On Tuesday April 11, nine fishermen were killed in the small fishing port of Esmeraldas by a group of around thirty heavily armed men who arrived by sea. According to Ecuadorian Interior Minister Juan Zapata, the attackers had no specific purpose other than to
"show force".
They belonged to the drug trafficking group Los Tiguerones.
The latter accused the fishermen of having paid money to a rival group, the Gangsters, to ensure their protection.
These ports have become obligatory passages for the export of drugs via the Pacific to the United States in particular.
Crimes, extortion and kidnappings are the daily lot of the inhabitants of the region.
In 2022, 500 murders were recorded in the Esmeraldas region, bringing the homicide rate to 63 per 100,000 inhabitants.
Since January 2023, 64.6 tons of drugs have been seized, mainly cocaine, and 4,099 people have been arrested.
In Chile, a country…
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