They won’t succeed in scaring us!

Ecuador is in a permanent state of crisis, but this crisis is different. Now, it is the terrorist acts perpetrated by Organized Criminal Groups (GDO) that rise like an ominous shadow that threatens the integrity, the peace and the very existence of this small Andean country. In this gloomy scenario, terrorism and its relationship with organized crime groups have woven a web of chaos and despair that hangs over every corner of our society.

Terrorism, that concept so often misused by our very poor political class, has become a scourge that tarnishes the country’s daily life. We knew that we were in bad shape, that we ended 2023 as the most violent country in the region; that our coasts are used for the distribution of cocaine to the United States and Europe; that our children are being recruited by the GDO; that the security of our borders is poor; that the GDO have co-opted members of the police, justice system and armed forces. We knew it but the state response failed to anticipate events. Today, the string of terrorist attacks that has shaken our country has not only left physical scars, but has also fractured the trust and security that should be the inalienable rights of every citizen and which are contemplated in the Constitution.

The audacity of the GDO has led our weak democracy to a state of emergency, reflected in Executive Decree No. 111 that recognizes the existence of an Internal Armed Conflict in Ecuador. This instrument, signed by President Daniel Noboa, is now deployed as a chilling reminder of the seriousness of the situation. Ecuador, facing an internal threat that is devouring the foundations of democracy and the rule of law, is forced to take extraordinary measures to safeguard its existence.

All Ecuadorians watched with terror the kidnapping of staff at a television station while they were broadcasting live, transforming television studios into battlefields. Freedom of expression, a fundamental pillar of any democratic society, has been violated for the sake of a criminal agenda that seeks to terrorize us. They won’t succeed! The shadow of fear hangs over the country, but we must not allow darkness to win. Terrorism is not an end in itself, but a strategy of the GDO to distance citizens from the State.

The murder of prison guards and police officers is a direct affront to the Weberian principle in which only the State has the monopoly on violence. But today, all men and women committed to the security of the population are victims of ruthless violence that seeks to sow panic and bend the will of the State.

In this desolate context, the need for national unity prevails more than ever. Fear, although palpable, should not become the master of our decisions and destinies. It is time to close ranks as a society, to look beyond our differences and raise our voices against the common threat that stalks us. Ecuador, in its shared pain, must stand as a beacon of resistance, reminding us that the strength of unity is the only one capable of dispelling the darkness of terror.

In the battle against fear, collective determination is our greatest shield. Only with courage and solidarity can we overcome this shadow that seeks to eclipse hope. In the union of the Ecuadorian people lies the force that will dissolve the chains of terror, demonstrating that light will always prevail over darkness.

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