The international news cycle proceeds at such a fast pace these days that we tend to miss some of the significant stories that are bubbling beneath the surface. Many come from the Western Hemisphere, known as America’s backyard.
Compared to regions such as Europe and the Middle East, the Western Hemisphere seems like a relatively peaceful place. There is no state-on-state conflict, the insurgent groups that proliferated throughout the area during the Cold War are pretty much gone and, to the extent there is competition, it’s largely about trade and economics.
But that doesn’t mean the Western Hemisphere is a peaceful oasis. Indeed, there is plenty of conflict happening within states in the region, nearly all powered by a combination of corrupt governance, a lack of state authority and substate entities that have the wealth, firepower and reach to make the lives of ordinary people hell. Three states in particular are getting the worst of it: Ecuador, Mexico and Haiti.
Of all the countries on this list, Ecuador’s descent into drug-infested warfare is the most dramatic. The small South American country along the Pacific used to be one of Latin America’s most peaceful countries, a place where scores of Americans would vacation. Today, however, it’s one of the most violent, spurred by a constellation of gangs and narcotrafficking organizations that team up with Colombian and Mexican cartels to ship cocaine into the United States; 2024 was the second-most violent year in the country’s history, with nearly 7,000 homicides. This year hasn’t been much better; at almost 1,000 homicides, this May was the deadliest month in Ecuador on record.
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