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Is Ecuador facing a non-international armed conflict against organized crime groups? Reality, inconsistencies and jurisprudential developments

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 December 2024

Hugo Cahueñas Muñoz Open the ORCID record for Hugo Cahueñas Muñoz [Opens in a new window]  and
Juan Felipe Idrovo Romo Open the ORCID record for Juan Felipe Idrovo Romo [Opens in a new window]
Hugo Cahueñas Muñoz*
Affiliation:
Professor of International Law and International Humanitarian Law, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador PhD candidate in Law, World Trade Institute, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Juan Felipe Idrovo Romo*
Affiliation:
Jurisdictional Constitutional Expert, Constitutional Court of Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador Lawyer with Sub-specialization in Human Rights, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador
*
*Email: hcahuenas@usfq.edu.ec
**Corresponding author email: felipeidrovo@gmail.com
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Abstract

On 9 January 2024, the president of the Republic of Ecuador decreed a state of exception in which he recognized the existence of a non-international armed conflict (NIAC) involving twenty-two criminal groups. By July 2024, the president had declared four additional states of exception. The Constitutional Court examined the decrees and ruled against the existence of a NIAC. In this context, the objective of this article is to present, contrast and analyze the positions of the president and the Constitutional Court and highlight the most notable jurisprudential developments. This case study is relevant to exploring some of the challenges of classifying armed conflicts involving organized crime. In respect of the position of the president, inconsistencies were identified between the recognition of the armed conflict and the actions taken to confront it. As to the Court's jurisprudence, some notable developments identified include the incorporation of international humanitarian law treaties into the block of constitutionality and the ruling on challenges of contemporary armed conflicts such as spillovers, coalition formation and the participation of criminal groups in armed conflicts.

Keywords

organized crimecontemporary armed conflictsstate of exceptionConstitutional Court of Ecuadorblock of constitutionalityinternational humanitarian law
Type
Research Article
Information
International Review of the Red Cross , Volume 106 , Issue 926: Selected Articles , August 2024 , pp. 610 - 638
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of International Committee of the Red Cross

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Footnotes

The advice, opinions and statements contained in this article are those of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the ICRC. The ICRC does not necessarily represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement or other information provided in this article.

References

1 Executive Decree No. 111, 9 January 2024. All decrees issued by the president are available at: https://minka.presidencia.gob.ec/portal/usuarios_externos.jsf or www.registroficial.gob.ec/ (all internet references were accessed in October 2024).

2 Executive Decree Nos 193, 7 March 2024; 250, 30 April 2024; 275, 22 May 2024; and 318, 2 July 2024.

3 Kalmanovitz, Pablo, “Can Criminal Organizations be Non-State Parties to Armed Conflict?”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vo. 105, No. 923, 2023, p. 619Google Scholar.

4 CCE, Judgments 1-24-EE/24 (vote of majority), 2-24-EE/24, 5-24-EE/24, 6-24-EE/24 and 7-24-EE/24. Most references will be to Judgment 2-24-EE/24 since it established the precedents that were applied without substantive changes in subsequent judgments. The judgments are available at: https://buscador.corteconstitucional.gob.ec/buscador-externo/principal.

5 See Constitutional Court of Colombia, Sentence No. C-225/95, 1995, available at: www.corteconstitucional.gov.co/relatoria/1995/c-225-95.htm.

6 Ibid.

7 ICRC, Commentary on the First Geneva Convention: Convention (I) for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field, 2nd ed., Geneva, 2016 (ICRC Commentary on GC I), para. 387.

8 ICTR, The Prosecutor v. Jean Paul Akayesu, Case No. ICTR-96-4-T, Judgment (Chamber I), 2 September 1998, para 603.

9 ICRC Commentary on GC I, above note 7, paras 414–431.

10 ICRC, “The Humanitarian Impact of Armed Violence on Communities – the Americas Perspective: Interview with Sophie Orr”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 105, No. 923, 2023, p. 602.

11 Ecuadorian Organized Crime Observatory, Caracterización del Crimen Organizado, 2023, p. 7, available at: https://oeco.padf.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Caracterizacion-Crimen-Organizado-Version-corta-V2.pdf.

12 Ibid.

13 Ibid.

14 Ibid.

15 Ibid.

16 Ibid.

17 It is estimated that Los Choneros, one of the most prominent criminal gangs in the country, had up to 20,000 members at its peak. Chris Dalby, “GameChangers 2021: No End in Sight for Ecuador's Downward Spiral”, InSight Crime, 24 December 2021, available at: https://insightcrime.org/news/gamechangers-2021-no-end-sight-ecuador-downward-spiral/; “Los Choneros”, InSight Crime, 26 September 2023, available at: https://insightcrime.org/es/noticias-crimen-organizado-ecuador/los-choneros/.

