The Latin American Report # 519

Deadly violence continues to cast a dark cloud over many Latin American countries. To make matters worse, changes in the U.S. immigration policy have eliminated the classic escape route from this nightmare, which is never found within national boundaries, but rather in any context outside of them. This Saturday, authorities in Honduras reported the grim discovery of four male bodies—riddled with bullet holes—abandoned on a highway in the municipality of Sabá, in the Caribbean department of Colón. The incident marks the 17th massacre so far this year in a nation plagued by the scourge of organized crime—on average, there are between 10 and 12 murders every day. Much of the violence stems from the fierce struggle between the Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio-18 gangs, which, incidentally, is not necessarily male-dominated, but also extends to women, sometimes with equal or greater severity.

Ecuador

Meanwhile, in Ecuador, President Daniel Noboa is once again concentrating firepower in the bloody city of Guayaquil, the epicenter of the security crisis that has been suffocating the South American country for some time now—whatever the reasons, particularly since the departure from power of former President Rafael Correa, a refugee in Europe. The coastal city, capital of the province of Guayas, will now be the headquarters of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces and the Police Command, as a result of a new wave of violence in the area. “The purpose of this measure is for law enforcement agencies to carry out their planning, preparation, and strategic conduct of operations from this area of the country,” the government announced. In a dynamic that strongly debates the impact of the security measures implemented since the beginning of last year by the head of Carondelet, in the first five months of 2025, homicides increased by nearly 80% in what is known as Zone 8, which includes Guayaquil, Samborondón, and Durán.

Last Tuesday, at least eight people were killed in less than two hours in Guayaquil, while last week the bodies of four previously kidnapped merchants were found inside a cistern in the area known as Peca. Two brothers, aged 24 and 25, respectively, were brutally murdered by armed individuals in their apartment located in the suburbs of Guayaquil this Saturday. "The younger of the brothers was left lying in the courtyard. [His assassins] cut his throat, stabbed him in the chest, and gouged out his eyes with a knife," said an aunt of the deceased, according to the newspaper Expreso. “His brother was also beheaded. It was a massacre,” she added. It is presumed that this was a settling of scores, a common practice in the criminal world. On Saturday, in a meeting with UNICEF's representative in the country, the country's vice president requested support from the international organization to advise a newly created committee—under the leadership of the interior minister—with the aim of eradicating the recruitment of young people by criminal gangs. So far this year, more than 1,200 minors have been arrested for links to organized crime.