The wave of violence marks a major security meltdown in a country that has been suffering in recent years from worsening violence linked to the drugs trade. “In Quito, the city is dead,” said María Fernanda Noboa (no relation to the president), dean of the National Higher Education Institute, who focuses on security. “They started out with common felonies, but then they allied with the big drug cartels,” María Fernanda told the Herald. Formerly amateur gangs became professional, not only trafficking drugs but also carrying out armed attacks and planting explosives and bomb cars. María Fernanda said Ecuador “has been fighting violence with more violence.”“Strategic anticipation has not been taken seriously,” she said.

Source: Bueno Aires Herald January 11, 2024 05:22 UTC