Cartels Take Over As Ecuador's New Power Brokers

Ecuador, once an island of peace in the strife-torn Northern Andean region of South America, is caught in the midst of drug-fueled violence, which is exacerbating a long-running political crisis. In an unprecedented event, presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was shot down by a Colombian gunman when leaving an August 2023 campaign rally. That occurred after government officials and local politicians were attacked and even murdered over the last year by gangs battling to control Ecuador’s booming cocaine trade. A confluence of events,…