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The Sun
23-04-2025
- The Sun
Medieval-style executions & gangs who cut out hearts… inside world's ‘murder capital' after Brit lynched in street
Tom Bryden Published: Invalid Date, FOR years considered a haven of safety and natural beauty, Ecuador is now gripped by brutal cartel warfare - giving the country the grizzly honour of becoming Latin America's murder capital. Just this weekend, a man believed to be a British national was lynched and burnt alive in a popular eco-tourism area on the country's border with Colombia. 12 12 A mob stormed a police station in Sucumbios Province where he was being held in custody for an alleged shooting, before dragging him out and setting him alight in front of police officers too terrified to intervene. The shocking scenes are all too common for a nation whose murder rates now rank amongst the highest in the world, with civilians regularly caught in the crossfire and streets turning lawless as cops struggle to keep up with criminality and violence. In 2023 alone, the country saw more than 8,000 deaths, an eightfold rise compared to 2018, putting it above other nations famed for their cartel violence such as Mexico and Colombia. And a new record for the most killings in a single month was broken in January, with 781 killings. After a series of riots saw the gangs take control of prisons, rival factions have waged bitter warfare against each other, carrying out brutal medieval-style executions and hanging bodies from bridges to mark their territory and terrify rivals. Despite attempts by the country's government and armed forces to crack down on the cartels, Ecuador remains the world's number one exporter of cocaine. On Thursday, gunmen wearing replica military gear attacked a crowd at a cockfighting ring, opening fire and murdering 12 people. Local reports indicated that the massacre was carried out by a criminal gang whose rivals were at the event in the north-west of the country. And earlier this month, at least 22 people were murdered in Guayaquil after rival trafficking factions exchanged gunfire in a fight over territory. The Easter period often sees violence spike, with 80 killings recorded in just three days around this time last year. Ecuadorian police bring end to terrifying live TV hijack and arrest several suspects The terrifying spree saw ten men gunned down while playing a volleyball game in Gauyaquil, while the day before five young men were shot dead in the small fishing village of Puerto López. And in the early hours of Good Friday last year, 20 armed cartel members stormed a hotel where six young tourists and five children were enjoying a holiday, kidnapping all eleven. The six adults were taken to a patch of scrubland and shot, with only one surviving. It is believed they were targeted by the Los Choneros gang, one of the country's largest, who mistakenly believed them to be members of a rival group. Televised takeover The most dramatic example of the escalating violence occurred in January last year, when masked gunmen broke into a television studio, threatening the presenter while live on air and trying to force him to read out a warning to police. 'They were kids - kids with guns,' the presenter, Luis Calderón, later told the Guardian. 'They seemed proud of what they were doing… it was as if they were playing a game - only with extremely dangerous and lethal weapons,' he recalled. Police successfully made 13 arrests following the attack, which also happened in the port city of Gauyaquil. 12 12 12 Then in May, a further eight were killed after a bar was sprayed with bullets where people had gathered to celebrate a birthday in the coastal province of Santa Elena. Many of the shootings are carried out in a display of dominance, terrifying rivals and keeping local residents subdued. Gangs such as Los Tiguerones, Los Lobos, and Los Choneros have even resorted to gruesome tactics such as cutting out the hearts of captured rivals and showing off the killings on social media. Other victims may find themselves being hanged from bridges, their limp bodies serving as a warning to anyone entering the cartel's territory. While South America has long been associated with drug-related violence, Ecuador for years remained relatively peaceful and free from any serious gang violence. In 2020, the country had a murder rate of just 7.7 per 100,000 people. But by 2023 that figure stood at a shocking 44.5 murders per 100,000, making Ecuador the deadliest country in the region. Much of this is driven by a huge increase in the supply of cocaine from neighbouring countries, which recently reached a record high. 'People consume abroad - but they don't understand the consequences that take place here,' Major Edison Núñez of the Ecuadorean national police told the New York Times. Trafficker's paradise Bordering Peru and Colombia and with a long coastline, Ecuador is perfectly positioned to facilitate the flow of the drug onwards to North America and Europe. Police in Ecuador had limited experience dealing with cartels, making them ill-equipped to handle the increase in gang activity. Many of the gangs were previously small players, focussing only on activities such as extortion and the local drug market. But the cartels then ruthlessly expanded their numbers, breaking inmates out of prisons and forcing others to do their bidding or face death, even recruiting children as young as 13. The neutralisation of the Farc rebel group in Colombia, who operated deep in the Amazonian rainforest, also opened up the trafficking routes to new players determined to seize as much of the cocaine trade as they could. 