Illegal Arms Trafficking Is Ecuador’s Security Blind Spot

Illegal Arms Trafficking Is Ecuador’s Security Blind Spot

Illegal Arms Trafficking Is Ecuador’s Security Blind Spot In recent years, Ecuador has been engulfed in a wave of violence driven by organized crime — a crisis fueled in part by the authorities’ inability to identify where criminals are obtaining their firearms.The expansion of organized crime over the past five years has led to a historic security crisis. In 2024, Ecuador recorded the highest homicide rate in South America. Since 2019, the coun…