18 “Perfil de Ecuador”, InSight Crime, 20 March 2023, available at: https://insightcrime.org/es/noticias-crimen-organizado-ecuador/ecuador/.

19 Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, “Non-International Armed Conflicts in Mexico”, RULAC, available at: www.rulac.org/browse/conflicts/non-international-armed-conflict-in-mexico#collapse4accord.

20 ICRC, “El costo humano de los conflictos armados en Colombia”, 3 April 2024, available at: https://www.icrc.org/es/document/costo-humano-conflictos-armados-colombia-2024.

21 Ecuador State Attorney General's Office, “Casos de connotación contra la eficiencia de la administración pública”, 2024, available at: www.fiscalia.gob.ec/casos-de-connotacion/.

22 Ecuador initiated a process against Colombia at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). Ecuador stated that on 1 March 2008, the Colombian armed forces bombed a FARC-EP camp located in the town of Angostura, 1,850 metres from the border with Colombia, in a military action called Operation Phoenix. IACHR, Report No. 112/10, Inter-State Petition IP-02, Admissibility, Franklin Guillermo Aisalla Molina (Ecuador–Colombia), OEA/Ser.L/V/II.140, 21 October 2010.

23 Permanent Council of the Organization of American States, Minutes of the Extraordinary Session of 4 and 5 March 2008, OEA/Ser.G CP/ACTA 1632/08 corr. 1, 4 March 2008.

24 “InSight Crime's 2023 Cocaine Seizure Round-Up”, InSight Crime, 2024, p. 11, available at: https://insightcrime.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/InSight-Crimes-2023-Cocaine-Seizure-Round-Up-March-2024-v3.pdf.

25 Ibid.

26 See Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, Global Organized Crime Index 2023: Ecuador, 2024, available at: https://ocindex.net/assets/downloads/2023/english/ocindex_profile_ecuador_2023.pdf.

27 “InSight Crime's 2023 Homicide Round-Up”, InSight Crime, 2024, available at: https://insightcrime.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/InSight-Crimes-2023-Homicide-Round-Up-Feb-2024-2.pdf.

28 Ibid., p. 7.

29 Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, Global Organized Crime Index 2023, 2024, available at: https://ocindex.net/assets/downloads/2023/english/global-ocindex-report.pdf.

30 Ecuador State Attorney General's Office, “Caso Fernando Villavicencio”, available at: www.fiscalia.gob.ec/caso-fernando-villavicencio/.

31 Ecuador State Attorney General's Office, “13 procesados, incluidos 2 adolescentes, por terrorismo: Irrumpieron de forma violenta a un canal de television”, Press Release No. 030-DC-2024, January 2024, available at: www.fiscalia.gob.ec/13-procesados-incluidos-2-adolescentes-por-terrorismo-irrumpieron-de-forma-violenta-a-un-canal-de-television/.

32 SNAI, “Estadísticas”, available at: www.atencionintegral.gob.ec/estadisticas/.

33 IACHR, Personas privadas de libertad en Ecuador, 2022, p. 25, available at: www.oas.org/es/cidh/informes/pdfs/Informe-PPL-Ecuador_VF.pdf.

34 Ibid., p. 16.

35 Ibid.

36 The Constitution uses this term to refer to a NIAC.

37 Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador, Registro Oficial No. 449, 20 October 2008, Art. 164.

38 Ibid., Art. 165.

39 Ibid.

40 See CCE, Case Nos 1-18-EE, 2-18-EE, 3-18-EE, 1-19-EE, 2-19-EE, 3-19-EE, 4-19-EE, 5-19-EE, 4-20-EE, 6-20-EE, 5-21-EE, 6-21-EE, 7-21-EE, 8-21-EE, 2-22-EE, 3-22-EE, 4- 22-EE, 5-22-EE, 6-22-EE, 7-22-EE, 8-22-EE, 1-23-EE, 3-23-EE, 4-23-EE, 5-23- EE, 6-23-EE, 7-23-EE, 8-23-EE, 1-24-EE, 2-24-EE, 5-24-EE, 6-24-EE and 7-24-EE.

41 Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador, above note 37, Art. 158.

42 Executive Decree No. 111, 9 January 2024.

43 CCE, Judgment 2-24-EE/24, 21 March 2024, paras 87–91.

44 CCE, Judgment 7-24-EE/24, 1 August 2024, para. 70.

45 Ibid.

46 Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador, above note 37, Art. 166.

