At least 680 violent deaths have been recorded on the streets of Zone 8, while at least 250 murders have been recorded in prisons.
The murder of television host Efraín Ruales shocked the country. It happened on January 27, on a street in the north of Guayaquil, when I was leaving a gym. The actor was shot from a vehicle. The police later captured several people and in the process seven go to trial. The mastermind is not yet known.
Nine months after Ruales’ death, sprinter Álex Quiñónez was assassinated, along with an urban singer, in a northern neighborhood of Guayaquil. These two crimes are just a sample of the violent deaths, which in 2021 grew alarmingly.
After an analysis of national figures for the last five years, it was detected that intentional deaths doubled since 2016. They went from 5.81 to 10.62 per 100,000 inhabitants. In 2016, at the national level, there were 969 crimes, while as of December 30 there are already more than 2,400 cases. In 2020 there were 1,372 violent deaths. In 2019, the figure was 1,187.
The most violent province is Guayas, made up of zones 8 and 5. In these two sectors there were daily murders, mainly carried out by men on motorcycles. More than 80% of violent deaths in Guayas were related to drug trafficking.
The Government linked the increase in criminal activity and the intensity of these events to retaliation for actions it took to restore public order, such as drug seizures and states of exception that allowed the military to take to the streets.
Figures analyzed by the Ministry of Government also revealed that the most violent days are usually Tuesdays, the time when the most murders are carried out is between 6:00 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. Most of the victims are in their 20s and 30s.
The statistics also established that the most dangerous district in the country is the south, which includes the Guasmo sector, in the south of Guayaquil. In that district, one of the most populated in the country, at least 134 murders have been committed during 2021. In 2020, to date, there were 65 violent deaths.
Another district of Guayaquil where the number of intentional homicides grew by 241% is Nueva Prosperina, in northwest. In 2020 there were 27 murders reported there. Before the end of 2021 there were 93 cases.
The Durán district follows on this list. That canton in 2020 had 47 murders, while before the end of 2021 it already had 69.
In Zone 8, made up of Guayaquil, Durán and Samborondón, up to December 30 there were 680 murders registered, according to figures from the National Police. There are 320 more cases than last year, when it closed with 362 events of this type. But here the more than 250 dead in the Penitentiary are not included. In total there are almost 900 murders.
Hours before the end of the year, two other violent deaths occurred in the Main Port. A driver died after a gunshot attack in the suburb while a young man was killed in a business in the Sergio Toral cooperative, northwest.
The Police highlighted that 70% of the hit men are fighting for territory and that “they are killing each other,” the police chiefs repeatedly repeated at press conferences. However, in 2021, at least a dozen children were reported, only in Guayaquil, who have died as collateral victims in shootings and hitmen.
The femicide rate increased to 110 cases. Violent deaths and robberies also rocked the Los Ríos and Manabí provinces in 2021. (I)
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.
