{"id":347762,"date":"2026-07-23T18:28:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T23:28:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/?p=347762"},"modified":"2026-07-24T17:29:33","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T22:29:33","slug":"podcast-una-casa-marcada-extorsion-ecuador","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/audio-es\/insight-crime-espanol\/podcast-una-casa-marcada-extorsion-ecuador\/","title":{"rendered":"P\u00f3dcast | Una casa marcada: extorsi\u00f3n en Ecuador"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover alignwide is-light has-parallax wp-duotone-unset-1\" style=\"min-height:495px;aspect-ratio:unset;\"><div class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-267354 has-parallax\" style=\"background-position:50% 50%;background-image:url(https:\/\/insightcrime-clone.newspackstaging.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/mapa-latam-podcast-insight-crime-from-the-ground-up-solo-sin-texto.jpg)\"><\/div><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-background-dim-90 has-background-dim\" style=\"background-color:#fffbe8\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-cover-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div style=\"height:8px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns alignwide has-large-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-3aa1daa7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\" style=\"padding-right:0;padding-left:0\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"padding-right:0;padding-left:0;flex-basis:30%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed alignwide is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube ic-podcast-embed wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"EP01 - Una casa marcada | Espa\u00f1ol\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/K-jcr5_tWgA?list=PLTMZ7-ZtNYJGj5OFpZDyN7sBmDzSmpcJK\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"padding-right:0;padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);flex-basis:70%\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"h-\">Para Andr\u00e9s y Juliana, Dur\u00e1n era su hogar. Al menos, hasta que los extorsionadores de una de las bandas m\u00e1s poderosas de Ecuador, los \u201cChone Killers\u201d, los marcaron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-741935ff83eb298011e1a2e2cf1b672a wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#356e84;font-size:18px\"><mark style=\"background-color:#fed644\" class=\"has-inline-color has-dark-gray-color\">*Este episodio tambi\u00e9n est\u00e1 disponible en <a href=\"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/audio\/insight-crime-podcast\/a-marked-house-extortion-ecuador\/\">ingl\u00e9s<\/a>.<\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile is-style-default is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:20%\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-right alignwide\" id=\"h-escuchar\" style=\"font-size:27px\">Escuchar<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:80%\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons has-custom-font-size has-normal-font-size is-content-justification-center is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-b190f3d9 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\" style=\"padding-right:0;padding-left:0\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-fill\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-medium-gray-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLTMZ7-ZtNYJGj5OFpZDyN7sBmDzSmpcJK\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">YouTube<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-medium-gray-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/394sxYfsdL6deIP6sHp9ot\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Spotify<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-medium-gray-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/music.amazon.es\/podcasts\/f587b666-178c-4958-8fb1-d22e3841dfa7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Amazon<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-medium-gray-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/insight-crime-podcast\/id6793280449\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Apple<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:0px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:4px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-sobre-este-episodio\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sobre este episodio<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Andr\u00e9s y Juliana amaban vivir en Dur\u00e1n. All\u00ed compraron su casa, criaron a sus hijos y montaron su peque\u00f1o negocio. Cuando extorsionadores enmascarados dispararon cinco balas contra su casa durante las navidades de 2023, sus sentimientos hacia su ciudad pasaron del amor al miedo. Lo que sigui\u00f3 fue una compleja negociaci\u00f3n con uno de los grupos criminales m\u00e1s temidos de Ecuador, los Chone Killers, as\u00ed como un recordatorio de hasta qu\u00e9 punto ha llegado la violencia en Dur\u00e1n y en el pa\u00eds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">El crimen organizado en Ecuador va m\u00e1s all\u00e1 de la coca\u00edna y las guerras entre bandas. Ha desgarrado el tejido social, ha roto los lazos entre vecinos y ha asfixiado a las peque\u00f1as empresas, fomentando el aislamiento y el miedo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Transcripci\u00f3n <\/summary>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:00:01] In 2018, I went to a courthouse in San Salvador, the capital city of El Salvador. There was a case that had caught my interest, one that I thought had huge implications for the country&#8217;s future. One of the men on trial that day was Ra\u00fal Mijango. Mijango was a one-time rebel turned congressman turned gang mediator. He had been a central figure in the politics of the country and the ethical debate about an existential issue facing El Salvador: how to deal with street gangs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">True to his guerrilla roots, Mijango was of the mind that the gangs themselves had to be part of the solution, and he had dedicated the last few years of his life to that cause. But others disagreed. So much so, they vilified him after he&#8217;d brokered a temporary ceasefire between the main street gangs and the Attorney General&#8217;s Office charged him with extortion in a case involving the truce. That was the trial myself and a journalist named C\u00e9sar Fagoaga were there to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mijango had been in jail for a few months, and the day we went to talk to him, his hands and feet were cuffed. He was dressed in white shorts and a white T-shirt and wearing plastic Crocs. During a break, C\u00e9sar and I got a chance to speak with him. The courtroom was about the size of a small classroom. Two prison guards led Mijango to one side, and he sat down on a row of plastic seats fastened to a long black metal bar. We nudged our way closer and sat down, flanking him on two adjacent seats. His face, which used to be a radiant glow of brown behind a soft white Fu Manchu, had become pale. He was, he told us in not so many words, dying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mijango: <\/strong>[00:01:56] <em>Ya estoy viejo. Me funciona solo el 30% de mis ri\u00f1ones &#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:02:02] I&#8217;m old he said to us. Only 30% of my kidneys work. I have severe diabetes, thyroid problems, ulcers in my stomach and lately, because of the diabetes, I&#8217;ve lost 60% of my sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mijango: <\/strong>[00:02:17] <em>Se me ha bajado casi el 60% de la visi\u00f3n.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:02:21] It was sad. What Mijango thought was going to be his crowning achievement \u2014 making possible an almost impossible gang truce \u2014 had turned into his funeral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mijango: <\/strong>[00:02:32] <em>Yo siempre he dicho, quiero a este pa\u00eds. No s\u00e9 si el pa\u00eds me quiere a m\u00ed.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:02:37] I&#8217;ve always said \u00abI love this country,\u00bb he added. \u00abI&#8217;m just not sure this country loves me.\u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Welcome to InSight Crime&#8217;s podcast, where we take you to the furthest reaches of the Americas to help you understand how organized crime works from the ground up. I&#8217;m your host, Steven Dudley, InSight Crime&#8217;s co-director.