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Organised criminal group violence in Ecuador

Fighting between organised criminal groups over drug trafficking routes, especially in Guayas, El Oro, Los Ríos and Manabí, has made Ecuador one of the most dangerous countries in the region.

2025 was the deadliest year in the country's history: ACAPS reports about 9,100 homicides and a rate of 51 per 100,000 people. According to NRC, more than 130,000 people were internally displaced in 2025 and 1.9 million people in 10 priority provinces need humanitarian assistance. From January to July 2026 there were 4,882 homicides, 7.8% fewer than a year earlier, but in June and July the monthly numbers again exceeded 2025 levels.

Numbers with sources

Needs

• protection
• education
• livelihoods
• health

Parties to the conflict

• Ecuadorian security forces
• organised criminal groups

Who is helping

Organisations that, according to their own publications, work on this event (2). Donations go directly to each organisation's own website - GLOBURNS does not handle payments.

• Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
  NRC assists displaced people with shelter, education, water and legal counselling. In Tawila it registered more than 10,000 new arrivals and enrolled over 2,000 children…
  Donate on the organisation's website (donate.nrc.no)
• UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)
  UNHCR protects refugees, internally displaced and stateless people and runs camps and registration. In eastern Chad it supports refugees arriving from Sudan.
  Donate on the organisation's website (donate.unhcr.org)

Sources

• acaps.org acaps.org/en/countries/ecuador
• nrc.org.co nrc.org.co/especiales/10-cosas-que-debes-saber-sobre-la-situacion-humanitaria-en-ecuador/
• primicias.ec primicias.ec/seguridad/homicidios-aumento-ecuador-julio2026-crisis-seguridad-130726/

Seed record, before editorial verification. Every number links to its source; report errors on the Corrections page. Methodology · Corrections

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