Podcast | A Marked House: Extortion in Ecuador

About this Episode

Andrés and Juliana loved living in Durán. It’s where they bought their house, raised their kids, and had their small business. But when masked extortionists shot five bullets at their home over the Holidays in 2023, their feelings for their city changed from love to fear. What followed was a complex negotiation with one of Ecuador’s most feared criminal groups, the Chone Killers, as well as a reminder of just how far Durán—and Ecuador—have fallen.

By telling the couple’s story, InSight Crime illustrates how organized crime’s rise in Ecuador is about more than just cocaine and gang wars. It has ruptured the very fabric of Ecuadorian society, breaking bonds between neighbors, stifling small business, and encouraging isolation and fear.

Transcript

Steven:

Context: Extortion in Ecuador Over the Last Decade

In a few short years, the coastal Ecuadorian city of Durán, located adjacent to the metropolis of Guayaquil, transformed from a sleepy suburb to one of the most violent places in Ecuador. A rise in drug trafficking, the pandemic, uneven development, and a number of other factors bolstered gangs’ ranks and incentivized clashes between them.

The two biggest perpetrators of the violence, the Chone Killers and the Latin Kings, earn millions in drug dealing, kidnapping, and extortion in Durán’s neighborhoods. Extortion has had an especially strong impact on Durán residents, with small businesses and individual households subject to threats and exorbitant demands totaling thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars.

The rise of these gangs has ruptured the city’s sense of community, or tejido social. Residents alter their daily patterns to avoid being in public. Distrust between neighbors fosters isolation. Families keep children inside fearing they could become victims of violence or gang recruitment. In short, Durán is a place where locals reside, instead of live.

This podcast is the product of extensive, on-the-ground reporting in Ecuador in recent years. Read more about Durán by reading our 2024 investigation, “Durán: A Window into Ecuador’s Organized Crime Explosion.” For more on the rise of Ecuador’s organized crime groups inside the prison system, check out the investigation “Behind Bars, Beyond Control: The Fall of Ecuador’s Prisons and the Rise of Its Mafias.” Follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on organized crime developments in Ecuador.

Special Thanks

To Andrés* and Juliana* for sharing their story with us.
To InSight Crime’s reporting, graphic design, social media, editing, and administration teams.