Ecuador Eases Access to Guns Amid Spike in Violence

Ecuador is allowing civilians to carry guns in response to growing insecurity, potentially worsening the country’s violence by giving criminals greater access to weapons.

• InSight Crime

President Guillermo Lasso announced a decree on April 1 that lifts a 12-year-old ban on civilians carrying firearms.

“Ecuadorians, we have a common enemy: delinquency, drug trafficking, and organized crime,” he said.

Those who seek to carry a gun must be over 25 and pass a psychological evaluation, a drugs test, and receive a certificate of skill in handling and using firearms.

Anyone with a…

• Ecuador Eases Access to…