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Ganglands of the Pacific: Ecuador’s New Frontline

  • Writer: Johnson Odakkal, PhD, CEO
    Johnson Odakkal, PhD, CEO
  • Jun 12
  • 7 min read

Another Episode of “Global Canvas” by JOI

Global Canvas is back! After a brief hiatus and with a fresh new look on our redeveloped website, we’re diving straight into the stories shaping our world. This week, we turn our lens to Ecuador, once a quiet Andean nation, now caught in the grip of cartels and cocaine. This is more than a domestic problem; it’s a global wake-up call. Let’s unpack it.

On 14th March 2025, a major drug bust backed by Europol took down an Ecuadorian trafficking cell flooding Europe with cocaine. Once a quiet Andean nation squeezed between Colombia and Peru, Ecuador is now making global headlines for cartel killings, prison bloodbaths, and a drug war spiralling out of control. The country isn’t just a transit zone anymore,it’s becoming a battlefield.

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Context and Background


Over the last few years, Ecuador has undergone a dramatic and dangerous transformation. Once seen as one of the more stable nations in the Andean region, it is now at the centre of Latin America's drug trafficking storm.


In just five years, Ecuador has shifted from being a mere transit point to a major logistical hub for cocaine shipments heading primarily to Europe and the United States. According to Ecuador's Interior Ministry, nearly 300 tonnes of drugs were seized in 2024 alone,a record that underscores just how deeply entrenched the drug trade has become.


Several key policy decisions from the past decade have helped set the stage. Under Rafael Correa, the Ecuadorian president from 2007 to 2017, Ecuador pursued reforms aimed at promoting free movement and positioning the country as a global hub. This visa-free travel opened the doors of the nation to organised crime figures. Among them were Albanian nationals, who quickly established a powerful foothold. Today, Albanian criminal groups are key players in Ecuador’s underworld, using legitimate businesses like banana and shrimp exporters as cover for cocaine trafficking into Europe.


At the same time, Ecuador signed a trade agreement with the European Union that gradually cut tariffs on major exports like bananas, shrimp, fish, cocoa, and flowers. This booming trade turned the country into one of South America's most important shipping centres, and an attractive target for cartels seeking to piggyback illicit shipments onto commercial exports. Home to five of the nation’s eight shipping terminals, Guayaquil, the richest city of Ecuador, has become the primary centre for cocaine shipments to Europe and the U.S.


Criminal dynamics within Ecuador have also been deeply influenced by outside forces. Mexican cartels have expanded their influence, tapping into Ecuador’s Pacific ports to move drugs northward. They have co-opted local actors, including artisanal fishermen along the coast, to facilitate the trafficking operations. Meanwhile, on the European side, tightened port security in Colombia has forced Albanian mafia groups to shift operations south. Organisations like the Azemi and Rexhepi gangs now play a dominant brokerage role in Ecuador’s cocaine trade. They maintain strong ties with local gangs, securing access to shipping networks that move vast quantities of cocaine across the Atlantic.


All of this is happening against a backdrop of mounting political instability and economic hardship. With state institutions weakened by corruption and underfunding, criminal organizations have found ample space to operate, and expand. Ecuador is no longer just a stop along the drug trade route. It’s becoming a battleground where local and transnational criminal networks compete for dominance, leaving ordinary Ecuadorians trapped in a rising tide of violence and insecurity.


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Key Players and Stakeholders


Non-State Actors: At the heart of Ecuador’s crisis are powerful non-state actors, transnational drug cartels and local gangs that now operate with near impunity. Mexican cartels such as Sinaloa and CJNG (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación) use Ecuador as a strategic node in their trafficking routes, relying on coastal cities like Guayaquil for maritime exports. Today, both groups are locked in a brutal struggle for control over Ecuador’s strategic territory. They’re competing for access to key drug routes, including Pacific ports, the Panama Canal, cocaine warehouses, and production zones along the Colombia-Ecuador border. Their influence is most visible in Guayaquil, where control of the country’s largest port has become central to their operations.


These groups often take help from Ecuadorian gangs like Los Choneros, Los Lobos, and Tiguerones, who fight bloody turf wars over control of prisons, ports, and neighbourhoods. Mexican cartels supply weapons, money, and military-style training, transforming these local gangs into heavily armed non-state actors. These groups now rake in tens of millions annually, not just from drug trafficking but from extortion rackets, forcing thousands of small businesses to pay for “protection” in the areas they control.


Adding a global layer to the problem are Albanian mafia networks, which have embedded themselves deeply into Ecuador’s export economy. These groups, such as the Azemi and Rexhepi gangs, act as key intermediaries in the cocaine trade between South America and Europe. Using legal business fronts,especially in banana and shrimp exports,they help move large drug consignments undetected through commercial shipping routes.


