How Ecuador governor turned ‘no-go’ zone city around in just 26 days

Published

2 years ago

February 28, 2024

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The mile-long strip in Ecuador’s port city of Esmeraldas is rocking to the sound of Latin beats and laughter.

The main road on the beachfront is bordered by the blue sea and white sands of the Pacific Ocean on one side, and packed bars and restaurants on the other. It’s summertime, it’s carnival, and it’s party time.

The hotels have somewhere over 70% occupancy and in the best restaurants one has to queue for a table, albeit while nursing an ice-cold cocktail as you wait.

This could be any hot tourist destination, from Rio de Janeiro to the Caribbean, to Florida, to Spain. I’m fortunate enough to have visited all of them.

There is a difference here though.

As one crosses the road to get an ice cream, for example, you have to make sure you aren’t in the way of a patrol of heavily armed, balaclava-wearing, body-armoured marines who are a constant presence – sometimes patrolling in their vehicles, sometimes on foot.

It looks normal, it feels normal, but it isn’t.

The city of Esmeraldas, and Ecuador as a whole, is at war with the drug gangs, and while the security forces are winning at the moment, the war is anything but over.

Just a few weeks ago Esmeraldas was a no-go zone, indeed even now very few international journalists or foreigners have visited this coastal city.

The beaches and streets were empty then, and hotels had near zero occupancy.

Restaurants were shut and bars were open to just a few regulars.

Violence and insurrection spread across Ecuador

The drug gangs and their Mexican cartel bosses were murdering people, exploding car bombs, and promising insurrection after the president of Ecuador put in place a nationwide crackdown on their business interests and their complete disregard for the rule of law – even democracy.

Daniel Noboa, the 36-year-old president of Ecuador, launched the crackdown after notorious drug gangster Adolfo “Fito” Macias escaped from prison in Guayaquil.

Violence and insurrection spread across the country after his escape, and Esmeraldas quickly became a big problem. Its murder rate spiked, making it one of the most dangerous cities in the world at the time.

‘They aren’t afraid anymore, they are free’

President Noboa needed someone to sort it out. He made the call one morning.

The man who answered was the retired former police chief of Esmeraldas, now living in the United States.

The president said he needed help. The man he rang nodded his agreement, hung up, told his wife, and took the next flight home to Ecuador.

I met Javier Buitron beside the sea in Esmeraldas, his bodyguards a constant presence.

He is now the governor of Esmeraldas.

“People didn’t leave their houses, they were scared they would be killed,” he told me.

“Now I am happy because they aren’t afraid anymore, they are free, the people are free and are now enjoying this place, in the bars, enjoying the streets, and now enjoying the beach.”

Authorities regain control

Working alongside the police and the military, Mr Buitron is credited with turning this whole place around in just 26 days.

The authorities now have control of the streets. They have also regained control of the local prison, and officers and soldiers can enter neighbourhoods they couldn’t go into before including an area where the gangs had aligned themselves to the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels from Mexico.

Before, Mr Buitron said, for a few grim weeks, bodies were hanging from bridges in that part of Esmeraldas, a tell-tale sign of the presence of Mexico’s most powerful cartels in these very neighbourhoods.

Residents celebrate changes

I visited the area and spoke to the residents, who said it was a nightmare, and that they were happy things were changing.

“I feel very grateful personally, because here before, at this time of the day, you couldn’t even be out here, bullets would rain down from the other side, from side to side, but now you see, we are calm, we are at peace,” a man named Leonardo told me, speaking from his front door.

His neighbour Andrea agreed: “Things have gotten a lot better, it has changed a lot,” she said. “Now you can go around, you no longer hear shootings like before, you don’t hear that anymore, it has changed a lot.”

Governor makes sure he is visible among public

Even though the gangs want the governor dead, he makes sure he is present and visible, day and night – with permanent security at his side.

People here in Esmeraldas treat him like a rockstar.

At the beachfront we can’t walk for more than 10 minutes or so at a time on the main promenade without someone stopping him to talk, ask for a selfie, or simply say thanks.

I have never seen a politician treated with so much reverence before.

He said seeing people this happy makes him happy, and it encourages him to keep going.

“We need to recover people’s faith, we need to recover the economy, and we need good things for people, opportunities,” he said.

“Every day we are working, we don’t have time to rest, we have to work hard every day, because I am here to solve problems.”

