Ecuador

All About Ecuador

NEWS

Fishermen Fight Off Pirate Attacks in Ecuador

ECUADOR / 1 JUL 2021

Fishermen in Ecuador have taken matters into their own hands to combat pirate attacks that have long plagued its coastal provinces.

Fishing Village Caught in Crosshairs of Ecuador Drug Gangs

COCAINE / 23 JUN 2021

In Ecuador’s coastal town of Posorja, boats are being set on fire and people are being killed, as this fishing community - a key cocaine transit hub - becomes entangled…

Timber Mafias at Ecuador’s Borders Cash in on Balsa Boom

ECUADOR / 1 JUN 2021

Timber mafias operating along Ecuador’s borders with Peru and Colombia have been profiting from thriving demand for balsa wood.

Los Lagartos

ECUADOR / 1 JUN 2021

Integrated by multiple gangs with shared allies and enemies, Los Lagartos is one of Ecuador’s prolific prison gangs, whose rivalry with Los Choneros has spurned unprecedented levels violence in Ecuador’s…

Dedicated Hitmen - The New Modus Operandi in Ecuador

ECUADOR / 20 MAY 2021

A string of brazen targeted killings in Ecuador showcases how violence between the country's criminal gangs is continuing to spiral out of control.

4 Security Challenges Awaiting Ecuador’s Next President

DRUG POLICY / 20 APR 2021

Ecuador’s next president will face an unprecedented set of security challenges, as prison violence has soared to record levels, the country’s corruption is receiving international attention and the criminal situation…

Ecuador's Self-Defeating Anti-Trafficking Law

COCAINE / 12 APR 2021

While authorities in Ecuador tally record cocaine seizures, a change to the criminal code in the Andean country has possibly made it more difficult to prosecute large-scale traffickers.

A Large Galápagos Tortoise Seizure Raises Red Flags

ECUADOR / 5 APR 2021

Authorities in Ecuador have seized close to 200 baby tortoises native to the Galápagos Islands that are coveted in the exotic reptile trade.

The Fuel Not the Fuse: Drug Trafficking and Ecuador's Prison Violence

ECUADOR / 22 MAR 2021

Drug trafficking and transnational organized crime have been blamed for deadly riots among rival gangs in Ecuador's prisons, but the carnage has more to do with how the country's gangs…

Los Choneros

ECUADOR / 25 FEB 2021

Los 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 Manta, a beach…

Ecuador Confronts Unprecedented Levels of Prison Violence

ECUADOR / 24 FEB 2021

Long-simmering tensions between prison gangs in Ecuador exploded this week, leaving at least 75 people brutally killed in four prisons across the country.

Hide and Seek: How Drug Traffickers Get Creative at Sea

BRAZIL / 20 FEB 2021

Drug traffickers engage in a creative game of hide and seek with coast guards and other security forces that board their ships at sea.

The Rise of “Plata” over “Plomo:” The Cancer of Corruption

COCAINE / 9 FEB 2021

In July 2020, British drug trafficker Robert Dawes was sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role in one of the most emblematic European drug trafficking cases of the…

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About InSight Crime

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THE ORGANIZATION

Unraveling the Web of Elites Connected to Organized Crime

27 JUL 2021

InSight Crime published Elites and Organized Crime in Nicaragua, a deep dive into the relationships between criminal actors and elites in that Central American nation.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Greater Focus on US-Mexico Border

20 JUL 2021

InSight Crime has decided to turn many of its investigative resources towards understanding and chronicling the criminal dynamics along the US-Mexico border.

THE ORGANIZATION

Key Arrests and Police Budget Increases Due to InSight Crime Investigations

8 JUL 2021

With Memo Fantasma’s arrest, InSight Crime has proven that our investigations can and will uncover major criminal threats in the Americas.

THE ORGANIZATION

Organized Crime’s Influence on Gender-Based Violence

30 JUN 2021

InSight Crime investigator Laura N. Ávila spoke on organized crime and gender-based violence at the launch of a research project by the United Nations Development Programme.