ESMERALDAS, ECUADOR - FEBRUARY 13: Police raid a home during an early morning operation in search of a gang member on February 13, 2024 in Esmeraldas, Ecuador. In the month since Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa declared a state of 'internal armed conflict" more than 7,000 people have been arrested around the country. The government has officially labeled 22 gangs in Ecuador as terrorist organizations. Crime in the past month has dropped significantly in Esmeraldas with increased operations under the direction of National Police GraD Renato Cevallos Nunez In recent years drug-related violence and widespread extortion of local residents in Ecuador's coastal provinces has caused many people to move to safer parts of the country or emigrate abroad, with large numbers to the United States. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
