Fight for Control in Guayaquil: Army Deployment Signals

Ecuador’s official data and government decrees confirm a sharp rise in violence since 2021, driven by organized criminal groups fighting over drug trafficking routes and illegal markets. Guayaquil, the country’s main port city, has become the epicenter of this crisis.

The government declared a state of emergency in several provinces, including Guayas, in response to escalating attacks, car bombings, and mass killings.

Official figures show Ecuador’s homicide rate soared from 25 to 42 per 100,000 residents between 2022 and 2023, making it the most violent country in South America by 2025.

Authorities attribute the violence to the fragmentation of local gangs after the 2020 assassination of a major criminal leader. This power vacuum fueled turf wars among groups linked to Mexican cartels and Balkan mafias.

The state responded by deploying the military and suspending certain civil rights, but these measures have not curbed the violence. In the first 50 days of 2025, Ecuador recorded 1,300 murders, with Guayaquil and its outskirts suffering the brunt.

Guayaquil’s strategic location between Colombia and Peru, the world’s top cocaine producers, has made it a key transit hub for global drug shipments.

Official sources report that criminal groups now control up to 80 percent of Ecuador’s illegal drug exports, often hiding cocaine in shipments of bananas and tea.

These groups have also expanded into extortion, illegal mining, and fuel smuggling, using violence and intimidation to dominate neighborhoods and businesses.

The government’s militarized response, including curfews and warrantless searches, has not restored order. Instead, criminal groups have adapted, bypassing checkpoints and embedding themselves deeper into the local economy.

They recruit children as young as eight, offering money and protection in areas where the state has failed to provide basic services.

The violence has disrupted daily life, forced businesses to pay protection fees, and created a climate of fear. Ecuador’s security crisis exposes the risks when state capacity erodes and criminal profits outpace law enforcement.

The situation in Guayaquil is a warning for other trade-dependent countries: when illegal markets flourish and state response falters, organized crime can undermine both economic stability and public safety.