BOGOTA, Colombia

Ecuador is gradually recovering from one of the worst outbreaks of violence that has shaken the South American nation in its recent history.

After days of commotion in a country that was an oasis of peace in a region plagued by violence, authorities are striving to regain control of prisons and city streets that two weeks ago were taken over by criminal gangs.

On Jan. 7-17, hooded gunmen stormed a television station in the port city of Guayaquil, kidnapping police officers as a string of explosions went off and a prosecutor in charge of investigating criminal gangs was shot dead in his car. Gangs took over at least seven prison facilities across the nation and held 178 guards hostage. Schools were shut across the country as classes took place virtually and many businesses shuttered for several days.

"People didn't know what to do, whether to leave the house, whether to go to the office, whether to stay at home," said Fernando Carrion, a professor of political science at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences in Ecuador.

In Ecuador's prisons, gang violence has become increasingly common, resulting in more than 400 prisoners dead since 2021. "There is very high overcrowding in the country's prisons and inside there are leaders of criminal groups who continue committing crimes from prison," Carrion said.

The number of violent deaths in the South American country rose to 8,008 in 2023, nearly double the 2022 figure of 4,500. In 2017, the homicide rate in Ecuador was roughly five per 100,000 inhabitants. The year 2023 ended with 45 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, a nine-fold increase in six years.

"This is the country that has had the fastest growth in violence in Latin America," said Carrion. "The government has to ensure that this trend does not continue."

In August, the violence pervaded the country's presidential campaign when anti-corruption candidate Fernando Villavicencio, who had reported threats from the drug-trafficking Choneros gang, was assassinated two weeks before the ballot. Months later, the suspects of the crime were killed in prison.

President Daniel Noboa declared a 60-day state of emergency, deploying the military on the streets and into prisons and setting a national nighttime curfew.

Faced with outbursts of criminal violence, previous governments in recent years have resorted to states of emergency, but with little results to show for it. Former President Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency over 20 times. Carrion says rates of violence have failed to decline in the span of these declarations, while drug trafficking has expanded in presence.

Noboa also recognized an "internal armed conflict" in Ecuador and identified 22 criminal gangs as terrorist groups, including Los Choneros, and ordered the armed forces to neutralize them.

More than 2,000 people have been detained in the countrywide wave of violence triggered by Noboa's military crackdown, who took power in November after pledging to curb violence. Some 158 of those arrested are being prosecuted for terrorism, while some 20 tons of drugs have been seized.

"We have managed to significantly hit the pockets of these narco-terrorists and in that way we are also taking advantage, gaining ground," said the president.

He said Monday that Ecuador is winning the "battle" his government declared against organized crime

"We had everything against us, but we are winning this battle," Noboa said at an event where the government delivered equipment to the police. He noted that after the declaration of internal armed conflict, violent deaths have plunged from 38 per day to six.

The government blames the situation on cocaine-trafficking gangs, who increasingly move through Ecuador. The nation of 18 million people borders the top global coca cultivators of Colombia in the north and Peru to the east and the south. Mexican cartels have turned Ecuador into a shipment hub for cocaine entering Europe and the US.

According to Carrion, the problem worsened when Mexican cartels began paying local gangs in drugs instead of cash, forcing them to sell those drugs in local markets and "increase drug laundering, causing violence rates to escalate," he said.

This decision by President Noboa to crush criminal gangs by intensifying the government's militarized approach has gained popularity in the country.

Even left-wing former President Rafael Correa, whose representative lost the elections to Noboa, expressed support for the security measures adopted by the newly-elected administration in the face of the dramatic increase in violence by drug trafficking groups.

"When policies like this are established, there is a lot of affinity," says Carrion. "There has been great acceptance of the measures that Noboa has taken and right now it represents national unity."

On Tuesday, Noboa confirmed that the country would receive support from the US to combat crime after holding a meeting with SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Laura Richardson, Special Presidential Advisor for the Americas Christopher Dodd, and US ambassador to Ecuador Mike Fitzpatrick.

"The United States and the world have seen what is happening in Ecuador and know how important it is to have this country protected," said Noboa.