A look inside Ecuador’s drug war with American photojournalist John Moore

Perpignan – Getty Images special correspondent John Moore traveled to Ecuador in February 2024 to document the country’s response to the gang crisis. The resulting exhibition will be on display at the Visa pour l’image Festival in Perpignan, southern France.

Published on: 10/09/2024 – 15:34Altered: 10/09/2024 – 15:39

2 minutes

Ecuador is sandwiched between Colombia and Peru, the world’s largest cocaine producers. In recent years, however, once peaceful Ecuador has seen an explosion of violence as gangs with ties to Mexican and Colombian drug cartels battle for power.

As the gangs gained ground, the homicide rate in Ecuador rose from six per 100,000 inhabitants in 2018 to 47 per 100,000 in 2023.

Award-winning photojournalist John Moore was granted rare access to military and police operations in Guayaquil and Esmeraldas province, entering neighborhoods previously controlled by armed gangs.

“When I arrived (in Ecuador), the military and police had already begun very serious anti-gang operations. They were happy for me to go with them because they wanted to show the progress they were making in the fight against gang violence,” Moore told RFI.

Prisoners in the courtyard of Litoral Penitentiary, the country's largest prison. Outskirts of Guayaquil, Ecuador on February 9, 2024. — Prisoners in the courtyard of Litoral Penitentiary, the country’s largest prison. Outskirts of Guayaquil, Ecuador on February 9, 2024. Getty Images – John Moore

The result is a photo series titled “Internal Armed Conflict,” which references the moment Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa gave security forces sweeping powers earlier this year to combat the powerful gangs.

“The state of emergency gave the military, in a sense, free rein to operate, and what they Hand Dura“, Moore explains.

“It is tough. Many people have accepted that they have to give up some of their personal freedoms to defeat this violence in their country,” he says.

A police raid targeting suspected drug traffickers. Tonsupa, Ecuador on February 11, 2024. Getty Images – John Moore

As a special correspondent for Getty Images, Moore spent 17 years abroad, first in Nicaragua, then in India, South Africa, Mexico, Egypt and Pakistan.

Since returning to the US in 2008, he has focused on immigration and border issues.

His book “Undocumented: Immigration and the Militarization of the United States-Mexico Border“. was published in 2018 by powerHouse Books.