At least 22 people were killed in the violent port city of Guayaquil, Ecuador, on Thursday due to clashes between rival factions of a drug trafficking gang, officials reported.
Additionally, three others were injured in a series of internal conflicts within the city, according to a statement from local police, who revised an earlier death count of 12.
A police source said the gun battles involved opposing factions of a gang known as Los Tigerones, which is among the most influential in this historically tranquil country.
Ecuador hosts around 20 criminal organizations engaged in drug trafficking, kidnapping, and extortion, causing chaos in a nation of 18 million people situated between the world’s largest cocaine producers, Peru and Colombia.
In recent years, the nation has descended into violence due to the swift emergence of transnational cartels that utilize its ports, such as Guayaquil, to transport cocaine to the U.S. and Europe.
For instance, homicide rates have surged from six per 100,000 residents in 2018 to an unprecedented 47 in 2023.
Experts assert that these gangs are continually evolving and becoming more robust with the revenue generated from their criminal activities.
Guayaquil serves as the capital of Guayas, one of seven provinces under a state of emergency for the last two months as the government attempts to combat organised crime.
Last month, President Daniel Noboa said he would request unnamed allied nations to deploy special forces to assist in this battle.
As Ecuador approaches a runoff election on April 13, where Noboa will compete against leftist candidate Luisa Gonzalez, the violence shows no signs of abating.
