Ecuador begins 15 days of anti-drug operations with US support

USA and Ecuador carry out joint action against narco-terrorism With support from the United States, Ecuador will begin, on Sunday night (15), a two-week plan to attack drug trafficking organizations. There will be strict curfews in the regions most affected by the violence. A faithful ally of Washington, the president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, has been implementing a tough policy against the cocaine cartels for more than two years, but the rates of homicides, disappearances, extortion and other crimes have not declined. Until the morning of March 31, Ecuadorian military forces will launch a “very strong offensive” with American “advice”, said Interior Minister John Reimberg. The government has not publicly decided whether it will deploy US military personnel on its territory, as has already occurred during Noboa’s term. “We are at war,” Reimberg said. “Don’t take any risks, don’t go out, stay at home, let the public force, with its allies, do the work that needs to be done,” he added. Although it does not produce cocaine, Ecuador has become the main departure point for the drug that reaches the United States. Neighboring the largest producers of white powder, Colombia and Peru, the country went from being an island of peace to having one of the highest homicide rates in Latin America: 52 for every 100,000 inhabitants, according to the Organized Crime Observatory. How will the curfew work? Ecuadorians from the coastal provinces of Guayas, Los Ríos, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas and El Oro will be prohibited from leaving between 11pm and 5am local time. During the curfew, only: travelers with an airline ticket in hand will be allowed to leave their homes; health professionals; emergency services workers. The measure worries journalists, transporters, owners of restaurants, bars and other night-time businesses, as well as people who live far from their places of work. Martha Ladines, 28, is a baker in Guayaquil and will not be able to start her workday on time. “They told us that this hour will not be compensated because there are other colleagues’ shifts, and they will deduct it from their salary”, the mother of two tells AFP. ‘It will be difficult’ Ecuador is part of the alliance of 17 countries created by Donald Trump to combat drug trafficking in the region, following an agreement sealed at the beginning of the month in Miami under the name “Shield of the Americas”. Noboa aligns itself with countries such as El Salvador and Argentina, willing to support the American campaign to expand its influence in Latin America after the capture of Nicolás Maduro in a military operation ordered by Trump in Venezuela. For months, American special forces have supported Ecuadorian commandos in training, intelligence and financing. On Wednesday, the government announced the opening of the first FBI office in Ecuador. Last week, with support from the United States, it bombed a camp of the Border Commands, a splinter group of the Colombian FARC guerrilla that operates on the border between the two countries. This offensive divides Ecuadorians, in the face of complaints from human rights organizations about excesses by public forces during the frequent states of exception decreed by Noboa. The curfew “will be hard for many because of work, but it is necessary to try to control the insecurity we live in. I hope the authorities carry out a good tactical operation and there are not so many deaths”, says Luis Villacís, a 58-year-old security guard. Ecuadorians voted “no” to the return of foreign military bases to the country in a referendum promoted by Noboa.

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