Americans of Ecuadorian heritage have watched with terror, dread, and despair as drug trafficking-related violence has grown, pitting the country against vicious gangs.
Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, an Ecuadorian-born Florida Democrat who served in Congress from 2019 to 2021, learnt of the violence from a family and friend discussion.
I was heartbroken to learn about it. I was worried about their safety, said Florida U.S. Senate candidate Mucarsel-Powell. Witnessing kidnappings and cartel-driven violence is awful.
Born in Guayaquil, Mucarsel-Powell moved to the U.S. with her mother and sisters aged 14 in the 1970s under military dictatorship. Her father was shot and killed in Ecuador when she was 24.
She claimed, “I have never seen the penetration of cartels using violent means to kill police officers and take police officers hostage,” despite seeing tanks in the streets as a child.
“This could very quickly result in an internal civil war.” “I remember leaving a country with political corruption, incivility, and violence—that brings back memories, and I am just extremely concerned for the entire Ecuadorian community.”
Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa detailed plans for two high-security prisons on Thursday after declaring Wednesday that the country was “at war and we cannot cede in the face of these terrorist groups.”
After masked gunmen took over a public television station in Guayaquil and held its crew at gunpoint before police arrived, Ecuadorians and the globe watched on television and social media.