What Gas Stations Are Exxon Mobil

Ecuador is a haven for drug cartels and organized crime

Ecuador is becoming a "United Nations" organized crime as drug traffickers from Albania to China use it as a platform to reach separate agreements with Andean cocaine smugglers, said a U.S. official.
Ecuador is geographically located between the two main producers of cocaine, Colombia and Peru, which has helped the Andean nation of 14 million people will become a refuge not recognized for international drug agreements, the official said.

"We cases of organized crime in Albania, Ukraine, Italy, China, all in Ecuador , all getting their product to distribute in their respective countries, "said Jay Bergman, director of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA, abbreviations in English) for the Andean region of South America.
Colombian cartels controlled the global distribution networks of cocaine in the 1980's but are now fragmented and weakened after an offensive by Colombia's security forces with support from thousands of millions of dollars in U.S. aid

Colombian gangs now work primarily as providers and deliver the traffic in hazardous work-Mexican cartels that control access to the world's largest market illicit drugs, USA and other international criminal groups operating in Europe, the second drug target.

With increased control in Colombia, drug traffickers drugs like to move quickly through its land borders with Ecuador and Venezuela and connect with business partners, "said Bergman.

"If I am an Italian drug dealer and I arranged to meet my Colombian counterpart (...), you'll probably prefer to meet in Ecuador rather than Colombia."

"It's easy to take your passport stamped to Ecuador and say, 'Yes, I went to the Galapagos Islands Vacation'" he said, referring to the nature reserve made famous by Charles Darwin.

The government of President Rafael Correa insists it is doing everything possible to prosecute and deter drug traffickers in Ecuador.

Bergman acknowledged that the Ecuadorian government is taking steps to combat the smugglers, including major seizures as a 30-meter submarine loaded with drugs that was captured last year.

Capos
The Ecuadorian police also have arrested Colombian drug lords and has large shipments of cocaine seized many tons.

No visa
Correa abandoned a visa requirement in 2008 for visitors from any country can stay up to 90 days.

Source: El Universo