Violent crime | Ecuador: Under the control of gangs

Barrios muertos – that's what Evandro Moreno calls those marginalized neighborhoods in the northwest of the port city of Guayaquil, which have long since been abandoned to the violence of criminal gangs. The Ecuadorian sociologist himself grew up in one of these neighborhoods – part of a government resettlement program that was originally intended as a social housing project and is now one of the most dangerous areas in the city. The state has withdrawn, the streets seem deserted – and those who can are fleeing.

Today, Moreno, with the organization Movimiento Barrios en Lucha (MBL), is working precisely there: in those neighborhoods where government presence has long been absent. Six years ago, Moreno explains, state institutions began systematically withdrawing from the most vulnerable neighborhoods – daycare centers, health centers, even the municipal police gradually disappeared. What remained was insecurity, a lack of prospects – and the people themselves.

Minors are exploited

Children and adolescents from marginalized neighborhoods are particularly affected. Young people who are not themselves victims are at risk of being recruited by drug gangs —as couriers, messengers, or even for contract killings . The sexual exploitation of young girls and women is also on the rise. Many parents are fleeing to protect their children. The Comité Permanente de Derechos Humanos (CDH) warns of the increasing exploitation of minors by criminal groups.

"Recruitment occurs not only through coercion, but also within a survival economy. The young people are not the problem—they are a symptom of a state that has abandoned them. Organized crime is very adept at recognizing and exploiting institutional gaps," says Billy Navarrete, spokesperson for the CDH.

Wherever a way out of the spiral of violence is urgently needed, Moreno and the MBL organize cultural and craft projects – including the Batucada Popular, a drum ensemble that offers young people a space for expression and community. Or self-managed textile workshops that enable single mothers to earn their own income. This creates spaces of resistance – for people who don't want to simply accept the violence.

But even these projects are reaching the limits of a reality in which violence dominates life. Recently, two members of the Batucada, Mikel Mesías Gutiérrez (13) and Dylan Saa (13), became embroiled in a gunfight between rival gangs. In Flor de Bastión, the scene of the incident, this is not an exception for many Black youths, but rather a bitter everyday experience. The extreme nature of the violence is clearly evident in this neighborhood, one of Guayaquil's hotspots: In May 2025 alone, over 30 people were killed there within a few days in clashes between rival gangs.

Life between the fronts

Young Black men in these neighborhoods live between two fronts, explains Moreno: On the one side, armed gangs; on the other, a security apparatus that doesn't protect but responds with arbitrary violence. Police and military focus on control rather than protection – racist raids, harassment, and assaults are part of the daily risk.

"As soon as someone is murdered or kidnapped anywhere in the city, we know they're coming to us. And they're not coming to help—they're coming to find someone to blame."

Since taking office, President Daniel Noboa has increasingly relied on repressive measures – legitimized by the promise to combat organized crime. On June 25, 2024, he drastically increased penalties for juvenile offenders: For serious offenses related to organized crime, juveniles now face up to 15 years in prison. They can be sentenced as adults; social-educational measures are no longer required, and pre-trial detention has been extended. The latest tightening of the law has since been legally challenged.

Human rights organizations such as the CDH and Human Rights Watch criticize the increasing militarization as pure repression that ignores the root causes of urban violence. An effective strategy to end recruitment and protect children and young people will not change the situation in the neighborhoods in the long term without the involvement of those affected on the ground, warns CDH spokesperson Billy Navarrete.

The phenomenon of violence and neglect is spreading further and further in Ecuador: According to the Norwegian Refugee Council, 101,000 cases of internal displacement due to conflict and criminal violence were registered in 2024 alone. Over the past three years, the country has become a transit and hub for the international cocaine trade due to the weakening of major cartels in Mexico and Colombia, triggering brutal battles between criminal gangs for territory and influence.