QUITO, Nov 23 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — Ecuador is currently experiencing its most violent year, with 7,554 intentional homicides between January and October 2025, according to public data from the Ministry of the Interior.
This figure, which shows the country’s security crisis, surpasses the annual total for 2024, and analysts project that 2025 will end with around 9,000 murders.
The increase equal to the same period in 2024, when there were 5,685 violent deaths, represents a rise of more than 32%, confirming the upward trend that began in 2021 and has placed the country among the most violent in the region and the world.
The coastal provinces account for the highest number of cases.
Guayas registered 3,422 murders, followed by Manabi (1,067) and Los Rios (1,041).
These three territories alone account for 73% of all violent deaths in the country, a concentration that experts attribute to territorial disputes between criminal organizations for control of drug trafficking routes.
Authorities maintain that a large part of the crimes are linked to clashes between gangs, especially in key areas for drug shipments to international markets. Thid is compounded by the fragmentation of criminal groups, settling of scores, and armed confrontations, which have turned urban areas along the coast into scenes of recurring attacks. — NNN-PRENSA LATINA