World

Russia ‘making concessions’ and Ukraine ‘happy’ with peace deal talks, says Trump

Published

8 hours ago

November 26, 2025

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Russia 'making concessions' and Ukraine 'happy' with peace deal talks, says Trump

Donald Trump has claimed Russia is “making concessions” in talks to end the Ukraine war – and that Kyiv is “happy” with how talks are progressing.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One as he flew out to his Florida estate for Thanksgiving, Mr Trump said “we’re making progress” on a deal and said he would be willing to meet with both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy once they are close to an agreement.

He also said his previously announced deadline of Thursday, which is Thanksgiving, was no longer in place – and that the White House’s initial 28-point peace plan, which sparked such concern in Kyiv, “was just a map”.

Asked if Ukraine had been asked to hand over too much territory, Mr Trump suggested that “over the next couple of months [that] might be gotten by Russia anyway”.

Moscow’s concessions are a promise to stop fighting, “and they don’t take any more land”, he said.

“The deadline for me is when it’s over,” he added. “And I think everybody’s tired of fighting at this moment.”

Before boarding the plane, Mr Trump claimed only a few “points of disagreement” remain between the two sides.

Mr Trump’s negotiator Steve Witkoff will be meeting with Mr Putin in Moscow next week, the president said, while American army secretary Daniel Driscoll is due to travel to Kyiv for talks this week.

The chief of Ukraine’s presidential staff, Andriy Yermak, wrote: “Ukraine has never been and will never be an obstacle to peace. We are grateful to the US for all its support.

“The meeting between the presidents will be thoroughly and promptly prepared on our part.”

Zelenskyy warns against ‘behind our back’ deal

Yesterday, a virtual “coalition of the willing” meeting that featured Ukraine’s allies took place, which was attended by US secretary of state Marco Rubio.

In a speech, Mr Zelenskyy told attendees: “We firmly believe security decisions about Ukraine must include Ukraine, security decisions about Europe must include Europe.

“Because when something is decided behind the back of a country or its people, there is always a high risk it simply won’t work.”

A joint statement from coalition leaders Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, and Friedrich Merz said they had agreed with Mr Rubio “to accelerate joint work” with the US on the planning of security guarantees for Ukraine.

But a Ukrainian diplomat has warned major sticking points remain in the peace deal being thrashed out – primarily the prospect of territorial concessions.

A warning from the Kremlin

Meanwhile, Moscow has stressed that it will not allow any agreement to stray too far from its own objectives.

Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov warned any amended peace plan must reflect the understanding reached between Mr Trump and Mr Putin over the summer.

“If the spirit and letter of Anchorage is erased in terms of the key understandings we have established then, of course, it will be a fundamentally different situation,” he said, referring to the two leaders’ meeting in Alaska.

As negotiations continue, so have Russian attacks, with Kyiv hit by a barrage of missiles and hundreds of drones early yesterday morning.

Seven people were killed with power and heating systems disrupted, as residents sheltered underground.

Meanwhile, three people died and homes were damaged after Ukraine launched an attack on southern Russia.

‘A critical juncture’

French President Emmanuel Macron has said peace efforts are gathering momentum, but “are clearly at a critical juncture”.

And during the annual White House turkey pardon ahead of Thanksgiving, Mr Trump told reporters: “I think we’re getting close to a deal. We’ll find out.

“I thought that would have been an easier one, but I think we’re making progress.”

World

Trump’s peace plan had Russian fingerprints all over it – and now we know why

Published

9 hours ago

November 26, 2025

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Trump's peace plan had Russian fingerprints all over it - and now we know why

In this story, there’s no substitute for hard news.

To learn of US envoy Steve Witkoff and his Russian interactions is to understand the handbrake turn towards Moscow.

If there was much surprise and confusion about the origins of a peace proposal that had Russian fingerprints all over it, there is less now.

The Bloomberg report of Witkoff’s recent involvement distills eye-watering detail of his contact with Yuri Ushakov, Vladimir Putin’s senior adviser on foreign policy.

Among the revelations, it tells of the American advising the Russian on dealing with Trump.

In a phone call last month, Witkoff told Ushakov that Zelenskyy was coming to visit the White House, and suggested Putin speak to Trump beforehand.

Witkoff reportedly said: “The president will give me a lot of space and discretion to get to the deal.”

He spoke of Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan and suggested that “maybe we do the same thing with you”.

