Ecuador
Large-scale purchases of new weaponry and support equipment in Ecuador were made during the 1995 conflict.1 It is the latest country in Latin America to become a drug-trafficking hub, which has triggered a sharp increase in violent crime. Over the last five years, murder rates have increased, and 2022 saw the highest level of homicides ever recorded in the country and rising gang-related crime.2
In 1980, Ecuador established the Act on the Manufacture, Import, Export, Trade and Possession of Arms, Ammunition, Explosives and Accessories. Ecuador has signed and ratified the UN Firearms Protocol.3 The country has received support for stockpile management, including and physical security and stockpile management training, from the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) and the UN Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC).4
1 Aaron Karp, Surplus Arms in South America: A Survey (Geneva: Small Arms Survey, 2009), https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/resources/SAS-WP7-Surplus-Arms-in-South-America.pdf.
2 “Ecuador,” International Crisis Group, 2022, https://www.crisisgroup.org/latin-america-caribbean/andes/ecuador.
3 Philip Alpers, Amélie Rossetti and Leonardo Goi, Ecuador – Gun Facts, Figures and the Law (GunPolicy.org, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney, 2022), https://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/ecuador.
4 “Ammunition Management Activity Platform (A-MAP),” GICHD, 2022, https://a-map.gichd.org.
Launch the country dashboard
Further information
Accidental explosions
Since the Small Arms Survey began collecting data in 1979, eight accidental explosions have been reported in Ecuador.
Table 1. Accidental explosions in Ecuador (1979–2021)
Year | Location | Owner/manager | Deaths | Injuries |
2011 | Quito | State (police) | 0 | 14 |
2009 | Sangolqui | State (military) | 0 | 0 |
2004 | Riobamba | State (military) | N/A | N/A |
2003 | Guayaquil | State (military) | 0 | 0 |
2003 | Guayaquil | State (military) | 1 | 28 |
2002 | Riobamba | State (military) | 10 | 538 |
1999 | La Balbina | State (military) | 5 | N/A |
1997 | Amaguaña | State (military) | 3 | 187 |
Source: “Unplanned Explosions at Munitions Sites (UEMS) Database,” Small Arms Survey, updated December 15, 2021, https://smallarmssurvey.org/database/unplanned-explosions-munitions-sites-uems.
Cases of diversion
Insufficient information on cases of diversion in Ecuador.
Disposal
As of 2021, 232,769 items of small arms ammunition have been destroyed with support provided by the United States.
Source: “Ecuador,” MAG, 2021, https://www.maginternational.org/what-we-do/where-we-work/ecuador.
Needs
To further enhance safe and secure ammunition management, the following needs have been identified for Ecuador:
- Development or refinement of standards and procedures on stockpile management, particularly assistance on technical regulations for destruction; and
- Capacity development for the destruction of surplus stockpiles, particularly related technical training.
Source: Ecuador, National Report on the Implementation of the Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons (PoA) and the International Tracing Instrument (ITI) (New York: Permanent Mission of Ecuador to the UN, 2022), https://unoda-poa.s3.amazonaws.com/reports/ECU-Spanish-1293-SUBMITTED.pdf.
