Professor Celina Realuyo, General (ret.) Carlos Rodriguez Arrieta, alumnus of the Perry Center, and Professor María Laura Patiño published a new article on “The Impact of Illicit Economies in the Context of Organized Crime in Ecuador” in the Tambara Digital Magazine of ESPE (University of the Armed Forces of Ecuador). They wrote that currently, organized crime in Ecuador represents the main threat to national security and generates negative effects in the political, economic and social spheres; the fact of having adopted dollarization favors money laundering and corruption; Ecuador is the main logistic corridor of drug trafficking in the Pacific Ocean coast and has witnessed the expansion of several criminal economies.

The objective of this paper is to analyze the impact of illicit economies in the context of organized crime in Ecuador, considering the dollarization of its economy and its strategic geographic location. An exploratory, documentary study was carried out, with the review of several secondary sources and the criteria of experts. The increase in illicit economies has increased the power of criminal organizations, exacerbating violence and insecurity, making it essential to implement strict regulatory measures and foster interagency and international cooperation to successfully combat organized crime in Ecuador.