Organized crime takes root in Quito

The violence in Ecuador — which has seen whole regions fall under the control of gangs — is now taking hold in the big cities that, until now, seemed distant from organized crime.

A clear example of this situation is Quito, the Ecuadorian capital, where 24 violent crimes were recorded in a single month. This represents an increase of 30% compared to the same period last year. These cases include armed assaults on two officials of the SNAI, the institution in charge of the penitentiary system. In response to the rising insecurity that has become uncontrollable, President Daniel Noboa’s administration placed Quito under the latest state of emergency decree. This is the first time that this has occurred in the capital.

Over the past four years, the capital’s residents have observed — from a distance — the rise in violence. Until now, it’s been concentrated in the cities that form part of the drug-trafficking route, which begins in the border areas with Colombia and Peru, crosses part of the Amazon and the entire Ecuadorian coast to reach the ports, from where the drugs are exported to the United States and Europe. Quito — until recently — didn’t appear on the drug-trafficking map. However, over the last two months, gunfights have begun to resonate loudly in certain neighborhoods of the capital, setting off alarms.

The street known as La Jota — in the Solanda neighborhood, in the south of the city — vibrates with the bustle of informal commerce. Passersby look for even the most unusual objects, certain that they’ll find them in the small businesses along the sidewalks. There, merchants compete for customers by offering the best prices and various freebies. But one night in August, the hustle and bustle was interrupted by men on two motorcycles, who fired several shots at five young people. They tried to escape, amidst the panic and screams of those who were sheltering from stray bullets. Three of the young people were killed, while two were injured. A few days earlier, the community had already been shocked by the murder of a man, who was killed on the doorstep of his house.

“Solanda is a city within a city,” explains Fernando Chamba, a neighborhood leader. He emphasizes the high population density: 130,000 people live in Solanda. “The neighborhood isn’t immune to social decomposition. Many of our neighbors emigrated in 1999, during the baking crisis; some returned [to Ecuador], but many young people were left to fend for themselves,” Chamba continues.

A similar pattern repeats itself in other parts of the city, such as Quitumbe, Calderón and Comité del Pueblo. These districts face violence and other common social problems that increase the vulnerability of the population: unemployment, truancy, a lack of access to higher education, the displacement of people from other provinces and an influx in foreign migration.

For Carolina Andrade — the secretary of Security for the Municipality of Quito — violence in the capital is marked by internal cocaine-trafficking networks. “Thirty-two percent of the drugs seized are for internal consumption; it’s a very strong market and this boosts criminal violence,” the official tells EL PAÍS.

Additionally, since 2022 — when laws surrounding the possession of firearms were relaxed — 80% of homicides and robberies have been committed with guns. Previously, knives were the weapons of choice. This situation has reinforced the presence of major gangs, such as Los Lobos, Choneros, Latin Kings and Chone Killers, who have taken their fight to the streets of Quito. They’re trying to impose their own rule of law, just as they’ve done in the coastal provinces. There, neither the state of emergency nor curfews have managed to contain violence in the areas controlled by criminal groups.

In Quito, the main causes of death are traffic accidents — mainly due to drunk drivers — followed by suicides. In third place, are homicides. “Up until September, we’ve seen a 13% reduction compared to 2023, which is significant in the national context. However, over the last two months, that gap has begun to close at a worrying speed,” Andrade admits.

Even so, the declaration of a state of emergency surprised the City Council. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t a decision agreed upon or discussed with the Municipality of Quito. The [executive branch] acted within its powers in managing security,” says Andrade, who believes that the decision has political connotations in the lead-up to the 2025 presidential elections. She also notes that the repercussions that the state of emergency will have on the city’s image — and on tourism — were not taken into account.

“Tourists don’t know what it means to live in a state of emergency,” she adds. However, she points out that, since the decree came into force, the police and military presence in several neighborhoods has increased, something that was previously concentrated in other provinces of the country that have been in a constant state of emergency. This deployment has reduced the logistical and operational capabilities of the police in the capital.

The state of emergency — imposed for 60 days — also allows for the suspension of certain civil liberties. “We hope that it will be an opportunity for the police to carry out searches related to ongoing investigations… this will be a tool to make strategic arrests,” Andrade explains.

Quito — unlike other cities — houses the main state institutions, the justice system and the Attorney General’s Office. This increases the risks and threats posed by organized crime, especially in a pre-election context. The shadow of murdered presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio — who was assassinated in August 2023, when he was leaving a political rally in the north of the city — weighs heavily on the capital. So far, five members of a criminal gang — Los Lobos — have been convicted as the perpetrators of the crime. Still, it’s unknown who ordered Villavicencio’s murder.

As long as the veil of impunity persists, the capital will remain vulnerable to new episodes of violence that could change the history of the country.

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