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OPINION: Starving Ecuador’s gangs of their cashflow

Police raid on Ecuador drug gang
Police raid the home of a suspected gang member in Ecuador. Photo: John Moore/Getty Images

The war against Ecuador’s criminal gangs has focused on traditional approaches, featuring troops in the streets. But with the gangs turning to cryptocurrencies, it may be time for security to move from the streets to the spreadsheets.

Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa has spent the past year waging a very public war on gangs. There have been troops in the streets, prisons under military control and a security referendum that gave his government sweeping new powers. It’s the kind of imagery that makes for strong headlines and, in