President Luis Abinader has expressed the solidarity of the Dominican Republic with President Daniel Noboa of Ecuador whose new government is confronted by escalating gang violence.
The bloody drug war is said to be behind the armed gangs that seek to control the country. New President Daniel Noboa won the Presidency promising to reduce violence and create jobs in Ecuador.
President Noboa had declared a 60-day state of emergency on Monday, 8 January 2024 following the escape of Los Choneros criminal gang leader Adolfo Macias from the Guayaquil prison where he was serving a 34-year sentence. Los Choneros is the country’s biggest gang. Gangs reportedly control prisons, have a hold in the Police and engage in bombings leading to rising crime.
On Monday, 8 January, gunmen with explosives stormed a TV station. Police eventually rescued the TV staff and arrested the 13 men who burst into the live broadcast with long-range guns, grenades and dynamites.
According to Reuters, security in Ecuador has been worsening since the coronavirus pandemic, which also brutally battered the economy.
Reuters reports that the violent deaths nationally rose to 8,008 in 2023, nearly double the 2022 figure of over 4,500.
Aljazeera reports that the situation worsened after Mexican and Colombian cartels have become involved in Ecuador.
The violent gangs are said to have assassinated a strongly anti-corruption candidate into the 2023 presidential election.
The Ecuador government blames the situation on the growing reach of cocaine-trafficking gangs, who have destabilized swathes of the Americas, as reported in Reuters.
Read more:
N Digital
Reuters
Aljazeera
Listin Diario
Listin Diario
11 January 2024