Ecuadorian families abandon homes amid rising gang war

Gang violence has forced thousands of families to abandon their homes across Ecuador, turning neighborhoods into ghost towns. Residents are fleeing escalating bloodshed between gang factions, with many houses being stripped for drug money or used to hold kidnapping victims. The Nueva Prosperina district in Guayaquil has seen intense fighting, prompting a 66-year-old woman to leave her home of nearly 20 years after bullets began hitting rooftops. She stated, 'It was a terrible situation. Bullets were hitting the rooftops and that made me leave.'

Over the past three years, more than 300,000 people in Ecuador have been displaced due to threats, extortion, and violence, a figure advocates suggest could be higher. Ecuador now ranks third in Latin America for internal displacement, behind Haiti and Colombia. The government's security strategy, initiated in 2023 to combat violence fueled by drug transit, has not reduced crime and may have exacerbated it by causing gang factions to splinter and fight over territory. Last year, Ecuador recorded 9,216 violent deaths, an eightfold increase from a decade ago.

Extortion is a systematic tool for gang control, impacting half of the families in Nueva Prosperina. Many cases go unreported due to fear. This violence and displacement extend beyond Guayaquil, affecting Indigenous communities near the Colombian border and prompting businesses to close early in other provinces. Despite acknowledging the problem, government officials admit no agency is clearly responsible for addressing forced displacement. This lack of legal recognition means victims receive no protection or assistance, forcing many to live alongside gangs in constant fear.