perhaps they need to take the approach El Salvador took last year. Arrest everyone that looks a little like a gang member and quickly kill anyone who resists.
Bukele himself warned that the approach he took may not necessarily work for other countries. El Salvador has unique geography being so small (only the size of Massachusetts) and having few rugged places to hide (yes they have mountains but nowhere near like any other Central American county and the vast majority of the land is relatively dense for the region)
Two, the popular will to implement these policies was there as El Salvador had more than twice the murder rate of even Ecuador now for a sustained period of time. The efficacy of such policies does depend on the willingness of the populations to go along with them. Also on that note, El Salvador is a much more homogenous society culturally than Ecuador which also could impact dynamics (especially once coca gets involved)
I’m not saying it won’t work, it may not be a bad idea at all, but these are factors Quito has to consider before taking such measures.