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this episode, with the help of C\u00e9sar Fagoaga, we explore the incredible life of Ra\u00fal Mijango, the rebel turned congressman turned gang mediator turned inmate who personified what has since become a lost cause in El Salvador: negotiating with street gangs and ironically may have been one of the first victims of a controversial hard line strategy that has since led to the incarceration of tens of thousands of Salvadorans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From the beginning, Mario Alberto Mijango, who would later take on the nom de guerre Ra\u00fal, was a dreamer and an idealist. Born in a rural town, he joined the leftist guerrillas at a young age. And by the 1980s, he was a mid-level field commander of one of the factions of what was known as the Frente Farabundo Mart\u00ed para la Liberaci\u00f3n Nacional or FMLN, the rebel umbrella group.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He was known for his stamina and his stealth operations. He trained in Nicaragua and Cuba, and carried an AK47 assault rifle he claimed Fidel Castro had given to him personally.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than anything, he was a fierce combatant. In one battle, he commanded an ambush that killed 30 government soldiers. In the late 1990s, after the ruthless civil war, the FMLN became a political party by the same name, and Ra\u00fal became a congressman but later fought with the leadership of the FMLN and eventually left the party.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ra\u00fal irked them in many ways. He was always more pragmatic social democrat than dogmatic Marxist, so it wasn&#8217;t surprising that he quickly made connections to other political parties, including one led by a military official named David Mungu\u00eda Pay\u00e9s. As it turns out it was Mungu\u00eda Pay\u00e9s who Ra\u00fal had ambushed on the battlefield, killing 30 of his soldiers. And although their joint political efforts failed at the ballot box, the two forged a relationship that would eventually spawn the gang truce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the meantime, the gang problem was getting worse. Around the time the FMLN was signing a peace agreement and becoming a political party, gang members were being deported from the United States to El Salvador by the thousands. Many of them were from Los Angeles&#8217; most notorious gangs, the Mara Salvatrucha or MS13 and the Barrio 18 or 18th Street. They had formed during El Salvador&#8217;s civil war, when hundreds of thousands fled to places like L.A. After they were deported back, it wasn&#8217;t long before these gangs usurped the local Salvadoran gangs and began systematically extorting the country&#8217;s bus companies, small stores, mechanics, and other businesses.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To deal with them, the government jailed suspected gang members en masse and what was termed <em>mano dura<\/em>, or iron fist policies. But eventually the gangs turned this strategy on its head and took control of the prisons. They started to mobilize from inside and later outside of jail. Murders skyrocketed. In 2010, El Salvador&#8217;s homicide rate was one of the highest in the world. Most of the victims were gang members themselves, as the MS13 and 18th Street squared off in a brutal tit-for-tat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By then, Mungu\u00eda Pay\u00e9s was security minister, and he had hired Ra\u00fal Mijango as a consultant for the ministry. Ra\u00fal had been arrested, although never convicted, for some petty crimes in between his stints in government. Inside jail, he\u2019d met some gang leaders. Now, outside of jail, he had a radical proposal for the guy who started out as his enemy, became his political ally, and now was his new boss, Mungu\u00eda Pay\u00e9s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mijango: <\/strong>[00:07:24] <em>Hay una mezcla de medias verdades y medias mentiras<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:07:27] When C\u00e9sar and I met with Mijango during his trial, he told us his goal in negotiating with the gangs was simple: reduce the violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mijango: <\/strong>[00:07:36] <em>Qu\u00e9 es lo que nos propusimos? Reducir violencia en el pa\u00eds.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:07:40] How did they do this? The government transferred 30 leaders of the MS13 and the 18th Street to medium security prisons, where they could reclaim their control over the rank and file members. Almost overnight, the homicide rate dropped from about 14 murders a day to about five per day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mijango: <\/strong>[00:08:00] <em>Y eso permiti\u00f3 parar la espiral de violencia.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:08:09] The drop was extraordinary. So extraordinary, Ra\u00fal told us, that others began to contact him and the other gang mediator working with him, Bishop Fabio Colindres, the military chaplain of the Catholic Church in El Salvador.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mijango: <\/strong>[00:08:25] <em>Algunos que se sent\u00edan afectados de otro tipo de delitos comenzaron a buscarnos para que le ayudaran.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:08:31] The callers were from some of the country&#8217;s most important industries, such as the transport sector and the food distribution sector. He said they were interested in lowering extortion and robberies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mijango: <\/strong>[00:08:43] <em>Qu\u00e9 posibilidades hay de que nos ayuden?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:08:45] \u00abWhat are the chances you can help me?\u00bb the callers asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mijango: <\/strong>[00:08:49] <em>Y en este caso en particular, esa empresa me llam\u00f3 a m\u00ed para plantearme lo siguiente.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:08:55] In one case in particular, he said the owners of a food distribution company at the time called him and told him that if he didn&#8217;t intervene, 400 employees would be out of a job because of the extortion of the gangs, which they said was costing them about $15,000 per month and was about to put them out of business.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This was not just any case. It was the case for which Ra\u00fal was being tried when we spoke with him.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ra\u00fal would eventually broker a telephone call between the gangs and the company, during which they negotiated a new type of arrangement. Instead of $15,000 in cash, the gangs would get $6,000 worth of what the indictment says were \u00abpre-cooked rice, beans, cooking oil, Pampers and other goods.\u00bb It was a win-win, Ra\u00fal thought. The company paid less, and its employees were safe to distribute their goods. The gang lowered its extortion rates but could make money selling the goods themselves at the open air marketplaces across El Salvador.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the indictment against Ra\u00fal tells a slightly different story.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It says it was Ra\u00fal who called the company to offer his services. And it says that Ra\u00fal benefited economically from the subsequent deal.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ra\u00fal denied these accusations. He says he simply put the sides together to talk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mijango: <\/strong>[00:10:26] <em>Igual lo hice con empresarios de transporte que llegaron y me dec\u00edan, mire \u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:10:32] He also said he and the other mediator, Bishop Colindres, mediated between the bus companies and the gangs as well, where they negotiated lower extortion rates, and that they were on the verge of getting the gangs to eliminate extortion altogether for small-time vendors and storefronts. The government, he said, should have assumed this role. But it didn&#8217;t. So he and Colindres did.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was a risky move, but one that he thought he had to take. Although violence was down, public support of the truce was waning because extortion had continued. And he thought these actions could save the agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I should stop here and say a couple of things about the truce. Although security minister Mungu\u00eda Pay\u00e9s was involved, and the government had transferred gang leaders between prisons, the truce was not officially sanctioned by the government. And although President Mauricio Funes acknowledged the truce publicly, he also distanced himself from it, putting the onus on the negotiators and his security minister. There were, in other words, no rules whatsoever about what Mijango could and could not do. This lack of clarity confused me, so I asked Ra\u00fal if anyone had authorized him to intervene in extortion cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:11:57] <em>Una pregunta: Usted en alg\u00fan momento se comunic\u00f3 con el gobierno?