On the front line of Ecuador's drugs war, police fight gangs, guns and corruption
Ecuadorian police are struggling to combat powerful drug gangs that have infiltrated local politics and law enforcement. Captain Jean Carlos Bustamante leads a specialized team in Durán, facing significant risks while attempting to seize illegal weapons.
Why it matters
It highlights the severe security crisis and systemic corruption undermining state authority in Ecuador due to the global drug trade.
On the front line of Ecuador's drugs war, police fight gangs, guns and corruption
Image source, Lee Durant/BBC By Orla Guerin Senior international correspondent, in Ecuador In the Ecuadoran city of Durán, riddled with drugs and rival gangs, Police Captain Jean Carlos Bustamante knows exactly what he is up against – not just the criminals who kill and sometimes dismember their rivals, but also the enemy within.
"We have many, many bad people inside our unit, inside the state, inside politics," he says. "We have many, many guys that are corrupt. They are in the pay of the gangs."
The only police officers he can trust, he says, are the ones right beside him - members of his hand-picked team. At 34, Captain Bustamante is the oldest among them and moves like the special forces officer he used to be.
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