2024 Ecuadorian conflict

This article is about a domestic conflict with organized crime groups. For the diplomatic incident between Ecuador and Mexico, see 2024 raid on the Mexican embassy in Ecuador.
2024 Ecuadorian conflict
Part of the Ecuadorian security crisis and the war on drugs in Ecuador

Ecuadorian military on 13 January
Date9 January 2024 – present
(10 months and 2 weeks)
Location
Ecuador
Status Ongoing as a low-intensity conflict
Belligerents
Ecuador Government of Ecuador Organized crime groups, notably Los Choneros
Commanders and leaders
Units involved
Armed civilians
Several organisations[1]
Casualties and losses
2 police officers killed[2]
4 police officers kidnapped[3]
1 prosecutor killed[4]
1 councillor killed[5]
1 mayor killed[6]
1 staffer killed[6]		 8 killed[7]
more than 10,000 suspects detained[2][7][8][9][10][11]
21 civilians killed[2][12]
Over 50 killed overall

On 9 January 2024, an armed conflict broke out in Ecuador involving the country's government against several organized crime groups, most notably the Los Choneros cartel.

Reports of armed attacks throughout Guayaquil and other parts of the country were widespread, occurring primarily in prisons, markets, roads, and universities.[13][14] The large-scale attacks were a combination of responses to the escape of Los Choneros leader José Adolfo Macías Villamar in Guayaquil,[15] and President Daniel Noboa declaring a state of emergency and then an internal state of war.[14]

  1. ^ "Daniel Noboa decreta estado de conflicto interno". Publimetro. 9 January 2024. Archived from the original on 10 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Al menos diez muertos, entre ellos dos policías, dejó la ola de violencia narco en Ecuador" [At least ten dead, including two police officers, left the wave of drug violence in Ecuador]. Infobae (in Spanish). 10 January 2024. Archived from the original on 10 January 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Ecuador TV studio taken over live on air by masked people brandishing guns". Reuters. 9 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Ecuador prosecutor investigating gang attack on TV station shot and killed". The Guardian.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference dead_councillor was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference dead_mayor was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b Solano, Gonzalo; Molina, Gabriela (13 January 2024). "Casi 900 detenidos y 5 delincuentes abatidos en Ecuador ante despliegue militar y alza de impuestos" [Almost 900 detainees with 5 criminals killed in Ecuador following military deployment after tax increases]. Associated Press (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 13 January 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  8. ^ Tegel, Simeon (15 January 2024). "Ecuador's millennial president rounds up prison gangs". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 15 January 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  9. ^ "Ecuador declares control over prisons, frees hostages after eruption in "war" with drug gangs". CBS News. 15 January 2024.
  10. ^ "Ecuador's Noboa Says Crackdown On Gangs Bearing Fruit". Barrons. 22 January 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  11. ^ Gimeno, Fernando (26 February 2024). "Más 10.000 personas fueron detenidas en Ecuador desde el inicio de la lucha contra el narcoterrorismo" [More than 10,000 people have been arrested in Ecuador since the beginning of the fight against narcoterrorism]. Infobae (in Spanish).
  12. ^ "Zeker dertien mensen doodgeschoten door gewapende bendes in Ecuador". nos.nl (in Dutch). 31 March 2024. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  13. ^ "Ecuador in complete chaos as gunmen take over TV station and terrorize college campus". MARCA. 9 January 2024. Archived from the original on 10 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  14. ^ a b John, Tara (9 January 2024). "Ecuador declares 'internal armed conflict' as gunmen take over live TV broadcast". CNN. Archived from the original on 9 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  15. ^ "A notorious Ecuadorian gang leader vanishes from prison and authorities investigate if he escaped". AP. 8 January 2024. Archived from the original on 8 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.