Ecuador: Gang-ruled prisons, assassinated politicians and a drug lord’s killing

Published

2 years ago

September 3, 2023

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A mass hostage taking in Ecuador’s gang-ruled prisons and the assassination of a politician are the latest bloody episodes in a country gripped by the cocaine trade.

The South American nation has descended into violence in recent years, with the government shown to be weak in the face of increasingly brutal drug cartels.

Earlier this week inmates in six different prisons took dozens of guards and police hostage for more than a day, while outside the walls explosions went off across the country.

The 50 guards and seven officers were eventually let go and were reported to be safe – but the circumstances under which they were released are unclear.

The government believes members of criminal gangs inside the prisons carried out the violence in response to efforts to take back control of several jails – relocating inmates and seizing weapons.

Authorities have also pointed to a power vacuum created by the killing of a druglord known as Rasquina three years ago as pouring fuel on the fire, but experts say the problem goes back much further…

‘A wave of retaliation that ended up claiming his life’

Security analyst Daniel Ponton believes this week’s violence is intended to generate fear among the population – and influence politics.

He said the attacks were “systematic and clearly planned” and showed the state was ineffective at preventing violence.

Ecuador is set to elect a new president in a run-off vote next month, but one of the prominent candidates was assassinated before the first round.

Fernando Villavicencio had made clear he was willing to challenge organised crime – and had a plan to do it.

The former journalist had proposed militarising Ecuador’s ports and taking back control of the prisons, Will Freeman, a political scientist at the Council on Foreign Relations thinktank, told Sky News.

“In a sense his proposals set off a wave of retaliation that ended up claiming his life,” Mr Freeman said.

Mr Villavicencio had accused the Los Choneros cartel and its imprisoned leader, Adolfo Macias, of threatening him and his campaign team days before the assassination.

Competition over drug routes through Ecuador

Ecuador is a “drug trafficker’s paradise” sandwiched between the world’s two largest producers of coca (the plant from which cocaine is derived), Mr Freeman says.

Amounts of cocaine seized in the country – which notably do not include the amount that evades authorities – have skyrocketed in recent years.

The national currency is dollars which makes it ideal for cartels wanting to launder money, he added.

“Narcotrafficking didn’t begin yesterday in Ecuador,” he said. “It’s being going on since the ’90s, 2000s.”

But he says it used to be under the control of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), who had a monopoly.

But when FARC laid down their weapons as part of a peace agreement in 2016, things changed.

Since then, control over the drug routes across the Ecuador-Colombia border has been a competition among several groups, Dr Annette Idler, an associate professor of global security at the University of Oxford, told Sky News.

Mexican drug cartels, present in Ecuador since the 1990s, have also taken advantage of the situation, she said.

She added: “Another factor is domestic groups that are the ones we’ve seen involved in the prison violence, they’ve become more professionalised.

“There’s a lot of competition over drug trafficking routes that go from Colombia via Ecuador to the US and that then has led to those unprecedented levels of violence in the country.”

Death of a drug lord

Ecuadorian authorities have suggested that some of the recent violence stems from the power vacuum created by the assassination of Jorge Luis Zambrano, the leader of Los Choneros.

Asked if this was the case, both Mr Freeman and Dr Idler said it played a role but was part of a much bigger picture.

Zambrano, known by his nickname Rasquina, led the cartel as it took over much of the drug trade left by the demobilisation of FARC.

Mr Freeman said: “When he was taken out there began to be more intense fighting between Los Choneros and their rivals, and also within Los Choneros among mid-level commanders for control of the organisation – fighting which continues to this day.”

“That explains some of the violence”, Dr Idler told Sky News. But she added: “It’s just a smaller piece of a much larger picture, which is much more about the geopolitical landscape and the security landscape that is about the cocaine.

“So it’s much more about understanding how those different types of illicit flows, the cocaine flows, the weapons that are being trafficked… how they are shaping the ways in which different types of groups try to have control over the territory.”

Asked what the solution is to the crisis, Dr Idler says the problem cannot be solved by Ecuador alone.