47 The majority decision in this case was in a concurring vote signed by five judges.

48 ICTY, The Prosecutor v. Duško Tadić aka “Dule”, Case No. IT-94-1-AR72, Decision on the Defence Motion for Interlocutory Appeal on Jurisdiction (Appeals Chamber), 2 October 1995, para. 70.

49 See ICTY, The Prosecutor v. Ramush Haradinaj et al., Case No. IT-04-84-T, Judgment (Trial Chamber I), 3 April 2008, paras 49, 60.

50 Ibid.

51 ICRC Commentary on GC I, above note 7, para. 461.

52 Executive Decree No. 111, 9 January 2024, p. 7.

53 Executive Decree No. 250, 30 April 2024, pp. 1–2.

54 See CCE, Judgment 2-24-EE/24, 21 March 2024, paras 65–69.

55 Executive Decree No. 111, 9 January 2024, Art. 4 (Águilas, ÁguilasKiller, Ak47, Caballeros Oscuros, ChoneKiller, Choneros, Corvicheros, Cuartel de las Feas, Cubanos, Fatales, Gánster, Kater Piler, Lagartos, Latin Kings, Lobos, Los p.27, Los Tiburones, Mafia 18, Mafia Trébol, Patrones, R7 and Tiguerones).

56 Executive Decree No. 318, 2 July 2024, pp. 24–25.

57 Executive Decree No. 111, 9 January 2024, p. 4.

58 Ibid.

59 Executive Decree No. 275, 22 May 2024, p. 6.

60 Ibid., p. 11.

61 Ibid., p. 7.

62 Executive Decree No. 318, 2 July 2024, p. 23.

63 Ibid.

64 Executive Decree No. 218, 7 April 2024, p. 10.

65 CCE, Judgment 2-24-EE/24, 21 March 2024, para. 67.

66 Ibid.

67 Ibid., para. 93

68 ICTY, The Prosecutor v. Limaj et al., Case No. IT-03-66-T, Judgment (Trial Chamber II), 30 November 2005, para 170.

69 Muggah, Robert, “Organized Crime in Armed Conflicts and Other Situations of Violence”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 105, No. 923, 2023, p. 570CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

70 P. Kalmanovitz, above note 3, p. 622.

71 Ibid., p. 631.

72 Padin, Juan, “Opening Pandora's Box: The Case of Mexico and the Threshold of Non-International Armed Conflicts”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 105, No. 923, 2023, pp. 793–794CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

73 CCE, Judgment 2-24-EE/24, 21 March 2024, para. 94.

74 Ibid., para. 91.

75 Ibid.

76 CCE, Judgment 7-24-EE/24, 1 August 2024, para. 68.

77 Ibid..

78 Ibid.

79 Ibid.

80 Ibid.

81 Ibid.

82 CCE, Judgment 2-24-EE/24, 21 March 2024, para. 70.

83 Ibid., para. 95.

84 Ibid., para. 96.

85 CCE, Judgment 7-24-EE/24, 1 August 2024, para. 71.

86 Ibid, para. 70.

87 Ibid, para. 56.8.

88 Ibid, para. 69.8.

89 Ibid, para. 71.3.

90 Ibid, para. 70.

91 P. Kalmanovitz, above note 3, p. 622.

92 CCE, Judgment 2-24-EE/24, 21 March 2024, para. 97.

93 Ibid., para. 97.

94 Ibid., para. 101.

95 Ibid., para. 87.

96 Ibid., paras 87–90.

97 Ibid.

98 Ibid., para. 70.

99 Ibid.

100 Ibid.

101 Ibid., para. 98.

102 Ibid.

103 Ibid., para. 100.

104 Ibid.

105 Ibid., para. 101.

106 Ibid., para. 101.

107 Ibid.

108 Ibid.

109 CCE, Judgment 7-24-EE/24, 1 August 2024, paras 77, 82.

110 P. Kalmanovitz, above note 3, p. 619.

111 Ibid.

112 Ibid., p. 620.

113 Comunicación Ecuador (official account of the Ecuadorian government), “Conozca los resultados del eje de seguridad, con corte del 9 de enero al 11 de marzo de 2024”, X.com, 11 March 2024, available at: https://x.com/ComunicacionEc/status/1767299964260995301.

