Can Ecuador free itself from the grasp of the drug lords?
Prosecutors are facing murder and obstruction to clean up the rot in the state
Not since Pablo Escobar’s tyrannical reign from Medellín has a South American country found itself so tightly in the grip of drug gangs. Ecuador is in a state of emergency. Its murder rate is the highest in Latin America. The army is on the streets after gangsters rioted in early January, setting off car-bombs and murdering prison guards. Over 2,500 people have been arrested in response. Laura Richardson, who commands the United States armed forces’ activities in Latin America, arrived on January 22nd in Quito, the capital, as part of a delegation offering assistance.
This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “Fighting metastasis”
From the January 27th 2024 edition
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