State: Years of institutional neglect, corruption, and economic stress have hollowed out law enforcement and public security. Prisons have become de facto command centres for gangs, and political leaders have been unable,or unwilling,to confront the scale of the crisis. The 2023 assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was a stark warning of how deeply organised crime has penetrated the political sphere.


The police and military are stretched thin, and many officers are compromised. Efforts at reform have been inconsistent, and without strong, independent institutions, the state struggles to assert control. Instead of being a bulwark against organized crime, parts of the state are now entangled with it.


International actors: International players have shaped both the problem and the response. On one hand, European trade policies have unintentionally enabled criminal exploitation of shipping routes. The EU’s trade agreement with Ecuador lowered tariffs and expanded maritime commerce, providing cover for smuggling operations. Similarly, visa-free travel policies opened the door for foreign criminal networks to establish a base of operations.


On the other hand, international agencies like Europol, the DEA, and UNODC play a growing role in Ecuador’s counternarcotics efforts. The Europol-led bust of an Ecuadorian trafficking cell underscores this shift. However, without deeper cooperation on intelligence sharing, port security, and money laundering enforcement, external support remains reactive, not preventive.


Major Concerns and Consequences


The violence gripping Ecuador is not random,it’s systemic. Murder rates have surged to historic highs, with mass killings, car bombings, and prison massacres becoming part of daily life. The year 2023 saw a murder rate of 44.5%, the highest for the country. In 2024, the rate dropped to 38%, however, 2024 was still the second-most violent year in the country’s history, and homicides in many parts of the country remained at or exceeded 2023 levels. The state’s prison system, once a place of confinement, is now a hub of gang operations, with inmates coordinating extortion, assassinations, and drug shipments from inside.


Additionally, Ecuador’s economy is being reshaped by drug money. Cartels and affiliated gangs launder proceeds through legitimate businesses, especially in the banana, shrimp, and real estate sectors. In cities like Guayaquil and Manta, criminal groups extort “protection fees” from local merchants, turning once-thriving business districts into zones of fear. As criminal actors gain more economic power, they increasingly outmatch the state in terms of resources and influence. This narco-capital fuels further corruption, distorts local markets, and entrenches inequality. The longer this shadow economy grows, the harder it becomes to untangle criminal power from legitimate enterprise.


Ecuador’s political system is buckling under the pressure of organised crime. Corruption scandals involving law enforcement, customs officials, and local politicians have exposed how deeply criminal networks have infiltrated the state. Successive governments have failed to deliver lasting reforms, and emergency measures, military crackdowns, have done little to address the structural problems. Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies are overwhelmed, underfunded, and often infiltrated. Efforts to regain territorial control have fallen short, especially in port cities and border regions, where heavily armed gangs operate with near impunity. The result: ordinary Ecuadorians live in fear.  


Theoretically Speaking : Strategic Alignments and Power Shifts

From a realist perspective, Ecuador’s drug crisis highlights the failure of the state to maintain its core function: ensuring security. Realism views states as the primary actors in international relations, tasked with safeguarding their sovereignty and territorial integrity. As violence escalates and territorial control fragments, Ecuador’s weakened security apparatus exposes it to greater external manipulation further weakening the state. 


Constructivism, on the other hand, shifts the focus to how non-state actors,like cartels, local gangs, and transnational criminal networks,reshape power dynamics. In Ecuador, non-state actors are no longer just peripheral threats; they have constructed new systems of governance, economy, and even social order within the territories they control. Gangs are not just criminal groups; in some communities, they act as de facto authorities, providing “protection,” resolving disputes, and controlling economic flows. This shows how non-state actors, through new social realities and power structures, are increasingly challenging the traditional dominance of the state.


Takeaways

Ecuador’s drug crisis is deeply rooted and accelerating. While the drug trade spans continents, Ecuador is bearing the brunt of the violence and instability. Without urgent reforms and real international support, the country risks falling permanently into the grip of organised crime.


Compiled by Commodore (Dr) Johnson Odakkal (with support from Ms Vivaksha Vats) 

Stay Tuned for More!

Ecuador is no longer just a waypoint on the cocaine highway, it’s ground zero in a rapidly escalating narco-conflict. As cartels, mafia syndicates, and fractured state institutions battle for dominance, the country reflects a deeper global crisis where crime, commerce, and politics collide. This isn’t just Ecuador’s war, it’s a warning to the world.

In this episode of Global Canvas, we trace the contours of Ecuador’s spiralling drug war. What global shifts are keeping you up at night? Share your views in the comments or connect with us at www.johnsonodakkal.com or email  ceo@johnsonodakkal.com to stay engaged.


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