Is Gang Legalization Responsible for Ecuador’s Security Crisis?

Organized crime and violence in Ecuador have reached new peaks, throwing a controversial gang-legalization policy from the administration of President Rafael Correa (2007-2017) back into the limelight. 

Part of this is related to the violence that led to the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio on August 9, which marked a low point in the deterioration of security in Ecuador. But the debate has conflated organized criminal groups, such as the Lobos and Choneros - who have expanded from inside prisons, controlling the transnational cocaine trade through the country and pushing the homicide rate to 26 per 100,000 in 2022 - with street gangs, such as the Latin Kings. 

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