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He was adamant. \u00abThe government knew exactly what I was doing,\u00bb he said. He added that his office had a direct line to a police intelligence unit. Even the Attorney General&#8217;s Office knew, Mijango said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mijango: <\/strong>[00:12:18] <em>El Estado por supuesto que sab\u00eda todo<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:12:20] The government knew everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In my reporting about the truce, both before and after our meeting with Ra\u00fal, I corroborated Ra\u00fal&#8217;s account. The truce I found was something akin to what has been called in the United States street outreach or violence interruption. In the US, there are variations of this model, but all of them depend on current and ex-gang members that tried to interrupt the chains of retribution between warring gangs. In our interview with Ra\u00fal, I asked him if they had interrupters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mijango: <\/strong>[00:13:00] <em>A esos nosotros le llamamos no interruptores, sino que le llamamos facilitadores.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:13:05] He said they had 70 people who they called peace facilitators instead of interrupters, but it was basically the same model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mijango: <\/strong>[00:13:15] <em>Es una labor de apagafuegos terrible \u00bfverdad?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:13:18] These guys were like firemen, Ra\u00fal said. And there were constant fires every hour of every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mijango: <\/strong>[00:13:26] <em>Sostener un proceso de esas magnitudes no es f\u00e1cil.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:13:31] To carry out a process of this magnitude is not an easy task, he added.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although Ra\u00fal did not mention it to us, I chronicled instances when both the MS13 and 18th Street leaders killed their own members for not adhering to the truce. Maintaining the peace, it appeared, required violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The truce had other problems as well. Depending on who you asked, the payment to the gangs included not just transfers out of maximum security prisons, but bringing plasma screen TVs into the jails, giving the gangs control over the commissaries, providing gang leaders with monthly salaries, and opening the penitentiary doors to prostitutes, liquor, marijuana, and other party favors.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although homicides were still down, the truce was under fire, and as the country entered a new round of presidential elections in 2014, the top candidates distanced themselves publicly from the agreement. But behind the scenes, both the country&#8217;s largest political parties negotiated with the gangs, promising them they would continue some form of the truce if they won. In return, the gangs provided votes. The winner was a hardliner from the wing of the FMLN who had expelled Ra\u00fal from the party in the early 2000s, and despite their private campaign promises, the new administration quickly abandoned the strategy of talking to the gangs and launched an offensive against them which included, it appeared, the use of death squads who would shoot unarmed suspected gang members after they were captured. The truce was officially over.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The gangs began to target the government, ambushing police, Killing off-duty officers, assassinating prison guards, and detonating homemade explosives. Fighting also broke out between the gangs as they settled long-simmering scores. Homicides reached record levels that made El Salvador the most violent country on the planet not at war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Newscast 1: <\/strong>[00:16:00] <em>Esta es la \u00fanica imagen que se tiene hasta ahora de la captura de Ra\u00fal Mijango.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Newscast 2: <\/strong>[00:16:05] <em>Allanaron la casa del ex mediador de la Tregua, Ra\u00fal Mijango.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:16:09] It was in this context that the Attorney General&#8217;s Office filed multiple charges against Ra\u00fal and numerous gang leaders for extortion of a food processing company, the same company that he had helped to lower its extortion rate from $15,000 a month to $6,000 in products. By the time we sat down with him in that courtroom, Ra\u00fal had come full circle, going from being a guerrilla commander to being prosecuted by its political offspring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:16:42] <em>Usted en ese sentido, se siente traicionado?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I asked him if he felt betrayed by his former FMLN comrades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mijango: <\/strong>[00:16:50]<em> <\/em><em>No, jam\u00e1s. Me siento defraudado.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:16:53] No, he said, I feel defrauded. Defrauded because I believed in the government, in the country, in the idea of peace. Defrauded because the government decided that fighting the gangs with death squads was better than negotiating, that it was better to jail people en masse than to negotiate. They are, and I&#8217;m paraphrasing him now, a bunch of hypocrites. Mijango also said he thought that some of them wanted to keep the fighting going for their own economic interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mijango: <\/strong>[00:17:25] <em>La violencia en este pa\u00eds es uno de los negocios m\u00e1s lucrativos que hay.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:17:30] Violence is one of the most lucrative businesses there is, he said. And many of those with power don&#8217;t want to end that business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mijango: <\/strong>[00:17:38] <em>Estas esposas que yo tengo en las manos ahorita son la expresi\u00f3n de eso.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:17:43] \u00abThese handcuffs that you see on my wrists right now,\u00bb Mijango said. \u00abWell, they&#8217;re just a result of that hypocrisy.\u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mijango: <\/strong>[00:17:50] <em>S\u00ed tengo una lectura.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:17:52] \u00abStill, I have a theory about my incarceration,\u00bb Mijango told me and C\u00e9sar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mijango: <\/strong>[00:17:57] <em>Mi lectura es que esto es parte de toda una acci\u00f3n de persecuci\u00f3n pol\u00edtica.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:18:02] \u00abIt&#8217;s political persecution,\u00bb he said. There was some merit to this argument. Mijango was, after all, one of two gang mediators. The other, Bishop Colindres, had not been charged, nor would he be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>C\u00e9sar: <\/strong>[00:18:18] <em>Porque cree que al se\u00f1or Colindres nunca lo detuvieron?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:18:21] \u00abWhy did they jail you and not Bishop Colindres?\u00bb C\u00e9sar asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mijango: <\/strong>[00:18:24] <em>Monse\u00f1or Colindres y todos los del gobierno que estuvieron involucrados en esto tienen m\u00e1s retaguardias pol\u00edticas, diplom\u00e1ticas, etc\u00e9tera que yo.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:18:34] \u00abPeople like Colindres have political support, diplomatic support,\u00bb he said. \u00abI don&#8217;t. I&#8217;m the skinniest dog on this ship.\u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mijango: <\/strong>[00:18:44] <em>Soy como el perro m\u00e1s flaco de todo este volado.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Newscast 3: <\/strong>[00:18:52] <em>A 13 a\u00f1os, con cuatro meses de prisi\u00f3n, fue condenado Ra\u00fal Mijango por el delito de extorsi\u00f3n a una empresa arrocera.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:19:02] In October 2018, a few weeks after we saw him, Ra\u00fal Mijango was found guilty and sentenced to 13 years in prison for extortion in the case of the food distribution company. The verdict was sad but not surprising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Newscast 4: <\/strong>[00:19:17] <em>Mijango expres\u00f3 que apelar\u00e1 la decisi\u00f3n del Juzgado Especializado de Sentencia V de San Salvador.