In Chanduy, a coastal community of Santa Elena, armed men shot Sunday with rifles against residents of the area and killed five people, three of the same family.

In the capital, on Saturday night, there was a shooting at the facilities of the Flagrancy Unit of the Prosecutor’s Office against five detainees, but the one who was wounded was a 14 year old teenager.

Ecuador is suffering a crisis of violence and insecurity that the government attributes to the rise of drug trafficking and disputes between criminal gangs for control of drug trafficking.

The year 2022 closed with 25 violent deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest figure in the country’s history.

However, those numbers could be surpassed because in the first quarter of 2023 there was a 66% increase in homicides.

Faced with the escalation of crime, the government of President Guillermo Lasso adopted controversial measures such as authorizing the carrying of weapons for civilians and allowing police and military to act with all means at their disposal against those they consider terrorists.

However, the number of violent deaths continues to rise.

mh/arm/mem/avr