Archive · 8 Sep 2026
Gang Violence Drives Hundreds of Thousands From Ecuadorian Homes
Many people in Ecuador are leaving their homes because gangs have made their neighborhoods dangerous.
Some families receive threats, face extortion, or worry that children will be recruited by criminal groups.
In Guayaquil, bullets have hit homes during battles between rival gang factions.
Gangs sometimes take over empty houses to hide kidnapped people or support drug operations.
More than 300,000 people have reportedly moved because of violence during the past three years.
Some families stay because they lack money or another place to go.
Police are helping some residents leave safely and are collecting anonymous reports about extortion.
President Daniel Noboa says his government’s security plan is reducing killings.
Human-rights groups argue that fighting and arrests have caused gangs to split into more violent rival groups.
More than 300,000 people in Ecuador have left their homes over the past three years because of gang-related violence and threats.
Nueva Prosperina in Guayaquil has experienced deadly clashes between factions of the Los Tiguerones gang.
Residents say gangs use abandoned houses to obtain drug money or hide kidnapping victims.
Ecuador recorded 9,216 violent deaths last year, with a homicide rate of 51 per 100,000 people.
The government says killings fell 8% during January-July compared with the same period in 2025, while critics say security policies have worsened gang fragmentation.
- Who
- More than 300,000 displaced Ecuadorians, criminal gangs, police, President Daniel Noboa’s government, and human-rights and refugee organizations.
- What
- Gang violence, extortion, threats, recruitment, and killings have forced families to abandon their homes or live under gang control.
- When
- Over the past three years; the report was dated September 8.
- Where
- Ecuador, especially Nueva Prosperina in Guayaquil, as well as areas near the Colombian border and provinces including Los Rios and Sucumbios.
- Why
- Residents are fleeing to escape gang fighting, death threats, extortion, forced recruitment, and the murder of relatives.
Government Position
Critics’ Position
Effect of the security strategy
Government Position
President Daniel Noboa’s government says its strategy is systematically weakening criminal groups and that killings have declined.
Critics’ Position
The Guayaquil human rights committee says killings and arrests of criminal leaders have splintered gangs into rival factions and may have worsened the violence.
Response to displacement
Government Position
Police say they work with community leaders, enable anonymous extortion reports, and accompany residents leaving dangerous neighborhoods.
Critics’ Position
Human-rights advocates say Ecuador has no legal recognition or clear government mechanism for violence-driven internal displacement, limiting protection and assistance for victims.
- Reported displacement
- More than 300,000 people have left their homes in Ecuador over the past three years.
- Last year’s deaths
- Ecuador recorded 9,216 violent deaths.
- Homicide rate
- The reported rate was 51 per 100,000 inhabitants.
- Most affected district
- Nueva Prosperina in Guayaquil saw fighting between Los Tiguerones factions that killed 22 people last year.
- Extortion
- Local police projected that half of Nueva Prosperina’s families have experienced some form of extortion.
- Government claim
- The government said killings fell 8% from January through July compared with the same period in 2025.
- Regional comparison
- The Norwegian Refugee Council said Ecuador has Latin America’s third-highest level of internal displacement, behind Haiti and Colombia.