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mijango: <\/strong>[00:19:22] <em>Mal paga el diablo, m\u00e1s bien le ayuda, y aqu\u00ed nosotros lo que hicimos es intentar ayudar a la v\u00edctima.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:19:31] By then, El Salvador was in another round of presidential elections. Among the candidates was Nayib Bukele. Fit, neatly dressed, and sporting a tightly quaffed beard, Bukele was the picture of a new generation of millennial politicians. Like Ra\u00fal, Bukele had broken with the FMLN. But unlike Ra\u00fal, he had used the break to catapult himself into the national spotlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Bukele: <\/strong>[00:20:04] <em>Esta batalla no empezo en el 2012.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:20:08] Bukele had started in public relations before becoming the mayor of a small town. Then in 2015, he ran and won the mayoral race in the country&#8217;s capital, San Salvador. It wasn&#8217;t long after Bukele took power in San Salvador that my colleague C\u00e9sar got a tip from one of his sources that the brand-new mayor was negotiating with street gangs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>C\u00e9sar: <\/strong>[00:20:30] <em>Yo creo que el primer tip que tuvimos sobre eso fue cuando Bukele era alcalde de San Salvador.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:20:36] C\u00e9sar told me when I talked to him later that the tip didn&#8217;t surprise him. Mayors in San Salvador and other mayors around the country had long dealt with gangs. It was impossible not to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>C\u00e9sar: <\/strong>[00:20:50] <em>Bukele inici\u00f3 un proceso de reordenamiento de algunas cuadras del centro hist\u00f3rico.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:20:56] In Bukele&#8217;s case, he had negotiated with the gangs that were controlling the city&#8217;s historic center. The center was home to the country&#8217;s largest open air market. There, as many as 40,000 unlicensed street vendors hawked everything from concrete to knockoff tennis shoes to cell phone cases. The gangs made money by extorting each of these vendors, something in the range of a dollar a day. In other words, they could make $40,000 a day just from these vendors alone. Bukele wanted to move the vendors to more formal markets that city hall was developing, but the gangs resisted. So Bukele sent an emissary to negotiate with the gang leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>C\u00e9sar: <\/strong>[00:21:39] <em>Al final, Bukele tuvo a personas que tuvieron un papel muy similar al que tuvo Mijango.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:21:45] C\u00e9sar said the emissary played a role similar to that of Mijango, in that he placated the gangs. In this case, he made sure the transfer of vendors to formal marketplaces did not affect the gangs&#8217; ability to extort the same number of vendors. It was, he said, the first red flag with regards to Bukele.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>C\u00e9sar: <\/strong>[00:22:05] <em>La primera campanada de alerta.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:22:08] The pact, however, was not public. It would only become public later because of our investigations and others into Bukele. But in the interim, Bukele looked like a political savant. His efforts led to many vendors moving to formal marketplaces and a renaissance of the historic center, where new bars and restaurants opened up for the first time in years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>C\u00e9sar: <\/strong>[00:22:31] <em>\u00c9l entendi\u00f3 que la alcald\u00eda de San Salvador era el trampol\u00edn necesario para llegar a la presidencia.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:22:36] Bukele used this revitalization project during his time as mayor of San Salvador as a way to launch his presidential campaign, casting himself as someone who could transform difficult, violent areas into a vibrant, economic hubs. The strategy worked. In 2019, Bukele, running as a political outsider, easily won the presidency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Newscast 5: <\/strong>[00:23:01] <em>Nayib Bukele arrasa en las presidenciales de El Salvador, y se convierte en el presidente m\u00e1s joven de la historia reciente del pa\u00eds.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:23:10] From the beginning, the 37-year-old Bukele pushed the boundaries of power. For example, when Congress refused to authorize a foreign loan for security equipment, he sent the military to storm the legislature and threatened to disband the lawmaking body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Newscast 6: <\/strong>[00:23:27] <em>Un hecho sin precedentes desde el final de la Guerra Civil en 1992: la entrada de militares y agentes policiales fuertemente armados en el Parlamento obedeciendo \u00f3rdenes del Presidente Bukele.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:23:39] He also continued to negotiate with gangs. Salvadoran journalists and later InSight Crime investigators spoke with current and former Bukele officials, who told us that the government traded benefits in prisons with a commitment on the part of the gangs to lower homicides. Sound familiar?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>C\u00e9sar: <\/strong>[00:23:58] <em>La administraci\u00f3n Bukele jam\u00e1s lo reconoci\u00f3.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steve: <\/strong>[00:24:02] Again, the pact was never made public, and Bukele has denied any agreement was made at all. But C\u00e9sar said there was clear evidence that administration officials had entered prisons on numerous occasions to negotiate the pact. In addition, his administration even released some high-level leaders from jail, all to show their commitment to the secret agreement.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like the previous truce, homicides dropped, this time to their lowest levels in 20 years. Bukele made everyone believe this drop was due to his anti-gang strategy, which he called the territorial control plan when in reality, it was a product of the secret gang truce that he publicly denied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bukele rode this wave of relative calm to another round of electoral victories, this time in the midterm elections of 2021, which gave his party a super majority in congress. He also fired the attorney general after the country&#8217;s top prosecutor began investigating him and his cronies for corruption during the pandemic, and he reconfigured the high courts and his security forces, filling important posts with loyalists.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By early 2022, Bukele had consolidated full power. And then in late March, the gangs committed a spate of murders that made it the deadliest weekend since the civil war. Ostensibly, the gangs were protesting something connected to the pact they had made with the president. Theories abounded. An untimely arrest. A murder of a prominent gang member. Failure to pay the gang leaders for their participation in the pact. Whatever it was, Bukele abruptly ended the arrangement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At his behest, Congress enacted <em>el r\u00e9gimen de excepci\u00f3n<\/em>, or a state of emergency. El r\u00e9gimen, or the regime as it came to be known, was an unprecedented crackdown. The irony was thick. Bukele had consolidated so much power in part because his pact with gangs had lowered homicide rates, and now he was using that power to destroy those very gangs&nbsp;\u2014 even threatening to starve them in the jails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Press Conference, Bukele: <\/strong>[00:26:34] <em>Ustedes desatan una ola de criminalidad y nosotros quitamos la comida en las c\u00e1rceles. Les juro por D\u00edos que no comen un arroz \u2014 uno.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:26:41] In six months, authorities arrested close to 80,000 people which they claim were members, aspiring members, or collaborators of the gangs. The power of the regime means they can hold these suspects indefinitely without charging them or giving them access to legal assistance. Prosecutors told C\u00e9sar and me they couldn&#8217;t even get into the prisons. But in one hugely important respect, the strategy worked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>C\u00e9sar: <\/strong>[00:27:12] <em>Hay una desarticulaci\u00f3n de las pandillas muy evidente.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:27:15] Most gang members were jailed or fled, C\u00e9sar said. The gangs were, as he put it, \u201cdismantled,\u201d and the people felt much more safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>C\u00e9sar: <\/strong>[00:27:24] <em>Y en las calles eso se refleja.