Drug trafficking has plagued our country for decades.

Our “Island of Peace” no longer exists for the vast majority, who feel the use of terror and force closer every day. Today we are experiencing the consequences of an international problem that, unfortunately, successive governments and Ecuadorian society have not had the determination and capacity to comprehensively and effectively face.

This lack of vision and political will means that today our squares, streets and homes are flooded with blood. Drugs, as in all other cases in the world, have infected all levels of society.

On the road to Daule, 10 tons of sodium hydroxide, which would be used for the production of cocaine, were seized

It even seemed ironic to me that the president of Colombia claims that the security situation is worse in Ecuador, without looking in the mirror of his country, which is the largest supplier of cocaine in the world.

For more than forty years, Ecuador has shed sweat and blood on the northern and southern borders and in our sea, in what has been an exercise in containing the tsunami of drugs, doing a job that suits consumer and producer countries. .

What gangs might the Armed Forces face in the fight against organized crime and terrorism?

Millions of Americans and Europeans use cocaine today, not only because states have failed them, but because they have failed to defeat organized crime. We all agree on that. You can’t keep doing the same thing as useful idiots; it is necessary to devise strategies of influence that consolidate the nation and the affected nations. Enough of improvisations, enough of political mudslinging and ostrich games.

The market expanded with the pandemic and production doubled to meet demand, it’s as simple as that. This represents hundreds of billions of dollars that are not returning to Alto Putumayo or the Huallage valleys, but are in first world banks.

After the attack on the sailors, the Navy reports that there is pressure from gangs and attempts to infiltrate the ports

A war is being waged there to eliminate demand, and here production would fall. But this is not easy because of the international conflict of interest that has linked nations linked to the drug trade.

It’s not a war just for Ecuador, it’s a war that involves all those millions of consumers, producers, traders, financiers and all those who profit from alkaloids.

It is time to make the elimination of drug trafficking a national defense objective. To be successful, the doctrine of security and development must prevail. This is not defeated by weapons, it is defeated by sustainable development, dignified work and validating values.

The cursed Andean drug is the biggest polluter of our democratic structure and turns us into a servile state, instead of a sovereign state and full control over the nation.

The Andes region has become a brothel for drugs and related crimes, and we must overcome parochial differences and coordinate international efforts. Other solutions are needed, strategically thought out, organically functional and far from improvisation and popular sensationalism. (OR)