Ecuador: in Guayaquil the coast guard fights increasingly sophisticated drug trafficking

Since the declaration of the state of exception and internal war in Ecuador, the massive presence of the Army and Police in the streets has caused massive drug seizures. A few days ago they met 22 tons of drugs in a subway in the city of Vinces, his largest seizure. But the fight takes place not only on earth but even at seaparticularly near the strategic port of Guayaquil.

The challenge of the Ecuadorian coast guard is visible from the entrance of its base south of Guayaquil, one of the largest drug export ports in the world. What appears to be a pocket submarine surprises the visitors, but not the commanding officer who must remain anonymous for safety.

“Traffickers have evolved from small fishing boats to boats ‘to go fast’ (fast), which have very high speeds, between 40 and 50 knots and, subsequently, a semi-submersibles“, Explain.

Beyond the drug-laden containers on the ground in one of Guayaquil’s eight port terminals, Traffickers also practice the “blind hook” technique. when they board ships as they sail out to the ocean. A difficult area to control, according to this officer who also asked to remain anonymous, aboard a patrol car.

“The port area is very close to the urban area which, in turn, It is attached to the mangrove area, to the islands of the Gulf of Guayaquil. It has approximately 75 kilometers of navigable canal for merchant ships. “They allow criminal groups to carry out their activities,” he says.

Commando teams normally accompany ships into the gulf.

They also fight against pirates who prey on fishermen. On the day this reporter accompanied the Coast Guard, an inspection of a barge on which eight trucks were loading 40 tons of shrimp revealed no irregularities.

His companions from Esmeraldas, in the north of the country, had better luck a few days ago when they captured a semi-submarine loaded with more than three tons of drugs.