What’s behind the ‘apocalyptic’ violence in Ecuador

What's behind the escalating violence in Ecuador, including the live takeover of a TV station, the rising power of drug cartels and Pres. Daniel Noboa's decrees of a national emergency?

The news of hooded gunmen barging into a live television show and taking hostages in Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city and chief port, reverberated around the world Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the country's president, Daniel Noboa, said "we are in a state of war and we cannot give in."

"It's apocalyptic," said Benjamin Gedan, director of the Latin America program at the Wilson Center global affairs think tank in Washington, D.C. "There is a real question whether organized crime can be brought under control with the resources that Ecuador has at its disposal. It's really reminiscent of the darkest days of Mexico and Colombia."

He said Ecuador was long an oasis of peace in the midst of the violence related to organized crime and drug cartels that ravaged Colombia for so many years. Since Ecuador does not have the experience of drug trafficking organizations challenging the government as Colombia has had, it does not have the military, security services and resources to deal with the chaos and security threats it is now facing.

"The scale of the problem and the inexperience of Ecuador in trying to dismantle organized crime mafias will make this a really challenging problem," said Gedan, who was in Guayaquil in November.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/ecuador-violence-what-know-rcna133215

---