On Wednesday, official sources affirmed that the government of Ecuador will create the Investigation Force against Extortion, a crime on the rise in the Andean country in the midst of the internal armed conflict.
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According to Colonel Byron Ramos, head of the National Directorate of Crimes against Life, Violent Deaths, Disappearances, Extortion and Kidnappings in Ecuador (Dinased), the team will act mainly in cities such as Guayaquil, where extortion has increased in the first months of 2024.
In declarations to Teleamazonas channel, the uniformed officer detailed that the National Police will assign a contingent that will work specifically in the fight against extortion.
A police report recently acknowledged that, in Guayaquil, a coastal city in the province of Guayas, despite the militarization of the streets, there are crimes that continue to increase, including kidnappings and extortion of citizens.
The tweet reads, "Director of DINASED, Byron Ramos, explained that the rate of extortion has not increased in 2 years, but since 2014. He points out increase in Colombia, Chile and Peru, possibly due to post-pandemic."
Official figures revealed that between January and March of last year, the number of kidnappings and extortions reached 120. However, in the same period of 2024 that volume rose to 618.
According to authorities, criminals who kidnap or extort demand in exchange sums ranging between two thousand and 200 thousand dollars for each victim.
On March 8, Ecuador completed two months under a state of emergency, a measure decreed by the government in conjunction with the declaration of internal armed conflict in the face of growing violence, but concern is growing over alleged human rights violations.
President Daniel Noboa decided to extend for 30 more days the period of exceptionality, the only extension legally possible.
Therefore, for one more month, the Ecuadorian Armed Forces will be in the streets and prisons together with the National Police to neutralize the 22 criminal groups classified as terrorists.
More than 11,700 people have already been detained in law enforcement operations.
The head of state has ratified on several occasions his support for the work of law enforcement officers, although there are complaints from citizens and civil organizations of alleged violations of rights by uniformed officers.
As the number of detainees increases, doubts also grow as to where they are being held and how many have been legally processed.
Human rights defenders denounced that the context of state of emergency and internal armed conflict in the country unleashed a "war against impoverished and racialized people."