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As of January 28, 2022, Ecuador has experienced 270 violent crimes; more than twice as many as there were in 2021 during the same period, according to data from the National Police. And it is no coincidence that the most violent city is also the most unequal city. Guayaquil, the epicenter of violence, has tripled the figures: it went from 31 violent crimes in the first four weeks of 2021, to 91 in the same period of 2022.

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The figures of violent deaths reveal that it is no longer possible to speak only of a citizen's perception. That something is happening in the streets and that, despite operations, it is still not possible to stop the wave of violent deaths.

From January 1 to February 16, violent deaths have grown in Zone 8 -Guayaquil, Durán and Samborondón- 205% compared to the same period in 2021. Violent deaths this year total 162 compared to 53 last year. previous period, that is, there were 109 more crimes.

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Since the government of Guillermo Lasso, who has been in power for eight months, an attempt has been made to position the narrative that the increase in violence is due to a forceful response to drug trafficking by the government. “We have decided to decisively face the fight against drug trafficking. This is not common crime; they are transnational gangs that traffic drugs through Ecuador”

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The root of the outbreak of insecurity is that Ecuador is today, according to the government explanation, the exit point for international drug trafficking from the United States and Europe due to the porosity of the land borders with Colombia and Peru. And that has an impact on urban violence, but also on recurring clashes between gangs inside the country's prisons and on the record numbers of seizures.

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La criminalidad en Guayaquil y Durán han alcanzado niveles impensados