Mapping
Source: TH
The port city of Guayaquil in Ecuador (a route for cocaine trafficking from neighbouring Colombia to the United States and Europe) is grappling with a devastating battle for control among criminal gangs, leaving the country broken. The violence has escalated dramatically in recent years, making Ecuador the fourth most violent country in Latin America, surpassed only by Venezuela, Honduras, and Colombia.
Ecuador is on South America’s west coast. Its diverse landscape encompasses the Amazon jungle, Andean highlands and the wildlife-rich Galápagos Islands. Ecuador’s role in the drug trade dates back to the 1980s, when it was a transit route for Peruvian coca base trafficked into Colombia.
