Almost at the end of 2023, Ecuador registers 7,258 homicides in its territory, which has made this year the most violent in the country’s history. This increase in crime is attributed to disputes between gangs over territories for micro-trafficking and other crimes.
According to projections from the Police and Security Observatories, the number of deaths due to violence might exceed 7,600 by the end of the year. With this, Ecuador might end 2023 with a rate of 44.9 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, the worst record in its history and which would also make it the most violent country in the region.
The security expert, Fernando Carrión, mentioned in an interview that homicides have escalated to such levels that “Ecuador is emerging as the most violent country in Latin America” and, furthermore, “it would be at the level of Caribbean countries following the Caribbean Islands.” Turks and Caicos, and Jamaica. In that context, he pointed out that violence is Ecuador’s main problem with a very strong social impact.
Carrión highlighted that drug trafficking is one of the main axes in the increase in violence, which costs Ecuador approximately $2.3 billion dollars. He attributes this increase in drug trafficking to the country’s location, due to its borders with Colombia and Peru, the two largest producers of cocaine in the world, as well as its exit through the Pacific and Amazon River Basins to send tons to Europe and North America.
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