Living in Fear: How Gang Violence Is Reshaping Ecuador
In this video, Crisis Group’s Expert for the Southern Andes, Glaeldys González Calanche, explains why criminal groups in Ecuador have grown so precipitously since 2021 and analyses the impact of the government’s strategy to deploy the military to combat insecurity.
2025 marked the deadliest year in Ecuador’s history, with more than 9,000 people killed. The expansion and fragmentation of organised criminal groups in recent years has left civilians in the line of fire.
To understand the country’s rapid descent into violence, Crisis Group’s Expert for the Southern Andes, Glaeldys González Calanche, explains in this video why criminal groups have grown so precipitously since 2021 and analyses the impact of the government’s strategy to deploy the military to combat insecurity.
Ecuador will ultimately need a more holistic approach to addressing social vulnerability if it hopes to halt future waves of criminality.