The Ecuadorian government has restricted, since Wednesday (24), travel to its borders with Colombia and Peru, keeping only two international posts open for “national security reasons”, according to an official statement published on social networks.
According to the note, only the posts of Rumichaca, on the border with Colombia, and Huaquillas, on the border with Peru, considered the main commercial gateways of the country with its neighbors, will remain operational. Other legal crossings have been temporarily closed, with no deadline for reopening.
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Among the world’s largest producers of cocaine, Ecuador shares about 600 kilometers of border with Colombia to the north and about 1,500 kilometers with Peru to the south, areas marked by vast areas of jungle, rivers and difficult surveillance.
Ecuador’s borders are considered very porous and have many illegal access points, often used for trafficking drugs, weapons and explosives, according to local authorities.
The government also informed that the decision had already been communicated to the Colombian and Peruvian authorities and that the two authorized posts would, for the moment, be the only official transit channels between the countries.
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Ecuador faces an offensive against criminal groups linked to drug trafficking and international cartels. The violent dispute between these factions has made the country one of the most violent in Latin America.
According to data from the Ecuadorian Organized Crime Observatory, the country is expected to end the year with the highest homicide rate in the region, estimated at 52 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.
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