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BBC: Ecuadorian gangs also cooperate with the Albanian mafia for cocaine trafficking

2026-07-28 08:46:51Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

BBC: Ecuadorian gangs also cooperate with the Albanian mafia for cocaine

In the Ecuadorian city of Durán, where drugs and rival gangs have taken control of the streets, police captain Jean Carlos Bustamante knows well that the battle is not only against criminals who kill and often dismember their rivals, but also against an enemy within the state itself.

"We have a lot of bad people within our unit, within the state and within politics. There are a lot of corrupt people who are in the service of gangs," he tells a  BBC report .

At 34, Bustamante is the oldest member of his self-selected special forces team. He moves with the discipline of a former special forces member and says he can only trust the colleagues he has close to him.

When asked what happens to people who dare to speak out against gangs, his answer is brief: “They kill them. That’s why people don’t say anything.”

From the streets of Ecuador to the drug market in Europe

According to Ecuador's president, Daniel Noboa, about 70% of the cocaine that reaches Europe and the US passes through Ecuador.

The drugs come mainly from neighboring countries Colombia and Peru, two of the world's largest cocaine producers. Local Ecuadorian gangs then collaborate with Mexican cartels and international organized crime groups to transport the drugs further.

Among these connections, Albanian mafia groups are also mentioned, which, according to authorities and international reports, have created cooperation networks in cocaine trafficking towards Europe.

"Powerful local gangs, with ties to Mexican cartels and Albanian mafia groups, help further cocaine trafficking," writes the BBC.

Gangs have taken advantage of weak borders, underfunded security forces, and Ecuador's strategic position with access to the Pacific Ocean.

A country once considered a peaceful tourist destination has turned into one of the most violent areas of Latin America in less than a decade.

Murders have increased drastically

According to data from Ecuador's Ministry of the Interior, last year the country recorded over 9,000 murders, one of the highest crime rates in the world.

President Daniel Noboa has launched a tough campaign against gangs over the past two years, but critics say this strategy has backfired.

The arrest of major crime leaders has caused the fragmentation of gangs, but at the same time has created new, smaller and more violent groups.

Many residents believe that this war can never be completely won.

The police also fight corruption within the system

In another operation, Bustamante uses a drone to monitor a neighborhood. He spots three people he says are "micro-traffickers," small-time drug dealers at the bottom of the criminal chain.

The police follow them to an apartment and force their way in. Inside are three suspects and small packages of a drug called “H,” a highly addictive compound that is sold in the neighborhood for a dollar.

But even when police arrest people and seize drugs, they often face another problem: the justice system.

Colonel Santiago Gavilanes, deputy commander of Durán's police, says: "We imprison gang members and they release them. Some of them go out and kill other people."

According to him, gangs have money to buy laws, judges and politicians.

A police officer, whose identity is not being made public for his safety, says he was contacted twice by gangs and offered a bribe so large that he could retire.

"Someone, probably a colleague, had told the gangs exactly where I worked and what I did. You never know who's watching you," he says.

Gang leader: "I killed eight people"

The BBC also managed to meet with a gang leader, identified by the changed name Jonathan, to protect his identity.

He claims to have four police officers on his payroll.

"When an operation is going to take place, they call me. They tell me to hide my things and leave. When they come, they find nothing," he declares.

According to him, this scheme costs him about $1,500 to $2,000 per month.

Jonathan, 37, says he entered the gang world when he was 18 to support his family.

Meanwhile, human rights organizations warn that children are being recruited into gangs as young as 12, and some of them become contract killers just three years later.


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