{
  "id": "ACM-ECU-CON",
  "slug": "ecuador-conflict",
  "title": "The Ecuador Crisis",
  "url": "https://armedconflicts.org/ecuador-conflict.html",
  "status": "Active",
  "intensity": "High",
  "region": "South America",
  "type": "Criminal conflict",
  "tracked_since": "2021",
  "revision": "2026-08-05",
  "sources": [
    "ACLED",
    "UCDP",
    "CFR Global Conflict Tracker"
  ],
  "locations": [
    {
      "name": "Quito",
      "type": "city",
      "lat": -0.1807,
      "lon": -78.4678,
      "description": "Capital of Ecuador and seat of its government."
    },
    {
      "name": "Guayaquil",
      "type": "port",
      "lat": -2.1894,
      "lon": -79.8891,
      "description": "Ecuador's largest city and principal port, accounting for roughly a quarter of the country's recorded gang violence events.",
      "control": "Contested among multiple gangs, including Los Lobos, Los Tiguerones, Los Fenix, and Los Igualitos",
      "source": "Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)",
      "source_url": "https://acleddata.com/report/ecuadors-noboa-declared-war-22-gangs-his-new-term-he-faces-many-more",
      "as_of": "2025-06-03"
    },
    {
      "name": "Duran",
      "type": "city",
      "lat": -2.171,
      "lon": -79.8362,
      "description": "City adjacent to Guayaquil with one of Ecuador's highest homicide rates, part of the gang-related violence surge that led to a nationwide state of emergency in 2023."
    },
    {
      "name": "Esmeraldas",
      "type": "port",
      "lat": 0.9682,
      "lon": -79.6517,
      "description": "Northern Pacific port near the Colombian border, one of the coastal provinces where the bulk of Ecuador's recorded gang violence has concentrated."
    },
    {
      "name": "Manta",
      "type": "port",
      "lat": -0.9677,
      "lon": -80.7089,
      "description": "Major Pacific fishing and container port in Manabi province, a coastal region affected by rising gang violence since 2024."
    },
    {
      "name": "Lago Agrio (Nueva Loja)",
      "type": "border",
      "lat": 0.0894,
      "lon": -76.8875,
      "description": "Capital of Sucumbios province near the Colombian border, in an oil-producing Amazon region where gang presence has expanded alongside illegal mining and cross-border trafficking."
    },
    {
      "name": "Tulcan",
      "type": "border",
      "lat": 0.8118,
      "lon": -77.7175,
      "description": "Ecuadorian border city on the crossing to Colombia's Nariño department."
    },
    {
      "name": "Huaquillas",
      "type": "border",
      "lat": -3.4767,
      "lon": -80.2331,
      "description": "Ecuador's principal land border crossing with Peru, a route used for both legal trade and smuggling."
    }
  ],
  "revision_history": [
    {
      "date": "2026-08-05",
      "change": "Headlines refreshed",
      "source": "News feed"
    },
    {
      "date": "2025-06-03",
      "change": "Guayaquil control updated",
      "source": "Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)"
    }
  ]
}