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steve: <\/strong>[00:27:27] This was evident when C\u00e9sar and I traveled through El Salvador&#8217;s streets, speaking to businesses and civilians who&#8217;d been victimized by gangs for years. These victims were happy to speak to us in public places, something neither of us had found during previous reporting trips, and the gangs were nowhere to be found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>C\u00e9sar: <\/strong>[00:27:47] <em>Ahora sabemos por investigaciones que no todos son pandilleros.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:27:50] Still, C\u00e9sar said, thousands of those detained were innocent. They were arrested, he said, because the police had a quota they had to fill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>C\u00e9sar: <\/strong>[00:28:00] <em>Pero el costo que se tiene es alt\u00edsimo, y que creo que la gente en El Salvador todav\u00eda no es muy consciente de lo que est\u00e1 pasando.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:28:05] \u00abThe regime,\u00bb C\u00e9sar said, \u00abis not just undermining the rule of law. It&#8217;s also making us numb. In two years, the state of emergency has become a permanent feature of Salvadoran life.\u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>C\u00e9sar: <\/strong>[00:28:20] <em>Y se ha convertido en una herramienta de control social.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:28:24] \u00abAnd now it&#8217;s like a form of social control,\u00bb he added. Anyone who challenges the regime can be thrown in jail without any recourse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On August 28, 2023, some 17 months into Bukele&#8217;s regime, Ra\u00fal Mijango passed away in prison.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mijango had lived an extraordinary life, but it was as if he and his ideas about how to deal with gangs \u2014 not with bullets or mass incarceration, but with truces and by attacking the social roots of the problem \u2014 had been buried long before his funeral. At the time of his death, about 1% of El Salvador&#8217;s population was in prison, giving it the second-highest prison rate in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>C\u00e9sar: <\/strong>[00:29:21] <em>Mucha gente piensa que el problema de las pandillas est\u00e1 completamente solucionado.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:29:26] These days, C\u00e9sar says no one wants to hear about a gang truce. They think this problem has been solved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>C\u00e9sar: <\/strong>[00:29:32] <em>Al menos yo creo que es un problema que est\u00e1 suspendido.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:29:37] For his part, C\u00e9sar thinks the gang problem has just been temporarily suspended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>C\u00e9sar: <\/strong>[00:29:41] <em>Mucha gente ha comprado el discurso que la \u00fanica forma de acabar con este problema es un f\u00f3sforo y gasolina \u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:29:49] \u00abThe people think that the only way to deal with this problem is with a match and gasoline,\u00bb he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>C\u00e9sar: <\/strong>[00:29:55] <em>\u2026 Quemarlo todo.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steve: <\/strong>[00:29:57] \u201cTo burn everything down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mijango&#8217;s death left a similarly bitter taste in our mouths. The interview C\u00e9sar and I did with Ra\u00fal was the last time either of us saw him alive. When we left Ra\u00fal and the court that day, he thanked us for coming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mijango: <\/strong>[00:30:19] <em>Gracias por venir.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:30:21] As we turned to walk away, he seemed moved by our visit. Someone still cared about what he thought, what he had experienced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mijango: <\/strong>[00:30:30] <em>Me gusta que haya gente que todav\u00eda se acuerda de lo que hicimos.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:30:35] Handcuffed and gaunt, his skin yellowing because of failing kidneys, he was far from the stout rebel soldier who&#8217;d once ambushed his rivals on a steep mountain pass. Still, he remained steadfast, telling us that one day the country would realize that they would have to do what he and his team did. That there was no alternative.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ra\u00fal had tested the limits of power, first as a guerrilla, then as a politician, and lastly as a gang mediator. He escaped with his life in the first two battles, but this third battle, the existential one that had tied El Salvador in knots for decades, was too much \u2014 even for Ra\u00fal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This show is a co-production of InSight Crime and La No Ficci\u00f3n. This episode was produced and written by me, Steven Dudley, with great help from C\u00e9sar Fagoaga. A special thanks to my crack gang investigations team, which includes C\u00e9sar, as well as Alex Papadovassilakis, Juan Jos\u00e9 Martinez d\u2019Aubuisson, Carlos Garc\u00eda, and Brian Avelar. Fact-checking on this episode by Christopher Newton and Juliana Manjarr\u00e9s. Our editors are Elisa Rold\u00e1n and Thomas Uprimny. Our sound designer is Valentina Fonseca and graphic designer Isabella Soto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">See all our coverage of gangs, gang truces, gang wars, and prison gangs at insightcrime.org.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This was the last episode of our first season of InSight Crime&#8217;s podcast. Thank you to La No Ficci\u00f3n. We couldn&#8217;t have found a better partner. And thank you to InSight Crimes\u2019 whole reporting, graphics, social media, editors, and administrative teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you want to binge the whole season \u2014 and believe me you&#8217;ll want to! \u2014 you can do it at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts on. We will take you to meet Bolivia&#8217;s courageous volunteer firefighters, a brave Brazilian judge, and Honduras\u2019 female gang members who may defy your expectations, just as they did prison authorities to tragic effect. And we&#8217;ll travel from Colombia&#8217;s war in the jungle to a Mexico-US border town controlled by the cartel.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At InSight Crime we investigate from the ground up, inspired by the idea that organized crime is not a boring multisyllabic expression, or yet another true crime story from the suburbs, but a matter of life and death for millions of people across the Americas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As you await our second season, be like Mijango, who despite being in prison, always tried to get the last laugh.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mijango: <\/strong>[00:33:56] <em>laughter<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Steven: <\/strong>[00:34:01] See you next time.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-contexto-la-extorsion-en-ecuador-durante-la-ultima-decada\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Contexto: La extorsi\u00f3n en Ecuador durante la \u00faltima d\u00e9cada<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">En tan solo unos a\u00f1os, la ciudad costera ecuatoriana de Dur\u00e1n, vecina de la metr\u00f3polis de Guayaquil, pas\u00f3 de ser un tranquilo barrio perif\u00e9rico a convertirse en uno de los lugares m\u00e1s violentos de Ecuador. El aumento del tr\u00e1fico de drogas, la pandemia, el desarrollo desigual y otros factores contribuyeron a engrosar las filas de las bandas y a fomentar los enfrentamientos entre ellas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Los dos principales responsables de la violencia, los <a href=\"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/noticias-crimen-organizado-ecuador\/chone-killers\/\">Chone Killers<\/a> y los <a href=\"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/ecuador-organized-crime-news\/latin-kings-en-ecuador\/\">Latin Kings<\/a>, ganan millones con el tr\u00e1fico de drogas, los secuestros y la extorsi\u00f3n en los barrios de Dur\u00e1n. La extorsi\u00f3n ha tenido un impacto especialmente fuerte en los residentes de la ciudad, donde tanto las peque\u00f1as empresas como los hogares se ven sometidos a amenazas y exigencias exorbitantes que ascienden a miles o incluso decenas de miles de d\u00f3lares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/InSight-Crime-Duran-Homicides-2026-esp-1024x1024.png?resize=1024%2C1024&#038;quality=100&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-347766\" style=\"width:730px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/InSight-Crime-Duran-Homicides-2026-esp.png?