12 12 12 The drug is often exported by hiding it within shipments of items such as bananas and pineapples. According to the country's coastguard, 90 per cent of the illicit trade leaves via the port of Guayaquil. As a result, the city has become the epicentre of the battleground between rival drug trafficking gangs and the armed forces, and the final resting place of hundreds of victims. 'It's like a cemetery with human body parts left strewn about,' a local police captain told The Guardian. In nearby Durán, where more than 400 people were killed in 2023 alone, the streets are graffitied with the motto of the local Los Tiguerones gang - 'God, Peace, Freedom'. According to the country's President Daniel Noboa, 70 per cent of the world's cocaine is shipped via his country. A free trade agreement with Europe and the widespread use of the dollar also increased the attractiveness of smuggling the drug through Ecuador. Open warfare The recent uptick in violence began in 2020, when the assasination of gang boss Jorge Luis Zambrano, leader of Los Choneros, caused his gang to split into bitterly-opposed factions. Through a series of massacres the groups then fought to take control of the country's prisons, which then became the bases of their trafficking operations. In early 2021, fights broke out across four prisons that led to 79 inmates being killed, before later that year 123 died after violence erupted in the notorious Litoral jail in Guayaquil. Efforts to bring the riots to an end by transferring key prisoners to other prisons had the opposite effect, causing the violence to spread around the country as alliances were forged between gang members. By 2022, conditions become so bad that a report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights declared that the government had lost control of its prisons. But the warfare has now openly spilled out into the streets, thanks to the cartels making increased profits. Such is the extent of their growth that older, more established gangs from Mexico and Albania have provided assistance, financing their activities and assisting with the storage and transport of cocaine. 12 12 12 The armed cartels are now thought to have more than 40,000 members, according to the country's president, outnumbering the 35,000-strong military. And in an echo of the civil war-like violence that's afflicted Mexico, gangs in Ecuador have also carried out a series of hits on high-profile public prosecutors attempting to bring the gangs to justice, including César Suárez, who was leading the investigation into the attack on the TV station. Most shockingly, in August 2023, presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was gunned down in a hail of bullets as he left a political rally being held in the country's capital, Quito. However, the fightback from the country's police and armed forces has been fierce. Following the TV station attack that shocked the nation, a state of emergency was declared with President Noboa warning an 'internal armed conflict' now existed. Though the crackdown successfully decreased the murder rate by 16 per cent from 2023 to 2024, news reports in the country are still filled with bombings, shootings, and brazen executions. In March this year, President Noboa called on the US, Europe and Brazil to help with the fight against the cartels. 'We need to have more soldiers to fight this war…we need the help of international forces,' he told the BBC, adding that he hoped to see Trump designate the gangs as terrorist groups. 'They've mutilated people. They've raped thousands of women. They've trafficked human organs. They've traded illegal gold. And moved more than 1,000 tonnes of cocaine in a year.'
New York Times
12-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Dead Heat as Ecuadoreans Look for Leader to Lift Them Out of Crisis
The city of Machala is dotted with posters of Ecuador's two presidential candidates, their smiling faces looking out over shuttered businesses and streets that empty out after 6 p.m. because of rival gangs that torment the city. Machala, a port city south of Guayaquil, is a microcosm of the challenges facing the South American country — including chronic unemployment and a security crisis driven by a surge in drug violence — that many voters say are their biggest concerns ahead of the runoff election on Sunday. The election pits the incumbent, President Daniel Noboa, the heir to a billionaire banana magnate who rose from political obscurity to win a truncated term after the previous president faced impeachment, against Luisa González, the handpicked successor of a populist titan of Ecuadorean politics. Mr. Noboa has positioned himself as the tough-on-crime candidate, and as the politician best prepared to lead Ecuador on the global stage and negotiate with world leaders like President Trump. Ms. González has been defined by her association with a former Ecuadorean president, Rafael Correa, who remains revered by many in the country eight years after he left office despite scandals and controversy. His presidency saw a booming economy, low crime rates and investment in health and education. But he was also convicted on corruption charges and accused of having authoritarian tendencies. Mr. Noboa narrowly edged out Ms. González in the first round, in February, but did not surpass 50 percent of the vote to avoid a second round. Polls show Sunday's election as a dead heat. And nowhere is that split more evident than in Machala, the capital of El Oro, one of Ecuador's most dangerous states. The port city of roughly 288,000 