Ecuador declares emergency to curb narcotics smuggling and violence

Quito: – Guillermo Lasso, President of Ecuador, announced an emergency in the country, saying that Ecuador has only one enemy and that is narcotic smuggling. The crisis will remain in force for the next two months. Moreover, the military will be deployed in different parts of the country. There had been a massive conflict between two gangs involved in narcotic smuggling in one of the Ecuadorian prisons. Nearly 120 people had been killed in the conflict. This emergency has been imposed given the conflict.

President Guillermo Lasso justified the imposition of emergency, saying ‘Formerly Ecuador was one of the important hubs of the Narcotic smuggling racket. But now, Ecuador features in the list of countries for smuggling and consumption of narcotics. The trade and sale of narcotics in the country have increased significantly. At the same time, narcotics are directly or indirectly linked to the increasing crime rate in the country.’ The government plans to deploy military units and security agencies in various parts of the country.

These agencies have been awarded additional powers and an independent ‘Legal Defence Unit’ will be established. President Guillermo Lasso said that this unit would ensure that the security agencies are not faced with any legal obstacles while executing their actions against the narcotics cartels.

Over the last few months, huge hauls of narcotic substances have been seized in many countries worldwide. This indicates that the narcotic trade is once again on the rise. The former US government had initiated an aggressive campaign against Narcotic substances. But the new Biden administration seems to be ignoring it. At the same time, the Taliban taking over the reins of Afghanistan has provided a fresh impetus to the manufacturing and trade of narcotic substances.

Various international reports have pointed out that opium farming and narcotics trade will be the primary funding source for the Taliban regime. Under his aggressive campaign, former US President Donald Trump had ordered attacks on the areas of opium cultivation and the factories producing opium. But after that, the Taliban have once again established their dominance over the narcotics trade. It has been exposed that the Pakistan agencies are conspiring with the Taliban in this.