The Latin American Report # 286
Ecuador: every death counts
Late last Friday, two women were murdered in a restaurant bar in the port city of Guayaquil, Guayas province, the most violent in the country. One of the women would be the owner of the establishment, and would also be related to one of the most notorious criminal groups in Ecuador. This last fact would have been the reason behind the murder of her and her sister-in-law, the other victim. A few days ago, in Duran, another tense Guayas canton, currently intervened by security forces, six people were killed in a house. All the victims were drinking alcoholic beverages at the time of the armed assault, which also left four injured, including two women. The Chone Killers and the Latin Kings are the criminal groups dying the skies of Durán red.
In Nobol, also in Guayas province, another massacre was reported last Tuesday when five people were shot in a place involved in drug exportation. In the neighboring and also coastal province of El Oro things are not much better. Last Monday a former councilman candidate was shot in the city of Machala, capital of the province. Hours earlier, three people were killed after the van in which they were traveling was assaulted. "[Now] murders [occur] in the least expected place[,] and the risk of becoming a collateral victim fills the citizenry with uncertainty", says a former police officer.
Pain (source of the image).At all these, the government of Daniel Noboa plays to wash the bloody spaces, trying to relativize these events with statistics that reflect a "decrease" in homicides. Politicians connected to the Carondelet Palace have even suggested that an attack like the one reported in Durán is not their responsibility, because "it was in a private space" where the security forces cannot act as "babysitters". There are also divergences within the central administration of the State to evaluate what is happening, with the Minister of the Interior as one of the most discussed figures in this sense. By the way, this week three police officers were murdered in Guayas.
Your quick regional roundup
Dino Ul Musicue, an Indigenous community member and social leader in the town of Caloto, was shot dead on Saturday, according to an association that brings together Indigenous councils. Ul Musicue was in a meeting when he was assaulted by hitmen. So far in 2024, the renowned organization INDEPAZ has already registered almost 100 murders of social leaders.
The arrest of the wife of an important operator of Los Zetas Vieja Escuela (Los Zetas Old School) gang was allegedly the cause of the deadly confrontation between members of it and agents of different security forces in Tamaulipas, Mexico. The gang members went to the hotel where agents of the Tamaulipas State Guard were staying and attacked them, forcing a call for support from the Army and the National Guard. The result of the confrontation, which took place in the town of Abasolo, was eight dead: five gang members, two soldiers, and a state police agent.
This Sunday, Pope Francis called on "all parties [to the Venezuelan conflict] to seek the truth, to exercise moderation, [and] to avoid any kind of violence." In his Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square, the Argentinian urged that "the true good of the population and not partisan interests" guide political actors, a dream right now in an atmosphere as polarized and harsh as the one in the South American nation. The electoral power continues to refuse to prove with disaggregated data the disputed victory it granted to Nicolás Maduro after last Sunday's elections.
And this is all for our report today. I have referenced the sources dynamically in the text, and remember you can learn how and where to follow the LATAM trail news by reading my work here. Have a nice day.
Posted Using InLeo Alpha