A good impression of a useful idiot

Subsequently, Witkoff drafted the controversial peace proposal with his Russian counterparts, and the US pressured Ukraine to accept it.

The report paints an unflattering picture of Trump’s envoy doing a good impression of a useful idiot.

There must be serious questions surrounding his engagement with the Russians and serious concerns around consequences that are potentially catastrophic.

Moscow’s threat to Ukraine and to the security infrastructure of Western Europe is strengthened on his handshake.

He’ll press the flesh in Russia once more – Donald Trump is sending Witkoff back to Moscow for further talks aimed at bridging the Ukraine-Russia impasse.

Scandal isn’t what it used to be

Putin has given the Americans little to no encouragement around their reworked plan and Kyiv will shudder at what Trump’s “Mr Fixit” might fix next.

They will despair of his continued involvement at any level and what it says about Trump’s perspective and where his loyalties lie.

In any other job, Witkoff might have been sacked for being irredeemably compromised.

At any other time, this would have been viewed, universally, as a major scandal.

But under Donald Trump, scandal isn’t what it used to be.

The president and his point man continue to consort with Vladimir Putin.

On the evidence of Steve Witkoff’s interaction, the power dynamic leans less Trump than we might have thought.

World

Venezuela: Maduro brandishes sword and vows to defy any US attempt to overthrow his government

Published

10 hours ago

November 26, 2025

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Venezuela: Maduro brandishes sword and vows to defy any US attempt to overthrow his government

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has vowed to defy any US attempt to overthrow his government – telling crowds that “failure is not an option”.

The 63-year-old brandished a sword as he addressed supporters during a march in Caracas, against a backdrop of growing tensions with Donald Trump’s administration.

Dressed in camouflage fatigues, Mr Maduro said: “We must be ready to defend every inch of this blessed land from imperialist threat or aggression, no matter where it comes from.”

Since September, US military forces have been conducting a series of strikes against vessels suspected of drug trafficking in international waters, killing at least 80 people.

Washington has claimed that several of these boats had departed from Venezuela, with Mr Maduro describing the deployment as an assault on the nation’s sovereignty.

‘Stop this madness’

Yesterday, Cuba also accused the US of seeking a violent overthrow of Mr Maduro’s government – and called its military presence in the region “exaggerated and aggressive”.

The country’s foreign minister, Bruno Rodriguez, said ousting Venezuela’s leader would be extremely dangerous and irresponsible, not to mention a violation of international law.

He added: “We appeal to the people of the United States to stop this madness. The US government could cause an incalculable number of deaths and create a scenario of violence and instability in the hemisphere that would be unimaginable.”

Reports suggest the US is planning to launch a new phase of Venezuela-related operations in the coming days.

Critics have questioned the legality of America’s campaign and argue it amounts to extrajudicial killings, with a recent poll suggesting just 29% of voters support this policy.

Officials within Maduro’s government have claimed that Washington’s actions are being driven by economic motives.

Venezuelan minister Delcy Rodriguez said: “They want Venezuela’s oil and gas reserves. For nothing, without paying. They want Venezuela’s gold.

“They want Venezuela’s diamonds, iron, bauxite. They want Venezuela’s natural resources.”

Donald Trump, like his predecessor Joe Biden, does not recognise Mr Maduro as the country’s leader.

He is currently on his third term after being declared the winner of last year’s presidential election, despite evidence that the opposition defeated him by a two-to-one margin.

Mr Maduro and senior officials have been repeatedly accused of human rights violations against real and perceived government opponents.

Earlier this week, the US designated Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles – Cartel of the Suns in English – as a foreign terrorist organisation for importing illegal drugs to the States.

The Trump administration has claimed that Maduro is part of this group, but Venezuelan officials have described its mere existence as a “ridiculous fabrication”.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One as he travelled to Florida for Thanksgiving, the president suggested he might be planning to talk to Mr Maduro.

“If we can save lives, if we can do things the easy way, that’s fine,” the US president said. “And if we have to do it the hard way, then that’s fine too.”

Carlos Diaz Rosillo, a former US deputy assistant secretary of defence during the first Trump administration, does not believe America will go to war with Venezuela.

He told The World With Dominic Waghorn: “What I do see is a strategy of maximum pressure on the regime. I do think if there’s any change, that change has to come from within the military.”

Dr Rosillo said the official position of the US government is not regime change, but Mr Trump would like to see that happen in Venezuela.