New crime statistics released last week by the Ecuadorian government show that the first semester of 2026 was the deadliest 6 months in the nations’ history.
If the trend holds, Ecuador, already the most dangerous country in Latin America, could be on track to become the deadliest in the world.
Violence continues to rise in the country despite draconian security crackdowns of right-wing President Daniel Noboa with full backing from US military forces.
Naboa has tried to frame Ecuador’s security challenges, which have skyrocketed in recent years, as an external problem. He often blames organized crime groups in Colombia and Mexico, as well as leftist leaders in the region, for the grave security losses under his administration.
His crackdown, in addition to failing to provide results, has resulted in grave human rights abuses by police and military, including extrajudicial assassinations, sexual violence, disappearances, and false accusations.
Noboa is one of the most enthusiastic members of US President Donald Trump’s “Shield of the Americas” initiative: a coalition of right-wing governments in the Americas that also functions as a personal fan club for the US leader.
Ecuador, where security forces blew up a dairy farm earlier this year because they mistakenly thought it was a cocaine lab, has been eager to court intervention from Washington as Noboa is clearly unable to contain a situation whose roots go deep into many sectors of his own political alliances.
Despite the the billionaire banana heir’s claims, Ecuador’s problems are very much homegrown. In recent years coastal cities have become a critical transportation hub for global cocaine shipping: principally through the commercial ports.
Ecuador and Washington utilizing the military — and Uncle Sam’s CIA — to blow up fishing boats isn’t going to ever address that dynamic.
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