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The InSight Take: The Military is Going to Leave Ecuador’s Prisons – What Comes Next?
Last week, Ecuador announced it would begin to withdraw military forces from the prisons, over a year and half after deploying them to break criminal control. The…
Ecuador’s war on gangs has been in the making for years. But it became official in January 2024, when President Daniel Noboa declared a state of internal armed conflict following a series of seemingly coordinated gang riots and attacks on security forces.
Ecuador’s role as a cocaine highway continues to fuel the growth of gangs that have become a massive security threat. So far, the government’s militarized response lacks a clear exit strategy, and reports of human right abuses by security forces have started coming to light.
In this special series, InSight Crime tracks Noboa’s war on gangs and its effects on organized crime.
Articles in this Series
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Criminal Profiles
Choneros
The Choneros is one of Ecuador’s most prominent criminal groups, which first emerged in the late 1990s as a drug trafficking organization based in the city of Chone, a beach town on Ecuador’s western province of ManabÃ.
Criminal Profiles
Lobos
The Lobos have emerged as Ecuador’s strongest criminal group, with over 8,000 members spread throughout Ecuador’s prisons and along major drug trafficking routes. The group has been involved in several devastating prison massacres in the country, which have killed close to 500 people since 2021.
Criminal Profiles
Lagartos
Made up of multiple smaller gangs with common allies and enemies, the Lagartos are one of Ecuador’s prolific prison gangs, whose rivalry with the Choneros has spurned unprecedented levels of violence in Ecuador’s streets and penitentiary system.
See all our Ecuador coverage
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