On Ecuador's lawless southwest coast, drug gangs operate with impunity and terrified residents ask if their president's "iron ...

"They stole children from other towns and sacrificed them in front of her (Santa Muerte) when they wanted to land a big hit," ...

"You can see and feel that the population is afraid," says Navy Captain Carlos Carrera from the Gulf of Guayaquil, a bastion ...

Gang members are turning to Santa Muerte to shield them from law enforcement and ensure the success of their operations.

Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa claimed, without evidence, that the first round of the country’s presidential race was rife ...

seeking re-election Sunday as he leads a war on drug gangs blamed for a surge in violent crime in the once-peaceful South American country. Just last week, a leader of one of Ecuador's biggest ...

Ecuadorian voters are preparing to cast their ballots for a new president for the second time in 18 months amid an ...

Sporting gloves and a red ribbon to ward off evil, Ecuadoran police raiding a drug den apprehensively inspect an altar to Santa Muerte — a Mexican "death saint" adopted by local gangs as their own ...

His father, Marcos Elías León Maruri, was kidnapped there by the Los Tiguerones gang. A person is killed every two hours in Ecuador and seven are kidnapped daily, according to government figures.

For many years, Ecuador had one of the lowest homicide rates in Latin America – an indicator of low gang activity. As a result, it hadn’t developed a robust police and military response to gangs.