IO Livestream | Episode 4
Listen on Apple Podcasts | Watch on BitChute
Mauro Echeverría—deputy editor of the Impunity Observer—and Sebastián Díaz—policy analyst with the Impunity Observer—explain the internal armed conflict in Ecuador. For them, the violence has been increasing since 2020. Díaz adds that gangs declared war on Ecuador after Adolfo “Fito” Macías, leader of the Los Choneros gang, escaped from prison on January 7. Since then, gangs have occupied many streets, firing on anyone in their way, and taken control of a TV network and a university.
Díaz contends that the lack of state control in prisons has been an ongoing problem for the past three years. He adds that gangs have turned prisons into their operation centers. Currently, law enforcement agencies are attacking and capturing gang members in the streets, but there are no official statements regarding the situation inside the prisons.
Díaz and Echeverría analyze the reactions to the violence crisis from politicians in the Americas such as US Representative María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) and Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado. Díaz explains that even former socialist president and fugitive Rafael Correa sent a message backing the armed forces. In the same message, Correa played the victim by saying he was suffering from political persecution.
Recommended Links
- Follow Díaz and Echeverría on X.
- Follow Díaz and Echeverría on LinkedIn.
- “Campaigning Is Child’s Play versus Governing in Ecuador,” Impunity Observer.
- “Why Ecuadorian Journalists Are Heading for the Exits,” Impunity Observer.
- “Why Ecuador’s Law Enforcement Is No Match for Narcos,” Impunity Observer.
- “The Origins of Escalating Violence in Ecuador,” Impunity Observer.
Mauro Echeverría
Mauro Echeverría is Econ Americas’ deputy editor. He holds a BA in international relations with minors in political science and anthropology from the San Francisco University of Quito. Mauro leads the research on local economic development at the Ecuadorian think tank Libre Razón.
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