is one of the world's largest shipment points for bananas — it is sometimes called 'the banana capital of the world.' But what was once also a bustling tourist destination and gastronomic hub has become largely a ghost town. Two rival gangs, Los Choneros and Los Lobos, are fighting for control of the local drug trade, killing residents in broad daylight, setting off bombs in the streets and extorting shopkeepers and politicians. Mr. Noboa has been criticized for his hard-line stance on the country's gang violence, which some civil rights groups say is an overreach of presidential authority and an infringement on human rights. But in Machala, both supporters and opponents of the president say they would like to see more action from law enforcement, not less. Across the city, days before an election in a country where a presidential candidate was assassinated two years ago, not a single police officer or soldier was seen patrolling the streets. Erika González, 36, was standing in her front door when a parade organized by supporters of Luisa González marched down the street. A volunteer handed her a calendar with the candidate's face on it. She took it out of politeness, she said, but planned to vote for Mr. Noboa. Her 17-year-old nephew, Carlos Choez, was shot and killed last year, she said, as he was leaving school because he had resisted recruitment by a criminal gang. She said she believed Mr. Noboa could stem the violence. 'I have faith that if we give him the time he needs, he will be able to control that,' she said. She also thinks Ecuador needs help from the United States to take on drug gangs, something that is more likely to happen under Mr. Noboa, she said. During Mr. Correa's tenure, Ecuador had an antagonistic relationship with the United States, and experts say his expulsion of American forces from the country hampered Ecuador's ability to control its borders and eased the way for transnational criminal groups move drugs through and out of the country. But Ecuador's homicide rate actually dropped under his government because of increased policing and a commodities boom that yielded more money for law enforcement. Since Mr. Noboa took office in November 2023, the homicide rate dropped early in his tenure, but then started rising. At Ms. González's campaign headquarters in Machala, a poster depicts her face next to Mr. Correa's with the slogan, 'The resurgence of the homeland.' 'Correismo' runs deep in Machala, and for many, it is deeply personal. Many remember the Correa administration's investment in health infrastructure, and say the upgrades to one of the city's main hospitals were life changing. Silvia Endara, 42, said she went to the hospital in 2012 to have a brain cyst that was causing seizures removed, and doctors told her she was five weeks pregnant. Renovations meant the hospital was not yet permitted to perform surgeries, but she said doctors got permission from the Correa government to proceed with the operation anyway. Doctors removed the cyst, but warned that the procedure and its side effects could lead to her baby being born with health problems. But she gave birth to a healthy daughter, Gema, who is now 12. 'I will always give thanks for my life and my daughter's life to that man, Rafael Correa,' she said. Even within the banana industry, where the Noboa family made its name, workers are divided over who they support. Mr. Trump's universal 10 percent tariffs for many countries are bound to affect Ecuador, which is one of the top banana exporters to the United States. But Noboa supporters point out that Mr. Noboa has a relatively warm relationship with Mr. Trump that could help the country. The president was one of the few Latin American leaders invited to Mr. Trump's inauguration, and the two had a meeting last month at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump's private club in Palm Beach, Fla. Mr. Noboa's re-election could lead to 'a more friendly position' between the two countries, said Shirley Morocho, 30, who works in quality control for a private company, visiting banana farms across the region. While Ms. González has tried to strike a friendlier tone toward the United States during her campaign, many critics are skeptical. 'Luisa is practically Correa's shadow,' Ms. Morocho said, 'so I don't think they are going to have a very good relationship.' Jonathan Chacha, 35, a councilman in the nearby town of El Guabo and a supporter of Ms. González, said his district, dominated by the banana industry, will be heavily affected by tariffs. Still, he sees Ms. González as the better choice. Mr. Noboa and Mr. Trump's relationship is mostly for show, he said, and has yet to produce any tangible benefits. Mr. Chacha said Ms. González was better positioned to build on the good relationship that Mr. Correa had with China, which brought significant projects to the country. 'They are the biggest exporters of development in the whole world,' he said. Days before the election, Carlos Banchón, 56, a boat operator, remained torn. He has been a longtime supporter of Mr. Correa's party, but was considering switching his allegiance to Mr. Noboa. He prefers the president's stance on crime. The violence has scared away visitors to the region, hurting his business ferrying tourists between Puerto Bolívar, a port community outside Machala, and the beachside retreat of Jambeli. But he feels a commitment to Mr. Correa's party because of the renovated hospital, where he said his wife received lifesaving care after she fell and went into early labor. 'I can't choose one or the other,' he said. 'It's very complicated.'
