Ecuador - Security environment remains volatile

Clashes between criminal organizations and a higher stakes drug trade are driving increased levels of violence.

Ecuador has experienced a startling uptick in violence during the first five months of this year. The administrative area known as Zone 8, which includes Guayaquil and Durán, remains the epicenter of the rise in violence. Between the beginning of January and the end of May officials recorded 577 homicides, compared to 233 homicides in the same period in…