Ecuador's crime problem is escalating, with most shrimp farms facing extortion.

The National Aquaculture Association of Ecuador (CNA) estimates that 95% of farms in the El Oro region are being extorted by local criminal elements, with at least 40% of farms in other production areas facing the same type of threat. Armed forces attacking transport vehicles and ships have become increasingly common, with criminal groups hijacking vehicles and ships, attacking personnel, and kidnapping ships to demand ransom, with the frequency of crimes and casualties on the rise.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the escalation of violence in Ecuador is the result of Mexican drug trafficking groups colluding with local gangs, who have turned the export of shrimp products into a smuggling channel, causing local shrimp farmers to become embroiled in disputes with drug traffickers.

A shrimp farmer from Guayas province said: "Every transaction we make carries risks, we are not just farming shrimp, we are also negotiating with criminal groups to survive."

Despite Ecuadorian police and naval forces conducting over 1,000 security patrols each month, the underlying problem remains unresolved. People in the shrimp industry believe that Ecuador's judicial system is too weak and that efforts to combat organized crime are too obstructed.

The CNA stated that criminals arrested in operations against criminal elements are often released within days, leading the public to question the credibility of the government's judicial system. "If justice cannot be upheld, we cannot continue to invest resources in security."

In the first half of 2025, over 5,000 people across Ecuador have died in violent incidents, including civilians and farmers in rural areas, making Ecuador the country with the most severe violent crime in Latin America. Farmers insist that without judicial reform and the establishment of an effective legal system, these measures can only provide relief and cannot solve the root problem.