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Yahoo
Fugitive leader of notorious Ecuador drug gang is indicted in U.S.
The leader of a violent Ecuadorian gang has been indicted in New York City on charges he imported thousands of pounds of cocaine into the United States, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. José Adolfo Macías Villamar — whose nickname is "Fito" — has led Los Choneros and its "network of assassins and drug and weapon traffickers" since at least 2020, U.S. Attorney John Durham said in a news release. "The defendant was a ruthless leader and prolific drug trafficker for a violent transnational criminal organization," he said. The seven-count indictment unsealed in Brooklyn charges Villamar and an unidentified co-defendant with international cocaine distribution, conspiracy and weapons counts, including smuggling firearms from the United States. Macias Villamar is not in U.S. custody, authorities said. In January 2024, he was discovered missing from his prison cell in Quito, Ecuador, where he was serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking. A 60-day state of emergency was declared after his escape, the BBC reported. Last year, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on the gang Los Choneros as well as Macias Villamar. Earlier this month, the Ecuadorian government announced that the reward for the capture of Macias Villamar would be increased to $1 million. Los Choneros is one of 20 criminal gangs declared "terrorist groups" by Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa, who has led a war on drug gangs blamed for a surge in violent crime in the once-peaceful South American country. Noboa declared a state of emergency and deployed troops in the streets and violence-riddled prisons, resulting in a slight dip in homicide rates in 2024 from the previous year. The president took action last year after gunmen stormed and opened fire in a TV studio and bandits threatened random executions of civilians and security forces. A prosecutor investigating the assault was later shot dead. Earlier this year, a leader of one of Ecuador's biggest crime syndicates, Los Lobos, was arrested at his home in the coastal city of Portoviejo. The U.S. last year declared Los Lobos to be the largest drug trafficking organization in Ecuador. Democratic-backed candidate wins record-breaking Wisconsin Supreme Court seat From the archives: Val Kilmer as Mark Twain Eric Adams reacts to judge dismissing corruption case with prejudice
CBS News
02-04-2025
- CBS News
Leader of notorious Ecuador drug gang who vanished from prison cell is indicted in U.S.
The leader of a violent Ecuadorian gang has been indicted in New York City on charges he imported thousands of pounds of cocaine into the United States, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. José Adolfo Macías Villamar — whose nickname is "Fito" — has led Los Choneros and its "network of assassins and drug and weapon traffickers" since at least 2020, U.S. Attorney John Durham said in a news release . "The defendant was a ruthless leader and prolific drug trafficker for a violent transnational criminal organization," he said. The seven-count indictment unsealed in Brooklyn charges Villamar and an unidentified co-defendant with international cocaine distribution, conspiracy and weapons counts, including smuggling firearms from the United States. Macias Villamar is not in U.S. custody, authorities said. In January 2024, he was discovered missing from his prison cell in Quito, Ecuador, where he was serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking. A 60-day state of emergency was declared after his escape, the BBC reported . Last year, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on the gang Los Choneros as well as Macias Villamar. Earlier this month, the Ecuadorian government announced that the reward for the capture of Macias Villamar would be increased to $1 million. Los Choneros is one of 20 criminal gangs declared "terrorist groups" by Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa, who has led a war on drug gangs blamed for a surge in violent crime in the once-peaceful South American country. Noboa declared a state of emergency and deployed troops in the streets and violence-riddled prisons, resulting in a slight dip in homicide rates in 2024 from the previous year. The president took action last year after gunmen stormed and opened fire in a TV studio and bandits threatened random executions of civilians and security forces. A prosecutor investigating the assault was later shot dead . Earlier this year, a leader of one of Ecuador's biggest crime syndicates, Los Lobos, was arrested at his home in the coastal city of Portoviejo. The U.S. last year declared Los Lobos to be the largest drug trafficking organization in Ecuador.
Washington Post
02-04-2025
- Washington Post
Fugitive leader of violent Ecuadorian drug gang is indicted in New York City
NEW YORK — The fugitive leader of a violent Ecuadorian gang that relied on hitmen, bribes and military weapons to do business has been indicted in New York City on charges he imported thousands of pounds of cocaine into the United States, authorities said Wednesday. José Adolfo Macías Villamar escaped from a prison in Ecuador last year and is not in U.S. custody, federal prosecutors said. He led Los Choneros and its 'network of assassins and drug and weapon traffickers' since at least 2020.
