The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a $400 million loan to help Ecuador fight organized crime and violence that has pushed the country’s murder rate up more than 400% in just four years. Ecuador’s homicide rate jumped from 7 to 39 per 100,000 people between 2020 and 2024, making it one of the most dangerous countries in Latin America.
Ecuador has been hit hard by drug trafficking and gang violence that has spread from prisons into communities across the country. Criminal groups have been recruiting children and teenagers, while illegal mining operations have damaged the Amazon region.
The IDB program will help over 5 million children and teenagers, plus 641,000 people living in the Ecuadorian Amazon. It targets 1,785 schools where criminal recruitment is a problem and 23 vulnerable areas with high crime rates. The bank expects the murder rate in these areas to drop from 73.9 to 66.6 per 100,000 people by 2027. The program also aims to make school communities feel 10% safer.
Ecuador’s government will use the money to create new laws against money laundering, set up better coordination between agencies, and develop new police strategies based on evidence and local conditions. The plan includes special protections for migrant children and a new system to track down stolen assets hidden abroad.
The loan is part of the IDB’s broader push to help Latin American countries work together against organized crime. Ecuador’s Ministry of Economy and Finance will run the program with help from security, justice, education, and finance agencies.
