Ecuador election: Narco politics rule ahead of polls - BBC News

A rise in drug crime in the once-peaceful country has dominated the build-up to Sunday's election.

13 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage caption, Presidential candidate Daniel Noboa appears at a campaign event wearing a bullet-proof vestBy Katy WatsonSouth America correspondent, in GuayaquilThe Whatsapp message arrived on a Sunday night.

"Good evening Franki, this is the Jalisco New Generation [Mexican drugs cartel]," the message read, in barely legible Spanish. "If you block me, you'll get into problems. I need $6,000 [£4,710] - I'm watching you, your wife and kids."

Franklin Torres, a banana producer, ignored it - then, a few days later, another message arrived, this time sent to Franklin's wife: "Tell your husband to get his act together, we are writing from prison and there are people watching at the window."

While he reported the threats, Franklin has little faith things will get better.

As president of Ecuador's National Federation of banana growers, he is pressuring the government to allow them to carry weapons to protect themselves.