Police vs Gangs: Inside Ecuador's Drug Wars
In the city of Durán, Ecuador, armed police teams clash with gangs that control the drug trade, face corruption inside their ranks, and terrorise local residents. Captain Jean Carlos Bustamante (age 34) describes a war of attrition in which every raid pulls out firearms and ammunition, but gangs continually acquire more wealth and weapons.
“We have many bad people inside our unit, inside the state, inside politics,” Bustamante says. He stresses that only the officers he “hand‑picked” are trusted, and he leads the group into shadowy neighbourhoods where windows are barred and the streets echo with fear.
During a recent operation they breached an abandoned house, using a battering ram to get inside. 
They seized two handguns and enough ammo for an assault rifle, a small victory that reduced the gangs’ firepower.
Yet the gangs are “buying laws, judges, and politicians,” says Deputy Commander Santiago Gavilanez. Licit enforcement has been undermined when officers accept bribes that fund gang operations, fueling a vicious loop of retaliation and crime.
Statistical evidence shows the homicide rate in Ecuador surged over the last decade. The bar chart below visualises how violent deaths tripled between 2021 and 2023, with ostentation of new data for 2025: 
This spike underscores the urgency of policing in markets that have become hotbeds of loose firearms and lethal violence.
Despite journalists calling for systemic change, many residents experience the cruel reality of daily terror: shoppers whisper as a bullet whizzes past, blocking roads after 7pm, and grieving families mourn unseen in the dark. The police note an improvement: streets are now less deserted after dusk, and bodies are less frequently beheaded or dismembered—evidence that law enforcement is gradually gaining ground.
The story concludes with an eye on the future: survival for law‑enforcement officers and gang members is no different—both face a war that may never tilt. While the government’s crackdown curbs some violence, the deep conflict with gangs appears ensnared, a cycle that will likely persist until systemic corruption is eradicated.