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/InSight-Crime-Duran-Homicides-2026-esp.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/InSight-Crime-Duran-Homicides-2026-esp.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/InSight-Crime-Duran-Homicides-2026-esp.png?resize=768%2C768&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/InSight-Crime-Duran-Homicides-2026-esp.png?resize=1200%2C1200&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/InSight-Crime-Duran-Homicides-2026-esp.png?resize=800%2C800&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/InSight-Crime-Duran-Homicides-2026-esp.png?resize=600%2C600&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/InSight-Crime-Duran-Homicides-2026-esp.png?resize=400%2C400&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/InSight-Crime-Duran-Homicides-2026-esp.png?resize=200%2C200&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/InSight-Crime-Duran-Homicides-2026-esp.png?resize=780%2C780&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 780w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/InSight-Crime-Duran-Homicides-2026-esp.png?resize=706%2C706&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 706w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/InSight-Crime-Duran-Homicides-2026-esp.png?resize=100%2C100&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 100w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/InSight-Crime-Duran-Homicides-2026-esp.png?w=1501&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 1501w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/InSight-Crime-Duran-Homicides-2026-esp-1024x1024.png?w=370&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">El auge de estas bandas ha desgarrado el tejido social, ese sentido de comunidad de la ciudad. Los residentes modifican sus rutinas diarias para evitar estar en p\u00fablico. La desconfianza entre vecinos fomenta el aislamiento. Las familias mantienen a los ni\u00f1os en casa por miedo a que puedan convertirse en v\u00edctimas de la violencia o del reclutamiento por parte de las bandas. En resumen, Dur\u00e1n es un lugar donde se reside, pero no se vive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">____<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Este podcast es el resultado de un exhaustivo trabajo de reportaje sobre el terreno realizado en Ecuador en los \u00faltimos a\u00f1os. Para saber m\u00e1s sobre Dur\u00e1n, lea nuestra investigaci\u00f3n de 2024 titulada \u201c<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/investigaciones\/duran-ventana-explosion-crimen-organizado-ecuador\/\"><em>Dur\u00e1n: Una ventana a la explosi\u00f3n del crimen organizado en Ecuador<\/em><\/a><em>\u201d. Para saber m\u00e1s sobre el auge de los grupos del crimen organizado ecuatorianos dentro del sistema penitenciario, consulte la investigaci\u00f3n \u201c<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/investigaciones\/tras-rejas-fuera-control-caida-prisiones-ecuador-ascenso-mafias\/\"><em>Tras las rejas, fuera de control: la ca\u00edda de las prisiones de Ecuador y el ascenso de sus mafias<\/em><\/a><em>\u201d. <\/em><em><br><\/em><em><br><\/em><em>S\u00edganos en nuestras redes sociales y <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/newsletters\/\"><em>suscr\u00edbase a nuestro bolet\u00edn semanal<\/em><\/a><em> para mantenerse al d\u00eda sobre la evoluci\u00f3n del crimen organizado en <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/noticias-crimen-organizado-ecuador\/\"><em>Ecuador<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns has-background-gray-background-color has-background is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left\" id=\"h-creditos\">Cr\u00e9ditos<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns alignwide are-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-d05033d9 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-right:0;padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-left:0\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Producci\u00f3n<\/strong><br>Steven Dudley y Elisa Rold\u00e1n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Investigaci\u00f3n y Narraci\u00f3n<\/strong><br>Gavin Voss, Alina Manrique y Steven Dudley<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Guion<\/strong><br>Gavin Voss y Alina Manrique<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Edici\u00f3n<\/strong><br>Tom\u00e1s Uprimny y Steven Dudley con el apoyo de Liza Schmidt<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Direcci\u00f3n Creativa<br><\/strong>Elisa Rold\u00e1n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Dise\u00f1o de sonido<br><\/strong>Valentina, Juan Felipe Pulido.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Dise\u00f1o Gr\u00e1fico<br><\/strong>Isabel Soto<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Marketing y redes sociales<br><\/strong>Paula Rojas e Isabella Soto<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-agradecimiento-especial\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Agradecimiento especial<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Andr\u00e9s* y Juliana* por compartir su historia con nosotros.<br>A los equipos de redacci\u00f3n, dise\u00f1o gr\u00e1fico, redes sociales, edici\u00f3n y administraci\u00f3n de InSight Crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<div\n\t\tclass=\"wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles wpnbha is-grid columns-3 colgap-3 show-image image-aligntop ts-3 is-3 is-square \"\n\t\tstyle=\"\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t<div data-posts data-current-post-id=\"347762\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"article-section-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span>Contenido relacionado<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<article data-post-id=\"292608\"\n\t\tclass=\"tag-choneros-es tag-cocaina tag-ecuador-pais tag-elites-y-crimen-organizado tag-extorsion tag-infografias tag-chone-killers-es tag-microtrafico tag-politicas-de-seguridad category-investigaciones type-post post-has-image\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"post-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/investigaciones\/kings-killers-cabras-perfil-actores-criminales-duran\/\" rel=\"bookmark\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ecuador-Duran-CAP-4-CoveR-InSight-Crime-Sep-2024.jpg?resize=600%2C600&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-newspack-article-block-square-intermediate size-newspack-article-block-square-intermediate wp-post-image\" alt=\"\u2018Kings\u2019, \u2018Killers\u2019 y cabras: un perfil de los actores criminales de Dur\u00e1n\" data-hero-candidate=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ecuador-Duran-CAP-4-CoveR-InSight-Crime-Sep-2024.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ecuador-Duran-CAP-4-CoveR-InSight-Crime-Sep-2024.jpg?resize=600%2C600&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ecuador-Duran-CAP-4-CoveR-InSight-Crime-Sep-2024.jpg?resize=400%2C400&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ecuador-Duran-CAP-4-CoveR-InSight-Crime-Sep-2024.jpg?resize=200%2C200&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ecuador-Duran-CAP-4-CoveR-InSight-Crime-Sep-2024.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ecuador-Duran-CAP-4-CoveR-InSight-Crime-Sep-2024.jpg?resize=100%2C100&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 100w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ecuador-Duran-CAP-4-CoveR-InSight-Crime-Sep-2024.jpg?zoom=2&amp;resize=600%2C600&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ecuador-Duran-CAP-4-CoveR-InSight-Crime-Sep-2024.jpg?resize=600%2C600&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw \/ 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw \/ 12)), 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure><!-- .featured-image -->\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/investigaciones\/kings-killers-cabras-perfil-actores-criminales-duran\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">\u2018Kings\u2019, \u2018Killers\u2019 y cabras: un perfil de los actores criminales de Dur\u00e1n<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-wrapper -->\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\n\t<article data-post-id=\"292893\"\n\t\tclass=\"tag-choneros-es tag-cocaina tag-ecuador-pais tag-politicas-de-seguridad category-investigaciones type-page post-has-image\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"post-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/investigaciones\/duran-ventana-explosion-crimen-organizado-ecuador\/\" rel=\"bookmark\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ecuador-Duran-LANDING-CoveR-InSight-Crime-Sep-2024.jpg?resize=600%2C600&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-newspack-article-block-square-intermediate size-newspack-article-block-square-intermediate wp-post-image\" alt=\"Dur\u00e1n: Una ventana a la explosi\u00f3n del crimen organizado en Ecuador\" data-hero-candidate=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ecuador-Duran-LANDING-CoveR-InSight-Crime-Sep-2024.