Instead, she says, it needs to be a regional approach with investment in development, sustainability and building capacity across multiple countries.

World

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov says US and Moscow moving in ‘right direction’ for Ukraine peace

Published

4 hours ago

April 25, 2025

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Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov says US and Moscow moving in 'right direction' for Ukraine peace

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has said the US and Russia are moving in the “right direction” to end the war in Ukraine.

“We are ready to reach a deal, but there are still some specific points – elements of this deal which need to be fine-tuned,” Mr Lavrov told CBS News’ Face The Nation show, which will air on Sunday.

“We continue our contacts with the American side on the situation in Ukraine, there are several signs that we are moving in the right direction.”

It comes after Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv came under the largest attack since July last year with at least 12 people killed and more than 100 injured.

Ukraine’s air force said a total of 215 drones and missiles were launched at the country by Russia on Wednesday night, with Kyiv among the areas worst hit.

Ukrainian officials said rescuers were still recovering bodies from the rubble.

The strikes triggered a reaction by Mr Trump, who posted on his Truth Social platform saying: “I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV.

“Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE!”

The US president was then asked about the Russian attacks while hosting Norway’s prime minister in the Oval Office, and said he “wasn’t happy” but insisted “we’re putting a lot of pressure on Russia”.

He was also asked about Crimea following reports that his peace plan includes the US acknowledging Moscow’s control of the territory.

Mr Trump admitted it would be “very difficult” for Ukraine to get the territory back, but reiterated his belief that “we’re getting close to a deal”.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio said the US wanted to see both Ukraine and Russia step up to finalise a deal and further discussions were planned for the weekend.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeated many times that recognising occupied territory as Russia’s is a red line for his country.

Speaking about the airstrikes, he said: “It is very important that everyone in the world sees and understands what is really happening.”

Mr Zelenskyy was on a visit to South Africa when the missiles hit his country, prompting him to cut the trip short.

He said preliminary information indicated that Russia “used a ballistic missile manufactured in North Korea” and Ukraine’s special services were verifying the details.

He added if the missile was found to have been made in North Korea, it would be further proof “of the criminal nature of the alliance between Russia and Pyongyang”.

World

A ‘barbaric’ 24 hours in the ‘horrendous’ Russia-Ukraine war leaves Donald Trump’s peace plan in tatters

Published

13 hours ago

April 24, 2025

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A 'barbaric' 24 hours in the 'horrendous' Russia-Ukraine war leaves Donald Trump's peace plan in tatters

Events in Ukraine over the last 24 hours have been utterly barbaric. Bad even by the standards of this horrendous war.

Multiple Iranian drones and North Korean missiles laden with explosives brought carnage to swathes of the country, killing yet more civilians.

This was Russia’s answer to President Donald Trump’s peace plan and ultimatum. Normally, strangely reluctant to criticise Russia, even Trump was moved to implore Vladimir Putin to “STOP”.

Ukraine latest – Trump unhappy with Putin

But in truth, throughout Trump’s Ukraine peace process – if it can be called that – most of America’s pressure has been on Ukraine.

The peace plan that has emerged from direct US talks, which were mainly with Russia, is one-sided, and to Ukraine and its European partners, it is a surrender plan which is impossible for Ukraine to accept.

Even Russia’s supporter in this war, China, has problems with it, in particular with America’s proposal that Russia is rewarded for its invasion with sovereignty of Crimea.

Far from heading towards a peace deal, we are now, it seems, careering towards a crunch point that could see America give up on Ukraine completely, possibly blaming Kyiv for failure and renewing relations with Moscow.

Might will be proven right, and Vladimir Putin will be emboldened to do it all over again in a few years, possibly against other countries too. That is the fear in chancelleries across Europe.

There are two key questions now.

Does Trump mean he will walk away from trying to broker peace or supporting Ukraine entirely?

And if he does, can Ukraine carry on without US help?

European nations have said they will carry on supporting Ukraine. They see its survival and victory as essential for their own security.

They already give Ukraine €40bn in financial and military help. Ukraine would need another €20bn or so to fill the US gap – not that tall an order.

