PanamaTimes

Sunday, Jul 06, 2025

Ecuador insecurity, drug crime hitting exporters -business group

Ecuador insecurity, drug crime hitting exporters -business group

Insecurity in Ecuador is hurting the Andean country's exports of products like bananas and shrimp, an exporters association said, amid assaults on shipping containers and contamination of shipments with drugs.
At least 63 people linked to exports of bananas, shrimp and cacao - the raw material used to make chocolate - were murdered by organized criminal groups in 2022, while another 1,500 have been injured during attacks, the Corporation of Ecuadorean Exporter Associations (Cordex) said.

The three sectors, Ecuador's most important exports after oil, have also reported threats and extortion, Cordex said.
"Insecurity worries us the

most," Cordex President Jose Antonio Camposano told journalists in Guayaquil, a port city on Ecuador's Pacific coast, on Wednesday.

"Each year, the industries represented here spend at least $100 million on security ... because the state can't provide it to us," he added.

The government of President Guillermo Lasso did not respond to requests for comment.

Lasso, a conservative former banker, has been fighting to tackle rising crime and violence in the streets and in prisons which the government blames on drug trafficking gangs.

Ecuador's shrimp exporters have been forced to hire armed guards to transport feed supplies, with at least 12 roadside attacks reported in the last month, Camposano added.

Banana and cacao exporters have suffered from drugs being included in their shipments this year.

Contamination of shipping containers with drugs has increased 400% this year, with reports coming from ports all over Ecuador, said Ivan Ontaneda, president of the cacao exporters association.

"We're losing markets because customers who buy products abroad don't want to be involved in legal or criminal issues, which is what is happening with the container contamination in our supply chain," said Ontaneda.

Ecuador's security forces have seized 370 tonnes of drugs during Lasso's 18 months as leader, according to the government.
Newsletter

Related Articles

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
OpenAI Secures Multimillion-Dollar AI Contracts with Pentagon, India, and Grab
Brazilian Congress Rejects Lula's Proposed Tax Increase on Financial Transactions
Landslide in Bello, Colombia, Results in Multiple Casualties
Papa Johns pizza surge near the Pentagon tipped off social media before Trump's decisive Iran strike
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and Husband Killed in Targeted Attack; Senator John Hoffman and Wife Injured
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Sole Survivor of Air India Crash Recounts Escape
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
UK and EU Reach Agreement on Gibraltar's Schengen Integration
Israeli Finance Minister Imposes Banking Penalties on Palestinians
U.S. Inflation Rises to 2.4% in May Amid Trade Tensions
Trump's Policies Prompt Decline in Chinese Student Enrollment in U.S.
Global Oceans Near Record Temperatures as CO₂ Levels Climb
Trump Announces U.S.-China Trade Deal Covering Rare Earths
Smuggled U.S. Fuel Funds Mexican Cartels Amid Crackdown
Protests Erupt in Los Angeles with Symbolic Flag Burning
Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban Targeting 12 Countries
Man Group Mandates Full-Time Office Return for Quantitative Analysts
JPMorgan Warns Analysts Against Accepting Future-Dated Job Offers
Builder.ai Faces Legal Scrutiny Amid Financial Misreporting Allegations
Japan Grapples with Rice Shortage Amid Soaring Prices
Goldman Sachs Reduces Risk Exposure Amid Market Volatility
HSBC Chairman Mark Tucker to Return to AIA as Non-Executive Chair
Israel Confirms Arming Gaza Clan to Counter Hamas Influence
Judge Blocks Trump's Ban on International Students at Harvard
Trump Proposes Travel Ban on 'Uncontrolled' Countries
Panama Port Owner Balances US-China Pressures
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Eurozone Inflation Falls Below ECB Target to 1.9%
Call for a New Chapter in Globalisation Emerges
Blackstone and Rivals Diverge on Private Equity Strategy
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Denmark Increases Retirement Age to 70, Setting a European Precedent
Netanyahu Accuses Western Leaders of 'Emboldening Hamas'
Escalating Trade Tensions and Market Reactions
OnlyFans Reportedly in Talks for $8 Billion Sale
JBS Gains Shareholder Approval for U.S. Stock Listing
Booz Allen Hamilton to Cut 2,500 Jobs Amid Federal Spending Reductions
Trump Signs Executive Orders to Accelerate Nuclear Energy Development
Harvard Temporarily Blocks Trump Administration's International Student Ban
Nippon Steel Forms Partnership with U.S. Steel, Headquarters to Remain in Pittsburgh
Trump Expands Tariff Threats to Apple and Samsung Devices
Oracle and OpenAI Plan $40 Billion Nvidia Chip Purchase for AI Data Center
Trump Threatens 50% Tariff on EU Goods, Markets React
×