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ecuador-Duran-LANDING-CoveR-InSight-Crime-Sep-2024.jpg?resize=600%2C600&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ecuador-Duran-LANDING-CoveR-InSight-Crime-Sep-2024.jpg?resize=400%2C400&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ecuador-Duran-LANDING-CoveR-InSight-Crime-Sep-2024.jpg?resize=200%2C200&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ecuador-Duran-LANDING-CoveR-InSight-Crime-Sep-2024.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ecuador-Duran-LANDING-CoveR-InSight-Crime-Sep-2024.jpg?resize=100%2C100&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 100w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ecuador-Duran-LANDING-CoveR-InSight-Crime-Sep-2024.jpg?zoom=2&amp;resize=600%2C600&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ecuador-Duran-LANDING-CoveR-InSight-Crime-Sep-2024.jpg?resize=600%2C600&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw \/ 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw \/ 12)), 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure><!-- .featured-image -->\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/investigaciones\/duran-ventana-explosion-crimen-organizado-ecuador\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Dur\u00e1n: Una ventana a la explosi\u00f3n del crimen organizado en Ecuador<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-wrapper -->\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\n\t<article data-post-id=\"300641\"\n\t\tclass=\"tag-grupos-ecuador tag-chone-killers-es category-noticias-crimen-organizado-ecuador type-post post-has-image\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"post-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/noticias-crimen-organizado-ecuador\/chone-killers\/\" rel=\"bookmark\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Grupo-Criminal-Chone-Killers.jpg?resize=800%2C800&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-newspack-article-block-square-medium size-newspack-article-block-square-medium wp-post-image\" alt=\"Los Chone Killers\" data-hero-candidate=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Grupo-Criminal-Chone-Killers.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Grupo-Criminal-Chone-Killers.jpg?resize=900%2C900&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 900w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Grupo-Criminal-Chone-Killers.jpg?resize=800%2C800&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Grupo-Criminal-Chone-Killers.jpg?resize=600%2C600&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Grupo-Criminal-Chone-Killers.jpg?resize=400%2C400&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Grupo-Criminal-Chone-Killers.jpg?resize=200%2C200&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Grupo-Criminal-Chone-Killers.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Grupo-Criminal-Chone-Killers.jpg?resize=100%2C100&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 100w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Grupo-Criminal-Chone-Killers.jpg?resize=800%2C800&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw \/ 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw \/ 12)), 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure><!-- .featured-image -->\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/noticias-crimen-organizado-ecuador\/chone-killers\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Los Chone Killers<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-wrapper -->\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sobre este episodio Andr\u00e9s y Juliana amaban vivir en Dur\u00e1n. All\u00ed compraron su casa, criaron a sus hijos y montaron su peque\u00f1o negocio. Cuando extorsionadores enmascarados dispararon cinco balas contra [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":188,"featured_media":347781,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"single-feature.php","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":true,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"hidden","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[759,4575],"tags":[426,2999,4614],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[4351],"class_list":["post-347762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-noticias","category-insight-crime-espanol","tag-ecuador-pais","tag-extorsion","tag-chone-killers-es","entry"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/audio-es\/insight-crime-espanol\/podcast-una-casa-marcada-extorsion-ecuador\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"P\u00f3dcast | Una casa marcada: extorsi\u00f3n en Ecuador","url":"http:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/audio-es\/insight-crime-espanol\/podcast-una-casa-marcada-extorsion-ecuador\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/audio-es\/insight-crime-espanol\/podcast-una-casa-marcada-extorsion-ecuador\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/play-EP1-S2InSight-Crime-scaled.jpeg?resize=150%2C150&quality=100&ssl=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/play-EP1-S2InSight-Crime-scaled.jpeg?fit=2560%2C1441&quality=100&ssl=1"},"articleSection":"Noticias","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"InSight Crime"}],"creator":["InSight Crime"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"InSight Crime","logo":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/logo.png"},"keywords":["ecuador","extorsi\u00f3n","los chone killers"],"dateCreated":"2026-07-23T23:28:40Z","datePublished":"2026-07-23T23:28:40Z","dateModified":"2026-07-24T22:29:33Z"},"rendered":"<meta name=\"parsely-title\" content=\"P\u00f3dcast | Una casa marcada: extorsi\u00f3n en Ecuador\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-link\" content=\"http:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/audio-es\/insight-crime-espanol\/podcast-una-casa-marcada-extorsion-ecuador\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-type\" content=\"post\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-image-url\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/play-EP1-S2InSight-Crime-scaled.jpeg?resize=150%2C150&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-pub-date\" content=\"2026-07-23T23:28:40Z\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-section\" content=\"Noticias\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-tags\" content=\"ecuador,extorsi\u00f3n,los chone killers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-author\" content=\"InSight Crime\" \/>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/insightcrime.org\/p.js"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/play-EP1-S2InSight-Crime-scaled.jpeg?fit=2560%2C1441&quality=100&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":340625,"url":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/noticias\/ecuador-asegura-extorsion-esta-disminuyendo-realidad-mas-compleja\/","url_meta":{"origin":347762,"position":0},"title":"Ecuador asegura que la extorsi\u00f3n est\u00e1 disminuyendo. La realidad es m\u00e1s compleja","author":"Gavin Voss","date":"4 de mayo de 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"La extorsi\u00f3n se ha disparado en Ecuador a medida que los grupos criminales han ganado poder. El problema parece estar empeorando, pese a las afirmaciones de las autoridades en sentido contrario.","rel":"","context":"En \u00abAudio\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/category\/audio-es\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Flagship-Cover-Ecuadors-Authorities-Say-Extortion-is-Down-The-Reality-is-More-Complicated-InSightCrime-Abr-2026.jpg?fit=1200%2C690&quality=100&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Flagship-Cover-Ecuadors-Authorities-Say-Extortion-is-Down-The-Reality-is-More-Complicated-InSightCrime-Abr-2026.jpg?fit=1200%2C690&quality=100&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Flagship-Cover-Ecuadors-Authorities-Say-Extortion-is-Down-The-Reality-is-More-Complicated-InSightCrime-Abr-2026.jpg?fit=1200%2C690&quality=100&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Flagship-Cover-Ecuadors-Authorities-Say-Extortion-is-Down-The-Reality-is-More-Complicated-InSightCrime-Abr-2026.jpg?fit=1200%2C690&quality=100&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Flagship-Cover-Ecuadors-Authorities-Say-Extortion-is-Down-The-Reality-is-More-Complicated-InSightCrime-Abr-2026.jpg?fit=1200%2C690&quality=100&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":300641,"url":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/noticias-crimen-organizado-ecuador\/chone-killers\/","url_meta":{"origin":347762,"position":1},"title":"Los Chone Killers","author":"InSight Crime","date":"28 de enero de 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Los Chone Killers representan la evoluci\u00f3n del panorama criminal de Ecuador, donde pasaron de ser bandas callejeras de bajo nivel a sofisticados y violentos grupos criminales. En un principio eran una banda callejera que uni\u00f3 fuerzas con el grupo de narcotraficantes Los Choneros. Con el tiempo, los Chone Killers surgieron\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abEcuador\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Ecuador","link":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/category\/noticias-crimen-organizado-ecuador\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Perfil grupo criminal de los Chone Killers, Ecuador.