Ecuador on the brink

A recent BBC headline ran “Ecuadoreans are voting in the run-off of a presidential election that has been overshadowed by a crime wave which has turned the country into one of the most violent in the region.

The first round of the election was held just days after presidential candidate Fernando Villavicenio, an outspoken opponent of organized crime and corruption, was shot dead in the capital city of Quito. Seven suspects were arrested in connection with his assassination but have themselves been murdered in jail”.

The headline draws attention to a once poor but peaceful part of the world that has fallen into the hands of drug traffickers and where democracies are on life support. For shipping, from Mexico to Argentina on the east coast and Peru on the west coast, crews run the constant risk of being caught up in the activities of the traffickers, often supported by corrupt police forces, as they find new and creative ways to intertwine illicit with legitimate trade. Colombia and Peru are the world’s largest producers of cocaine with Ecuador hopelessly sandwiched between them.

Ecuador exports around 6.5 million tonnes of bananas a year worth about US$2.8 billion or 25% of total world banana exports. With the demise of traditional reefer ships, containerization of the trade in recent years has aided traffickers in infiltrating the banana supply chains to Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand and across the African continent. Ecuadorian police report that nearly 50 tonnes of cocaine was discovered at source in 2022 with only around 30% of containers being scanned prior to export.

The 2023 presidential election was triggered early when outgoing President Guillermo Lasso dissolved parliament amid an impeachment trial. Ironically, the winner, and therefore new president is 35 year old Daniel Noboa, the son of banana magnate Álvaro Noboa who himself ran for the presidency five times without success. Understandably, following the assassination of Fernando Villavicenio, a primary campaign theme has been Ecuador’s skyrocketing murder rate and the increasing power of gangs Shootings, homicides, kidnappings and extortions have become the norm, particularly in the Pacific port city and main banana-shipping hub of Guayaquil.

 

Above is a picture taken by the Rotterdam Public Prosecution Service in July 2023 showing 8 tonnes of cocaine. The drugs were discovered in a container of bananas from Ecuador along with similar interceptions in the port of Algeciras, Spain

In October this year, The European Commission today issued a roadmap of actions designed to combat the harsh reality that Europe has overtaken the U.S. as the single largest cocaine market in the world and is fast becoming the world’s major drug trafficking hub. The Commission plans to allocate €200 million for additional cargo scanning equipment, pointing out that Antwerp scans only 2% of overall cargo including 5% of containers identified as high risk. Antwerp is now committing to scan all high-risk containers by 2028. New plans also include additional screening and vetting of port staff.

Against this background, ship’s crews are being arrested for alleged involvement in trafficking rings and it is taking enormous effort in some cases to secure their release. The IMO is mostly silent on the issue, presumably not wanting to offend member states having a dubious track record of judicial process.

The Australian Border Force recently discovered 200 kg of cocaine worth $80 million at the Port of Melbourne using an underwater remotely operated vehicle to conduct a search. The shipment was attached to a vessel having sailed from Argentina to Australia via New Zealand. There was no suggestion of crew involvement but a few weeks earlier, the body of a diver was found at the port of Newcastle NSW near a vessel that had arrived from Argentina. The police believe the diver had been attempting to retrieve a consignment of drugs as numerous packages of cocaine were found around his body.

Virtually every container shipping company has been impacted but one in particular seems to have been targeted. The world’s largest container carrier, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), has worked closely with Federal officials in the U.S. following the June 2019 seizure of nearly 19,000 kg of cocaine valued at more than $1 billion, aboard the MSC Gayane. In this case, several crewmembers were convicted of involvement. Other vessels impacted were MSC Carlotta and MSC Desiree. The company reported that in consequence, millions of dollars had been spent on improved surveillance.

Back in Ecuador, some traffickers have created sophisticated front companies to mimic legitimate banana exporters, while others have acquired legitimate businesses, including plantations. Intimidation in the poverty-stricken country is widespread and unwilling participants are likely to disappear.

The situation is no better in the country’s notoriously violent prisons where administrators long ago lost control. Riots resulting in destruction and loss of life are common as the drug cartels exert influence over every facet of prison life (and death). As a former seafarer who has loaded more than a few shipments of bananas out of Guayaquil and other Ecuadorian ports, it is sad to see the depths to which the country has been reduced and equally sad that in many cases, innocent seafarers have been caught up in the carnage.

Feature Image: Loading bananas in break bulk