Drug Traffickers Use Banana Industry in Ecuador for Shipping
2023-09-12
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1Ecuador is increasingly at the meeting point of two worldwide trades: bananas and cocaine.
2The South American country is the world's largest exporter of bananas with about 6.5 million metric tons a year.
3Its neighbors, Peru and Colombia, are the world's largest cocaine producers.
4Drug traffickers find containers filled with bananas the perfect vehicle to smuggle their product.
5Drug trafficking has since brought extreme violence across this once-peaceful nation.
6Shootings, murders, kidnappings and extortions have become part of daily life.
7That is especially true in the Pacific port city and banana-shipping center of Guayaquil.
8The country was shocked when Fernando Villavicencio, a presidential candidate known for his tough position on organized crime, was shot to death on August 9.
9He had accused the Ecuadorian Los Choneros criminal group and its imprisoned leader of threatening him and his campaign team days before the killing.
10In addition to being close to cocaine production, drug smugglers from Mexico, Colombia and the Balkans in Europe have also set up operations in Ecuador.
11That is because the country uses the U.S. dollar; its laws and institutions are weak; and criminal groups like Los Choneros are ready to work.
12A record 2,304 metric tons of cocaine was produced in 2021 around the world, mostly in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia.
13That year, nearly a third of the cocaine seized by officials in Western and Central Europe came from Ecuador, two times the amount reported in 2018, found a United Nations report.
14Large drug seizures have become more common within the past month.
15European officials have made record-setting seizures after inspecting containers carrying bananas from Ecuador.
16Officials on August 25 announced Spain's biggest cocaine seizure yet: 9.5 metric tons hidden among boxes of bananas from Ecuador in a refrigerated container.
17Dutch officials also made their country's largest-ever cocaine seizure last month - nearly 8 metric tons - in a container of Ecuadorian bananas.
18Officials in Greece and Italy also announced seizures of cocaine hidden in Ecuadorian bananas this year.
19Knowingly or not, banana growers, exporters, shipping companies, port operators, private security companies, customs agents, agriculture officials, police, and buyers can be used by drug traffickers.
20Some traffickers have created false companies to look like real banana exporters.
21Others have taken control of legal businesses, including plantations.
22They have found companies willing to cooperate in trafficking.
23They have also paid off, threatened or kidnapped truck drivers and other workers to help get cocaine into shipments.
24Violent deaths in Ecuador have doubled from 2021 to 2022, when 4,600 died, the most ever recorded in a year.
25The country is likely to break the yearly record again, with 3,568 violent deaths recorded in the first half of 2023. In Guayaquil, people live in fear.
26No more than 30 percent of containers are currently inspected at Ecuadorian ports.
27President Guillermo Lasso's government says it wants to use scanners on entire containers.
28Twelve of those machines were supposed to be operating already but that has not happened yet, said National Police General Pablo Ramírez.
29He is Ecuador's national director of anti-drug investigations.
30Jose Hidalgo is director of the Association of Banana Exporters of Ecuador.
31He said the industry is more vulnerable to trafficking than other export products because of the number of containers that it uses.
32He explained that exporters spend about $100 million yearly on security measures.
33That includes surveillance cameras at plantations, GPS monitoring of trucks, and the identification of land routes that require police patrols to keep criminals away.
34Still, some exporters have been accused of being involved in trafficking cocaine.
35The organization behind the cocaine seizure in Spain operated through a banana exporting company in Machala, a city south of Guayaquil.
36After this story was published in The Associated Press, agriculture and customs officials in Ecuador announced in a statement that they had removed a government-run banana export database.
37It removed information on export companies considered to be false or incomplete.
38It also canceled permits of plantations covering 16,000 hectares found to be nonexistent.
39I'm Dan Novak.
