The LatinNews Podcast is a fortnightly deep dive into key developments from across Latin America and the Caribbean.
Real insights from the region’s sharpest minds.
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Season 1 | Episode 76
Ecuador is undergoing a profound political and security transformation. Once regarded as one of the more stable countries in Latin America, it now faces escalating violence, institutional strain and growing political tension.
In this episode of The LatinNews Podcast, Richard McColl speaks with Samuele Mazzolini, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Fellow and researcher at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and FLACSO Ecuador, about the forces reshaping Ecuador under President Daniel Noboa.
The discussion examines the rapid expansion of organised crime, the fragmentation of local gangs, the limits of the government’s security strategy and the broader weakening of state institutions. We also look at Noboa’s increasingly confrontational political style, tensions with Colombia, and the growing role of the United States in Ecuador’s security landscape.
As insecurity spreads beyond the country’s traditional hotspots and public frustration rises, the episode asks a broader question: what has happened to Ecuador’s stability, and where is the country heading next?
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In this episode we discuss:
• Ecuador’s worsening security crisis
• Organised crime and the fragmentation of gangs
• Tensions between Ecuador and Colombia
• Institutional weakening and authoritarian drift
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Samuele Mazzolini
Samuele Mazzolini is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Fellow and researcher in political science and philosophy at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and FLACSO Ecuador. His work focuses on populism, democratic institutions and political transformation in Latin America, with particular attention to Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. He has published research on authoritarianism, state formation and democratic erosion in the region, and regularly contributes analysis on contemporary Latin American politics and governance.
The LatinNews Podcast is hosted by Richard McColl, a foreign correspondent in Colombia. Having first travelled to Colombia in the late 90s, McColl made the move to Bogotá in 2007. He holds a Diploma in Conflict resolution and a PhD in Social and Human Sciences both at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá. He has worked as a journalist across Latin America.
Political Analyst, Richard McColl