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🇪🇨 Ecuador /Crime & Justice

Anti-Mafia Law passes first debate in Ecuador's Assembly

From El Comercio · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Approved/passed
  • Ecuador's National Assembly has passed the first debate of the Anti-Mafia Law, sending it to the Security Commission for further review.
  • The proposed law includes significant reforms to penal, procedural, institutional, and patrimonial frameworks to combat organized crime.
  • Key provisions involve increased prison sentences for leaders and financiers of organized crime groups, with debates arising over the scope of the law.

Ecuador's National Assembly has advanced the Anti-Mafia Law, passing its first debate in plenary. The legislation, aimed at bolstering the state's capacity to combat organized crime, will now move to the Security Commission for the preparation of a report ahead of its second debate. The bill proposes 23 articles, with 21 amending the Organic Integral Penal Code and two modifying the Organic Law of Asset Forfeiture.

Central to the proposed law is a significant increase in penalties for individuals who organize, direct, or finance organized crime groups (GDOs). The prison sentence for such offenses could rise from 22 to 26 years. This penalty could be further extended to 26-30 years if the criminal group is linked to high-impact crimes like drug trafficking, terrorism, illegal mining, contract killing, or money laundering. The law also introduces penalties of up to 13 years for those providing logistical, infrastructural, or resource support to GDOs.

the crime organized not only seeks to control drug loads, but also routes, economic resources, information and protection mechanisms.

— Inés AlarcónPresident of the Integral Security Commission, explaining the broad scope of organized crime's influence.

Further measures include prison sentences of three to five years for disrupting fuel supply and distribution services when such disruptions affect essential services like health or transport in one or more cantons within a province. Additionally, the illicit extraction or theft of hydrocarbons and their derivatives could result in 10 to 13 years of imprisonment.

During the debate, Inés Alarcón, president of the Integral Security Commission, emphasized that organized crime's ambitions extend beyond drug trafficking to controlling routes, finances, information, and protection mechanisms, often seeking to corrupt institutions. However, assembly member Viviana Veloz of the Correísmo faction questioned the law's narrow focus, arguing that "institutional mafias" and the National Electoral Council should also be addressed. This highlights a division in how to best tackle the complex issue of organized crime within Ecuador.

institutional mafias

— Viviana VelozAssembly member from the Correísmo faction, criticizing the law's focus and suggesting a broader approach to combating crime.
About this summary

Originally published by El Comercio in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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