GameChangers 2024: Ecuador Finds Victory Elusive in ‘War on Gangs’
Ecuador became the latest Latin American nation to turn to a militarized response to combat organized crime in 2024. But…
GameChangers 2024: Resistance to Organized Crime Withers
Welcome to GameChangers 2024, where we chronicle the major stories and trend lines of the last 12 months and preview…
The Prison Mafias: Ecuador’s Criminal Axis
Organized crime in Ecuador today operates on several levels. At the upper echelons are the drug traffickers who control Ecuador’s…
The Evolution of Ecuador’s Prison Crisis
Over the last five years, Ecuador has been engulfed in violence and a criminal chaos unprecedented in its modern history.…
Ecuador’s Prison Business
The moment a person enters Ecuador’s prison system, they become a resource to be exploited by organized crime and corrupt…
Ecuador Profile
Ecuador is one of the region’s most significant drug trafficking hubs, used to dispatch Colombian and Peruvian cocaine to Europe,…
Massacres Surge as Gangs Atomize in Ecuador
A recent series of massacres in Ecuador is further evidence that more access to high-powered weapons, heightened impunity, and an…
The Rise and Fall of El Negro Willy, Ecuador’s Prison-Guard Mafia Boss
The first sign that armed gang members had invaded a TV station in Guayaquil came when two masked youths appeared…
Jailhouse Massacre in Ecuador Illustrates Rapid Criminal Evolution
A recent massacre inside Ecuador’s largest and most violent prison is an ominous sign that the country’s multiple criminal organizations…
Will Costa Rica Follow the Same Criminal Path as Ecuador?
High levels of violence indicate how once-peaceful Costa Rica is feeling the tightening grip of cocaine trafficking. But is the…