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Grupo-Criminal-Chone-Killers.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&quality=100&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Grupo-Criminal-Chone-Killers.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&quality=100&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Grupo-Criminal-Chone-Killers.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&quality=100&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Grupo-Criminal-Chone-Killers.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&quality=100&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Grupo-Criminal-Chone-Killers.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&quality=100&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":323390,"url":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/noticias\/on-the-radar-crimen-terrorismo-latinoamerica\/","url_meta":{"origin":347762,"position":2},"title":"On the Radar: Lationam\u00e9rica difumina la l\u00ednea entre el crimen y el terrorismo","author":"InSight Crime","date":"6 de noviembre de 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Esta semana analizamos la reciente designaci\u00f3n de dos poderosas pandillas brasile\u00f1as como organizaciones terroristas en Paraguay, la aprobaci\u00f3n de una dura ley contra la extorsi\u00f3n en medio del aumento de la violencia en Per\u00fa y la creciente militarizaci\u00f3n de la lucha contra la miner\u00eda ilegal en Ecuador.","rel":"","context":"En \u00abNoticias\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Noticias","link":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/category\/noticias\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"On the Radar Nov. 6 Terrorism Crime Latin America","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/25-11-06.png?fit=1200%2C675&quality=100&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/25-11-06.png?fit=1200%2C675&quality=100&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/25-11-06.png?fit=1200%2C675&quality=100&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/25-11-06.png?fit=1200%2C675&quality=100&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/25-11-06.png?fit=1200%2C675&quality=100&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":263467,"url":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/noticias\/por-que-bandas-narcotraficantes-ecuador-han-recurrido-extorsion\/","url_meta":{"origin":347762,"position":3},"title":"\u00bfPor qu\u00e9 las bandas narcotraficantes de Ecuador han recurrido a la extorsi\u00f3n?","author":"Anastasia Austin","date":"20 de diciembre de 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"El n\u00famero de casos de extorsi\u00f3n registrados en Ecuador se ha disparado en el \u00faltimo a\u00f1o, lo que sugiere que las fragmentadas bandas criminales del pa\u00eds est\u00e1n buscando nuevas fuentes de ingresos.\u00a0 La extorsi\u00f3n en Ecuador aument\u00f3 m\u00e1s de 65% entre 2022 y noviembre de 2023 y casi 400% desde\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abNoticias\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Noticias","link":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/category\/noticias\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Un militar resguarda un negocio ante amenaza de extorsi\u00f3n en Ecuador","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Ecuador-extortion-security-guayaquil-violence-AP23226680491229.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&quality=100&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Ecuador-extortion-security-guayaquil-violence-AP23226680491229.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&quality=100&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Ecuador-extortion-security-guayaquil-violence-AP23226680491229.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&quality=100&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Ecuador-extortion-security-guayaquil-violence-AP23226680491229.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&quality=100&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Ecuador-extortion-security-guayaquil-violence-AP23226680491229.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&quality=100&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":299662,"url":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/noticias\/dinamica-bandas-ecuador-alimenta-record-homicidios\/","url_meta":{"origin":347762,"position":4},"title":"La din\u00e1mica de las bandas en Ecuador alimenta un r\u00e9cord de homicidios","author":"Gavin Voss","date":"14 de enero de 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"El reciente asesinato de un destacado l\u00edder de una banda ecuatoriana puede avivar a\u00fan m\u00e1s la violencia en Dur\u00e1n, uno de los municipios m\u00e1s violentos del pa\u00eds y puerta de entrada de la droga al puerto de Guayaquil.","rel":"","context":"En \u00abNoticias\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Noticias","link":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/category\/noticias\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Antonio Benjam\u00edn Camacho, alias \u201cBen 10,\u201d during an arrest in 2017. Source: Ecuavisa","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/alias-ben-10-arrest-january2025.jpg?fit=350%2C250&quality=100&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":346272,"url":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/noticias\/insight-take-chone-killers-nuevo-grupo-lista-organizaciones-terroristas-ee-uu\/","url_meta":{"origin":347762,"position":5},"title":"The InSight Take: Los Chone Killers, el nuevo grupo en la lista de organizaciones terroristas de EE. UU.","author":"Deborah Bonello","date":"6 de julio de 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"El Departamento de Estado de Estados Unidos a\u00f1adi\u00f3 a los Chone Killers, de Ecuador, a su lista de organizaciones terroristas extranjeras que operan en Am\u00e9rica Latina. La editora en jefe de InSight Crime, Deborah Bonello, analiza este \u00faltimo desarrollo y lo que significa para la din\u00e1mica del crimen organizado sobre\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abNoticias\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Noticias","link":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/category\/noticias\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/06-Julio-Plantilla-Insight-Take-Youtube.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&quality=100&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/06-Julio-Plantilla-Insight-Take-Youtube.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&quality=100&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/06-Julio-Plantilla-Insight-Take-Youtube.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&quality=100&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/06-Julio-Plantilla-Insight-Take-Youtube.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&quality=100&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/insightcrime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/06-Julio-Plantilla-Insight-Take-Youtube.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&quality=100&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/188"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=347762"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347762\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":347895,"href":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347762\/revisions\/347895"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/347781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=347762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=347762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=347762"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=347762"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightcrime.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=347762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}