1Ecuador is increasingly at the meeting point of two worldwide trades: bananas and cocaine. 2The South American country is the world's largest exporter of bananas with about 6.5 million metric tons a year. Its neighbors, Peru and Colombia, are the world's largest cocaine producers. 3Drug traffickers find containers filled with bananas the perfect vehicle to smuggle their product. 4Drug trafficking has since brought extreme violence across this once-peaceful nation. Shootings, murders, kidnappings and extortions have become part of daily life. That is especially true in the Pacific port city and banana-shipping center of Guayaquil. 5The country was shocked when Fernando Villavicencio, a presidential candidate known for his tough position on organized crime, was shot to death on August 9. He had accused the Ecuadorian Los Choneros criminal group and its imprisoned leader of threatening him and his campaign team days before the killing. 6In addition to being close to cocaine production, drug smugglers from Mexico, Colombia and the Balkans in Europe have also set up operations in Ecuador. That is because the country uses the U.S. dollar; its laws and institutions are weak; and criminal groups like Los Choneros are ready to work. 7A record 2,304 metric tons of cocaine was produced in 2021 around the world, mostly in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia. That year, nearly a third of the cocaine seized by officials in Western and Central Europe came from Ecuador, two times the amount reported in 2018, found a United Nations report. 8Large drug seizures have become more common within the past month. European officials have made record-setting seizures after inspecting containers carrying bananas from Ecuador. 9Officials on August 25 announced Spain's biggest cocaine seizure yet: 9.5 metric tons hidden among boxes of bananas from Ecuador in a refrigerated container. Dutch officials also made their country's largest-ever cocaine seizure last month - nearly 8 metric tons - in a container of Ecuadorian bananas. Officials in Greece and Italy also announced seizures of cocaine hidden in Ecuadorian bananas this year. 10Knowingly or not, banana growers, exporters, shipping companies, port operators, private security companies, customs agents, agriculture officials, police, and buyers can be used by drug traffickers. 11Some traffickers have created false companies to look like real banana exporters. Others have taken control of legal businesses, including plantations. They have found companies willing to cooperate in trafficking. They have also paid off, threatened or kidnapped truck drivers and other workers to help get cocaine into shipments. 12Violent deaths in Ecuador have doubled from 2021 to 2022, when 4,600 died, the most ever recorded in a year. The country is likely to break the yearly record again, with 3,568 violent deaths recorded in the first half of 2023. In Guayaquil, people live in fear. 13No more than 30 percent of containers are currently inspected at Ecuadorian ports. President Guillermo Lasso's government says it wants to use scanners on entire containers. Twelve of those machines were supposed to be operating already but that has not happened yet, said National Police General Pablo Ramírez. He is Ecuador's national director of anti-drug investigations. 14Jose Hidalgo is director of the Association of Banana Exporters of Ecuador. He said the industry is more vulnerable to trafficking than other export products because of the number of containers that it uses. 15He explained that exporters spend about $100 million yearly on security measures. That includes surveillance cameras at plantations, GPS monitoring of trucks, and the identification of land routes that require police patrols to keep criminals away. 16Still, some exporters have been accused of being involved in trafficking cocaine. The organization behind the cocaine seizure in Spain operated through a banana exporting company in Machala, a city south of Guayaquil. 17After this story was published in The Associated Press, agriculture and customs officials in Ecuador announced in a statement that they had removed a government-run banana export database. It removed information on export companies considered to be false or incomplete. It also canceled permits of plantations covering 16,000 hectares found to be nonexistent. 18I'm Dan Novak. 19Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press. 20___________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22smuggle - v. to move from one country into another illegally and secretly 23extort - v. to get from a person by the use of force or threats 24institution - n. an established organization 25refrigerate - adj. to put or keep in a refrigerator in order to make it cold or keep it fresh 26customs - n. an action or way of behaving that is usual and traditional among the people in a particular group or place 27scanner - n. a device that reads or copies information or images into a computer 28vulnerable - adj. easily hurt or harmed physically, mentally, or emotionally 29surveillance - n. the act of carefully watching someone or something especially in order to prevent or detect a crime 30monitor - v. a device that is used for showing, watching, or listening to something