0
Soldiers conduct a security check on a street in Manta, Ecuador, an area hit by a wave of violent crime, on February 16 (local time). / EPA Yonhap

As crimes targeting minors rapidly surge in Ecuador, calls are mounting for the government to establish policy-level countermeasures against deteriorating public security.

Local media outlets, including La Hora, reported on July 29 (local time), citing Interior Ministry statistics, that 273 minors who went missing in the first half of this year remain unaccounted for, with their whereabouts and status unknown.

This represents a 137% increase (158 individuals) compared to 115 during the same period last year. Three out of four missing minors were female, with the 12-to-17 age group accounting for the highest proportion.

The Observatory for Children, Adolescents, and Youth (ONAJ), a non-governmental organization, analyzed that organized crime expansion is a primary driver behind the surge. It confirmed that many recent minor disappearances in Ecuador are linked to crimes such as theft, ransom kidnappings, and human trafficking.

Homicides involving minors are also rising sharply. According to ONAJ, 305 minors were murdered in Ecuador in the first half of this year.

This marks the highest first-half figure since 2014, when ONAJ began releasing bi-annual reports on the issue. Victims aged 15 to 17 accounted for 81% of the cases, and 93% lost their lives to firearm attacks.

Ecuavisa, an Ecuadorian broadcast network, reported that diseases and traffic accidents were the leading causes of death among teenagers aged 15 to 17 until 2023. However, violence (homicide) took the top spot starting in 2024, with its proportion reaching an all-time high in the first half of this year.

This trend is widely attributed to gang recruitment efforts. Gangs are reportedly committing murders while forcibly conscripting teenagers into their ranks like military recruits.

A sharp rise in juvenile arrests on criminal charges also appears to be linked to this phenomenon. According to Ecuador's Interior Ministry, 1,697 teenagers were arrested on various criminal charges in the first half of this year, up 24.2% from the same period last year.

Local media analyzed that crimes involving teenagers primarily occur in Pacific coastal regions used as drug smuggling routes, indicating that gangs and drug cartels are orchestrating them behind the scenes.

In response to worsening security following bloody clashes with gangs in January 2024, the Ecuadorian government declared a state of emergency and has been waging a "war on crime."

                                                                                                           Son Young-sik