As President Daniel Noboa begins his new four-year term, Ecuador is facing a spiraling crisis of gang violence, institutional fragility, and expanding illicit economies. Once among the safest countries in the region, Ecuador has maintained the highest homicide rate in Latin America since 2023. In response to this deepening crisis, ACLED has expanded its coverage to include new, detailed data on gang-related violence across the country. The expansion of ACLED’s dataset sheds new light on this unprecedented security challenge, as figures show that gang violence in Ecuador rose 60% in the first five months of 2025 compared to the same period last year.
In our latest report, ACLED Senior Analyst for Latin America & the Caribbean, Tiziano Breda, examines this surge in gang violence, the roots of this crisis, and how past policy decisions and current security efforts are impacting Ecuador’s criminal landscape.
