CHAPTER 3

Ecuador Finds Victory Elusive in ‘War on Gangs’

Ecuador has been transformed from a poster child of a peaceful nation to the region’s most violent, serving as an example of how quickly countries can fall victim to the encroachment of organized crime. After recording a record number of homicides in 2023, Ecuador experienced a slight decline in killings in 2024. 

Spoiler alert: The gang fragmentation that occurred throughout the year has set the scene for more violent conflict. 

This is the third installment of our annual Criminal GameChangers 2024 series. Over the following weeks, we will publish essays providing our unique expert analysis of the most important dynamics of 2024, and our predictions of challenges ahead in 2025.

🎙️ Don’t miss our donor - exclusive event

To conclude the publication of the series, and as part of our annual fundraising campaign, we invite you to attend a virtual panel in English, where we will talk with some of our most experienced researchers in the field about their most important findings, and their  challenges and predictions about security and crime in 2025.

Forthcoming publications

1 - Resistance to Organized Crime Withers

2 - Crime Cashes in on Migration Boom

3 - Ecuador Finds Victory Elusive in ‘War on Gangs’

4 - Organized Crime Gets Political - Dec 30

5 - Networks Replace Cartels in Cocaine Trade - Jan 02

6 - Narco Money Scandals Reach the Apex of Political Power in the Americas - Jan 03

7 - Global Cocaine Networks and Trump 2 - Jan 06

Regards, 
The InSight Crime Team