Ecuador’s gangs could trigger civil war

Ecuador’s most-wanted prisoner escaped from a maximum-security detention center in the port city of Guayaquil on Sunday. Chaos has reigned in the South American country since then, with President Daniel Noboa – who was inaugurated fewer than 50 days ago – declaring a nationwide state of emergency for 60 days on Monday.

The prisoner, José ‘Fito’ Macías Villamar, is the leader of Los Choneros, one of Ecuador’s fiercest gangs. The group has humble beginnings, acting as the military wing of Colombian narcos in the 1990s, but has since has evolved into an expansive and internally divided prison gang.

Three years ago, in a coordinated attack in three detention centres that led to the largest prison riot in the country’s history, inmate members of an off-shoot of Los Choneros went after the main organisation, leaving 75 prisoners dead. Incidents like this one, plus kidnappings and shootings, aided in the rise of the businessman-turned-president, who like El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele is not only young but also a fan of building mega-jails.