And they are beefing up their defence industries to do more to give Ukraine what it needs to fight Russia.

Ukraine’s defence increasingly depends on a homegrown drone industry, which doesn’t rely on American backing.

But Ukraine does need US intelligence, aerial defence support and satellite coverage provided by Starlink.

Were they to lose all that, they could be in trouble.

What exactly Trump does if and, as seems increasingly likely, when his deal fails, he is not making clear.

But what seems certain is America is caring less and less for Ukraine’s plight under this president.

That poses some urgent and pressing questions for Europe.

Its leaders have always said they will support Ukraine “whatever it takes, as long as it takes”.

Do they have the political will and unity to do that, even without America by their side?

World

Pakistan halts trade and India revokes visas as retaliatory measures ramp up after Kashmir killings

Published

1 day ago

April 24, 2025

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Pakistan halts trade and India revokes visas as retaliatory measures ramp up after Kashmir killings

Pakistan has halted trade and India has revoked visas as tit-for-tat retaliatory actions ramp up between the two powers after an attack in Kashmir that killed 26 people.

The victims were mostly Indian tourists who had been visiting Pahalgam, a popular tourist destination in the Indian-held part of the territory, which both nuclear-armed nations claim as their own.

In response to the attack, India closed a border crossing, suspended a water-sharing treaty and downgraded diplomatic ties with Pakistan – which it blames for the assault.

The Indian government did not publicly produce any evidence connecting the attack to its neighbour, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan.

Pakistan has denied the accusations and a previously unknown militant group calling itself Kashmir Resistance has claimed responsibility.

On Thursday, India’s foreign ministry said all visas issued to Pakistani nationals would be revoked, effective from Sunday.

It also advised Indian citizens not to travel to Pakistan and announced other measures including cutting the number of diplomatic staff and closing the only functional land border crossing between the nations.

In return, Pakistan said it was closing its airspace to all Indian-owned and operated airlines and suspending all trade with India – including to and from any third country.

Similarly, it also announced the cancellation of all visas under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme – which allows some people to have a “Special Travel” document exempting them from visas.

‘Act of war’

The moves are just the latest escalation of tensions between the two, as Pakistan warned that any suspension of water supplies by India would be viewed as an “act of war”.

Both Pakistan and India saw protesters turn out on the streets, calling on their respective governments to go further.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a meeting of the National Security Committee to respond to India’s measures.

He warned that any attempt to disrupt the Indus Waters Treaty would be met with “full force” from Pakistan.

The landmark treaty has so far survived two wars between the countries, in 1965 and 1971, as well as a major border skirmish in 1999.

It allows for a water-sharing system that is a lifeline for both countries – in particular for Pakistan’s agriculture.

‘Ends of the Earth’

It comes after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to pursue those responsible for the attack “to the ends of the Earth”.

Speaking on Thursday at a public meeting in the eastern state of Bihar, he said: “I say to the whole world, India will identify, track, and punish every terrorist and their backers.

“We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth.”

Police in Indian Kashmir published notices on Thursday naming three suspected militants it claimed were “involved in” the attack.

Two of the three suspects were Pakistani nationals, according to the notice.

A contested Kashmir

India and Pakistan each administer a part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety.

The region has a long, volatile and complex history.

Recent years has seen India claim that violence in the area has calmed – despite a bloody rebellion against New Delhi raging for decades.

India claims the militancy in Kashmir is Pakistan-backed terrorism.

Pakistan denies this. In a statement Thursday, the country said it supported the self-determination of the Kashmiri people.

Many Muslim Kashmiris, in a Muslim-majority territory, consider the militants part of a home-grown struggle for freedom.

Diplomatic relations between the two were already weak before the latest escalation as Pakistan had expelled India’s envoy after India revoked the semi-autonomous status of Kashmir in 2019.

This deepened tensions in the region but things have largely held stable after the two countries renewed a previous ceasefire agreement in 2021.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in Kashmir since the uprising began in 1989, but violence has tapered off in recent years and tourism has surged in the scenic region.

Until the most recent episode, tourists have not been the targets of such attacks.