands of prisoners who we have nowhere to place."

Much more is needed than tough military action, the experts say. Ecuador is in an economic crisis, causing poverty to increase. Professor Gabriela Palacio: "The government must address the socio-economic insecurities that drive young people to join drug gangs."

But other countries also have a responsibility, they emphasize. Certainly also the Netherlands, as one of the largest drug importers.

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Ecuador is by far the most important country of origin for cocaine intercepted in the port of Rotterdam, which in turn is an important transit port for cocaine for Europe. Avila thinks that agreements between the Netherlands and Ecuador, such as the recently concluded customs treaty, can help combat drug smuggling.

But, Avila says, as long as demand in America and Europe remains high and cocaine makes a lot of money, "it is naive to think that the problems can be solved in a few months."

The Dutch are not sufficiently aware of this, says doctor Van der Linden. "In the Netherlands, drugs are of course something to have a fun party. But there is much more to it. A lot of sadness, a lot of violence, a lot of problems."

The war on drugs should therefore not only be fought in the producing countries, says Gabriela Palacio. "Western countries are largely responsible for drug trafficking because they determine what is illegal."

Legalizing and regulating (some) drugs by consumer countries must be part of the solution, she believes. Because it is precisely the illegality of drugs that makes the trade so dangerous, violent and lucrative.

Avila: "The war on drugs has killed a million people in 50 years and corrupted democracies. We must change the recipe for the solution."

* grobi