Security in Ecuador has come undone as drug cartels exploit the banana industry to ship cocaine

sanguinepar , 10 months ago

Ha! Little do they know that I’m secretly exploiting the cocaine industry to smuggle bananas.

motorwerks , 10 months ago

I mean, if said item makes it to the banana consumer then I’m OK w/ the plan.

Pistcow , 10 months ago

Dont fuck with the bananas

-CIA

robocall , 10 months ago

Quit putting your cocaine in my bananas!

SturgiesYrFase , 10 months ago

Quit putting your bananas around my cocain!

autotldr Bot , 10 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:

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Owner Franklin Torres is monitoring all activity on a recent morning to make sure the fruit meets international beauty standards — and ever more important, is packed for shipment free of cocaine.

It is also wedged between the world’s largest cocaine producers, Peru and Colombia, and drug traffickers find containers filled with bananas the perfect vehicle to smuggle their product.

The country, which is not a major cocaine producer, was especially rattled when a presidential candidate known for his tough stance on organized crime and corruption — Fernado Villavicencio — was fatally shot at the end of an Aug. 9 campaign rally.

In addition to its proximity to cocaine production, cartels from Mexico, Colombia and the Balkans have settled in Ecuador because it uses the U.S. dollar and has weak laws and institutions, along with a network of long-established gangs like Los Choneros that are eager for work.

Knowingly or not, banana growers, exporters, shipping corporations, port operators, private security companies, customs agents, agriculture officials, police, and buyers offer opportunities that drug traffickers have exploited.

He explained that exporters spend about $100 million annually on security measures, which include surveillance cameras at plantations, GPS monitoring of trucks and the identification of land routes that require police patrols to keep criminals away.

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The original article contains 1,334 words, the summary contains 211 words. Saved 84%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!