Drug seizures, mainly cocaine, are constant and substantial in Ecuador. In 2021, 210 tons were seized, and in this year 2022, the total still rose to 196 tons. These figures are both reassuring and worrying, since they show the effectiveness of the anti-drug department, but also the growing role of the country in trafficking.
With our correspondent in Ecuador, Eric Samson
On December 21, two tonnes of cocaine were seized from a semi-submersible near the Galapagos. At Christmas, two more tonnes bound for France were caught in a container at the port of Guayaquil. And another ton on Saturday, December 31 in a mini submarine. It’s almost routine according to General Victor Herrera, who commanded the northern border area of the Ecuadorian police earlier this year.
” Just under 1 200 tons of cocaine were produced in 2020 in Colombia, 42% of which in the border departments of Putumayo and Nariño. Our country is therefore the natural way out of drugs, which causes disputes over territory. he says.
Horrible rise in drug-related killings
The actors are more varied, but still just as dangerous, according to Colonel Mario Pazmiño, former director of intelligence for the Ecuadorian army. ” Present are the dissidents and part of the FARC guerrillas, the second Marquetalia, the National Liberation Army, mexican cartels from Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation and two new groups from Brazil “, he believes.
As a result, violence and murders are increasing in Ecuador: 4,500 last year, twice as many as in 2021. 83% are linked to drug trafficking.
►Also read: Corpses hanged along a bridge: in Ecuador, violence reaches record levels