Ecuador’s Corporation of Exporting Organizations (CORDEX) – of which the Ecuadorian National Aquaculture Chamber (CNA) is a member – has released a statement condemning the wave of violence that has battered the country at the start of 2024.
“We repudiate the acts of violence that have been unleashed in the country, attacking the integrity of citizens and affecting various productive sectors and the media. In this regard, we express our full support for the forces of law and order, urging them to use the necessary force to neutralize those individuals who attempt to sow chaos and terror in our nation,” the trade association said. “Citizens deserve to live and prosper in an environment of peace, as do the productive export activities that sustain more than 900,000 families throughout the nation.”
In the early hours of Tuesday, 9 January, violence broke out after the presumed prison escape of criminal kingpin José Adolfo Macías, also known by his alias “Fito,” the leader of the Los Choneros gang, one of Ecuador’s primary drug-trafficking organizations. In response to that violence, Ecuador President Daniel Noboa, who assumed office in November 2023, declared a state of exception allowing the country’s armed forces to intervene in the prison system.
The move sparked the ire of criminal groups, which soon intensified their actions, unleashing a wave of violence in major cities throughout Ecuador that included looting; the murder of police officers; the seizure of prison facilities, a takeover of the TV channel TC de Televisión, and the occupation of a university. Much of the violence has been in Guayaquil, the port city around which most of Ecuador’s shrimp production takes place.
At least 10 people have died so far, according to the EFE news service, including two police officers shot dead in Nobol in the Ecuadorian province of Guayas.
In response, President Noboa issued an “Internal Armed Conflict" decree, naming 22 transnational organized crime groups identified “as terrorist organizations and belligerent non-state actors.”
“We will not negotiate with terrorists nor will we rest until we return peace to Ecuadorians,” Noboa said on national TV.
CNA President José Antonio Camposano expressed support for the move.
“All [my] support for your decision, Mr. President. The actions the president defined to confront organized crime must be supported by all of us who want peace for Ecuador,” Camposano said in a series of posts on X. “This is not the time for lukewarm positions like those in the past that aggravated the dangerous situation in which we find ourselves today.”
The CNA head has previously been outspoken about the need for collaborative government action to counter violence and growing insecurity rife throughout the country, which has led Ecuador’s shrimp industry to invest more than USD 80 million (EUR 73 million) annually in security measures.
The unstable situation in Ecuador will have an effect on the logistics and operations of shrimp trading, according to seafood trading firm Roda International.
“Short-term delays in container loading are likely, as the industry adapts to heightened security protocols amid the current uncertainty. Additionally, some producers might opt to delay shipments, waiting for a more stable security situation,” it said in a 10 January report.
The instability will also likely result in higher operational costs, adding financial strain to an industry already navigating a volatile market, according to Roda. Though shrimp harvesting is likely to occur as normal, future volumes are uncertain as farmers delay restocking until stability is restored, Roda said.
Violence and crime in Ecuador have caused complications for the country's shrimp industry for years. According to official figures collected by the CNA’s security directorate, there were 76 criminal incidents recorded from January to the end of November 2023, resulting in 58 people injured and four fatalities within the shrimp sector, which it said was likely an undercount, with most illegal activity going unreported. Criminal groups are “increasingly audacious” and have intensified their actions, including threats, extortion, and even carrying out attacks, it said.
CORDEX represents more than 1,000 Ecuadorian companies that collectively exported more than USD 14 billion (EUR 12.8 billion) in goods last year. Around 700 criminal acts on these organizations left nearly 40 dead and more than 100 injured in 2023, the association said. CORDEX called for all branches of government to respond to the dire situation.
“We urgently call on the judiciary to act swiftly and apply the full rigor of the law in the prosecution and punishment of both the intellectual and material authors of the criminal acts that threaten public and private property and, most importantly, the lives of all of us who live in Ecuador,” it said. “It is imperative that justice be applied forcefully to ensure an environment conducive to the sustainable development of our economic activities and to safeguard the security and well-being of Ecuadorian society as a whole.”
Photo courtesy of Ecuador’s National Chamber of Aquaculture
