For several years, numerous analyzes of the criminal reality in the region predict that organized crime will become one of the latent threats to the democratic experience in Latin America. A recent publication of the Political Risk Index cited organized crime as a major risk to democracies, particularly by creating a greater perception of insecurity, corruption and impunity, which causes an absolute lack of confidence in the state’s ability to protect citizens’ security. MartÃnez Meucci warned that the drug trade serves as a true regional axis for the operation of organized crime and its progressive symbiosis with public organizations, adding that the fragility of state institutions and organizations, the large profit margins provided by the criminal economy and the ambitions of politics combine to create an explosive cocktail.
When did we lose?
What few imagined was that the threat to democracy would become a ruthless reality in which criminal groups openly challenge democracy and public peace with the open goal not of overthrowing the government, but of demonstrating to citizens who has the real power, not the state. What we have experienced in the past few days in our country is not only the biggest criminal attack in the republican history of Ecuador, but also a challenge to order that Latin America may not have experienced before. The circumstance that various criminal groups, distributed practically throughout the country, decided on a planned and systematic attack, led analysts to admit that such direct attacks on the legitimate authority of the state and centralized areas of power are unparalleled in the region. , except perhaps the war that the Colombian drug trade waged against the state under Pablo Escobar.
The Rum Runners
Now, at a time when the dynamics of the situation are still changing a lot, it is important to highlight the support that the measures announced by President Nobo had. It’s no secret that the vast majority of Ecuadorians believe that the only way to fight these criminal groups is strong repression that unequivocally includes a lethal response. But even from that perspective, the state must be aware that the challenge is enormous, since it is not only about immobilizing 20,000 members of criminal groups, but also about recognizing the dynamics of the drug economy with all its ramifications and implications. As long as the world consumes more and more cocaine, an immediate and radical solution cannot be foreseen beyond our intentions.
Reviewing everything that could have been done to prevent our country from falling into such a state of confusion is, perhaps, at this moment only review of speculation. The only reality is that we have reached a point in our history where, remembering Winston Churchill, we must learn only through blood, sweat and tears. And just to remember that until a few years ago, we boasted that we were an island of peace. What a brutal and cruel irony. (OR)
Source: Eluniverso
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
