Quito, Ecuador
This piece was written after Daniel Noboa was elected President of Ecuador, but before the events of early January 2024 when he declared war on the drug cartels.
Headline: Newly elected President Daniel Noboa is promising to restore smiles to the faces of Ecuadorians.
Daniel Noboa (35) is the youngest person ever elected to the Ecuadorian Presidency. Noboa ran a campaign promising to reduce drug-related violence and to restore the nation to its once peaceful existence.
The murder rate in Ecuador quadrupled between 2018 and 2022. This shocking statistic is largely a result of territorial disputes between Colombian and Peruvian drug cartels looking for a piece of Ecuador’s growing drug production and distribution network.
In August 2023, a presidential candidate running on an anti-organized crime platform was shot and killed at a campaign rally in Quito. It is widely suspected that either Los Choneros or Los Lobos (the Wolves) cocaine cartel carried out the assassination.
Noboa has lofty goals for his homeland, but achieving his objectives for Ecuador may involve a battle with wolves.
Every picture I have seen of the new Ecuadorian President has the charismatic young man in the foreground, often flanked by his adoring wife, earnestly describing to Ecuadorians his vision of the future.
If you look closely however, almost every image has unsmiling strongmen in the background, suggesting that violence may be a significant obstacle to …
… Restoring Smiles.
Addendum: January 8, 2024
The wolves got loose today. Criminal gang leader El Fito escaped from prison and Noboa declared “war” on the drug cartels. Only time will tell who will be smiling when the war ends.
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