Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at escalating gang violence across Ecuador, U.S. and Palestinian goals for future governance of Gaza, and al-Shabab seizing a U.N. helicopter in Somalia.
Gang Violence Engulfs Ecuador
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa declared an “internal armed conflict” across the country this week and published a list of 22 gangs deemed “terrorist organizations,” ordering state authorities to “neutralize” the criminal groups and take back control of regional prisons.
“From this moment on, every terrorist group identified in the aforementioned decree has become a military target,” Rear Adm. Jaime Vela Erazo, head of Ecuador’s Joint Armed Forces Command, said on Tuesday.
The dramatic move followed a wave of gang-related violence across the country over the past several days that saw a notorious gang leader escape from prison, police officers and prison guards taken hostage, and explosive devices detonated in multiple cities. On Tuesday, gunmen armed with explosives stormed TC Televisión in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city, during a live broadcast and tried to force a presenter to read out a statement on air before being subdued by authorities.
The recent spate of violence began on Sunday when police discovered that Adolfo “Fito” Macías had escaped La Regional prison in Guayaquil in anticipation of his transfer to another facility. Macías led Los Choneros, one of Ecuador’s most feared gangs known for working with Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel and Colombia’s Oliver Sinisterra Front. He was sentenced in 2011 to 34 years in prison for drug trafficking and murder.
Noboa ordered a nationwide state of emergency on Monday following Macías’s escape, deploying more than 3,000 police officers and military forces to search for him. The decree lasts for 60 days and includes a nightly curfew from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Macías has yet to be found.
Inmates in at least six prisons across the country responded to Macías’s escape and protested Noboa’s crackdown by sparking violent riots and taking prison guards hostage. “You declared a state of emergency. We declare police, civilians, and soldiers to be the spoils of war,” a police officer kidnapped by gang members was forced to read in a statement.
At least eight people have been killed in Guayaquil and another two killed in nearby Nobol thus far. Local authorities arrested 13 individuals for storming a police station with firearms and grenades. And gang members have taken at least seven police officers hostage.
Ecuador was once considered an “island of peace” compared to neighbors Peru and Colombia. But in recent years, gang violence, drug trafficking, and political assassinations have surged. And in 2022, homicide rates spiked from 5 to 26 homicides per 100,000 from 2017, making Ecuador one of the most dangerous nations in South America. Noboa was elected late last year for pledging to combat drug-related crimes and political corruption.
Across the Western Hemisphere, Ecuador’s allies have backed Noboa’s efforts. Chile, Colombia, and Brazil expressed support for Noboa, and the U.S. State Department said it was “ready to provide assistance to the Ecuadorian government” should Noboa request it. But fear of an escalating conflict led China to suspend embassy and consular services in Quito starting on Wednesday. Peru plans to declare an emergency along its entire northern border with Ecuador and has ordered its National Police to reinforce security.
Today’s Most Read
- Ukraine Has a Pathway to Victory by Rose Gottemoeller and Michael Ryan
- 5 Reasons the Israel-Palestine Conflict Won’t End Any Time Soon by Stephen M. Walt
- Does Biden Have a Middle East Peace Plan? Sort of. by Michael Hirsh
What We’re Following
West Bank diplomacy. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Wednesday to discuss the Israel-Hamas war and future governance of Gaza.
The Biden administration has proposed having a “revamped and revitalized” Palestinian Authority, which currently oversees the West Bank, also assume control of Gaza after the war ends. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes the idea, and last week, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant laid out a different vision for postwar Gaza that would see Palestinians who are not affiliated with Hamas govern the territory rather than the Palestinian Authority.
During his meeting with Blinken, Abbas said Palestinians would not accept any agreement that keeps Gaza separate from the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority also reportedly provided Blinken with a list of proposed internal reforms on areas such as free speech and corruption that it would be open to making as part of a broader deal to end the war and take control of Gaza. Experts have pointed to the Palestinian Authority’s corruption, authoritarian governance, and weakness—including its loss of effective control over key parts of the West Bank—as major challenges it would face in trying to govern Gaza.
Flight seizure. Al-Shabab militants captured a United Nations helicopter carrying nine passengers near Somalia’s Galguduud region on Wednesday after it was forced to make an emergency landing. One person was killed, six of the passengers were taken hostage, and two people escaped. According to Somali military official Maj. Hassan Ali, several foreign nationals were on board, though their nationalities are unknown.
The flight was carrying medical supplies when it was seized by al-Shabab, an Islamist group tied to al Qaeda that has waged a violent insurgency for over a decade. Officials said the helicopter was expected in Wisil, a border town near the front lines, where it would transport injured soldiers from Galguduud.
Houthi shipping assault. U.S. and British forces intercepted 21 missiles and drones aimed at commercial ships in the Red Sea on Tuesday. The Iranian-backed Houthi militia claimed responsibility for the attack, one of its largest assaults in a series of strikes originally against vessels allegedly connected to Israel as part of the group’s efforts to protest the war in Gaza. No casualties or damage was reported.
“It’s exactly the arbitrary nature of the attacks that’s spooking the shipping industry,” FP columnist Elisabeth Braw argued. “Shipping lines and crews routinely handle severe weather because such weather can be predicted and follows a certain pattern. The Houthis’ designations of ‘Israeli-linked’ vessels don’t.”
Appealing to the Baltics. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Lithuania on Wednesday in a surprise visit to request more air defense aid. Vilnius was Zelensky’s first stop in a diplomatic tour across the Baltics to bolster Western support for Kyiv amid wavering commitments from the United States and its allies. “Sometimes, the insecurity of partners regarding financial and military aid to Ukraine only increases Russia’s courage and strength,” Zelensky warned.
Kyiv faces a bitter stalemate against Moscow as the region battles a harsh winter. On Tuesday, more than 1,000 Ukrainian towns across nine regions lost power due to extreme winter weather. Temperatures fell to 5 degrees Fahrenheit, forcing Ukraine’s power grid to balance skyrocketing electricity consumption demands with damage to its infrastructure, both from cold fronts and Russian assaults.
Odds and Ends
eBay may not be the best place to purchase authentic royal keepsakes. However, that didn’t stop Dru Marshall in southern England from trying to sell an “antler walking stick” that he falsely claimed belonged to the late Queen Elizabeth II. The 26-year-old was charged with defrauding eBay buyers on Monday and sentenced to one year of community service—but not before his auction had reached $686. It probably didn’t help that he told potential customers that the proceeds would go to cancer research.