114 Ibid.

115 Ibid.

116 National Secretary of Planification, “Detenidos-Aprehendidos”, Datos Abiertos, 2024, available at: https://datosabiertos.gob.ec/dataset/personas-detenidas-aprehendidas/resource/01d3e020-a4bd-4d1c-ab38-e4fbc1fa623c.

117 Ibid.

118 Ecuadorian Criminal Code, Registro Oficial Suplemento No. 180, 10 February 2014, Arts 111–139.

119 Ibid., Art. 126.

120 Ibid., Art. 114.

121 See Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction, 13 January 1993. This prohibition is also applicable in NIACs as a customary rule.

122 “Abusos militares, otra cara de la guerra contra el narco en Ecuador”, France 24, 27 February 2024, available at: www.france24.com/es/minuto-a-minuto/20240227-abusos-militares-otra-cara-de-la-guerra-contra-el-narco-en-ecuador.

123 SNAI, “Estadísticas”, 2024, available at: www.atencionintegral.gob.ec/estadisticas/.

124 IACHR, above note 33, para. 112.

125 Human Rights Watch, “Carta al Presidente Noboa sobre “conflicto armado interno” y violaciones de derechos humanos en Ecuador”, 22 May 2024, available at: www.hrw.org/es/news/2024/05/22/letter-to-presidente-noboa-sobre-conflicto-armado-interno-y-violaciones-de-derechos#_ftnref16.

126 SNAI, above note 123.

127 Human Rights Watch, above note 125.

128 CCE, Judgment 2-24-EE/24, 21 March 2024, para. 99.

129 Ibid.

130 International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 105, No. 923, 2023, available at: https://international-review.icrc.org/reviews/irrc-no-923-organized-crime.

131 See P. Kalmanovitz, above note 3.

132 Executive Decree No. 218, 7 April 2024, p. 10.

133 CCE, Judgment 2-24-EE/24, 21 March 2024, para. 67.

134 ICRC, International Humanitarian Law and the Challenges of Contemporary Armed Conflicts, Geneva, 2019, p. 51.

135 Ibid.

136 Chiara Redaelli, “A Common Enemy: Aggregating Intensity in Non-International Armed Conflicts”, Humanitarian Law and Policy Blog, 22 April 2021, available at: https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2021/04/22/common-enemy/.

137 Jelena Nikolic, Tristan Ferraro and Thomas de Saint Maurice, “Aggregated Intensity: Classifying Coalitions of Non-State Armed Groups”, Humanitarian Law and Policy Blog, 22 April 2021, available at: https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2020/10/07/aggregated-intensity-classifying-coalitions-non-state-armed-groups/.

138 CCE, Judgment 2-24-EE/24, 21 March 2024, paras 70, 100.

139 ICRC Commentary on GC I, above note 7, para. 474.

140 Ibid., para. 476.

141 CCE, Judgment 2-24-EE/24, 21 March 2024, fn. 15.

142 Ibid.

143 IACHR, above note 22.

144 See IACHR, Informe final del Equipo de Seguimiento Especial (ESE) para la investigación del secuestro y asesinato de Javier Ortega, Paúl Rivas y Efraín Segarra, 2019, available at: www.oas.org/es/cidh/expresion/informes/Informe_Final_ESE_MC_Dicc2019.pdf.

145 CCE, Judgment 2-24-EE/24, 21 March 2024, paras 52–64.

146 Ibid.

147 CCE, Judgment 5-24-EE/24, 9 May 2024, para 26; CCE, Judgment 6-24-EE/24, 13 June 2024, para. 32.

148 CCE, Judgment 6-24-EE/24, 13 June 2024, para. 32.

149 Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador, above note 37, Arts 424–425.

150 Ibid., Art. 425.

151 See Constitutional Court of Colombia, above note 5.

152 CCE, Judgment 11-18-CN/19 (same-sex marriage), 12 June 2019.

153 CCE, Judgment 2-24-EE/24, 21 March 2024, paras 57–62.

154 See Hugo Cahueñas and Felipe Idrovo, “La protección integral en la relación DIH-DIDH”, Cálamo Revista de Estudios Jurídicos, No. 16, 2021.

155 CCE, Judgment 2-24-EE/24, 21 March 2024, para. 142.

156 Ibid., para. 80.

157 See Executive Decree No. 218, 7 April 2024.

158 Ecuador Ombudsman's Office, “La Defensoría del Pueblo ante las reiteradas alertas y denuncias de tortura y malos tratos en los centros de privación de libertad exhorta al estado a ejecutar acciones urgentes para la garantía y protección de derechos de las personas privadas de libertad”, 2024, available at: www.dpe.gob.ec/la-defensoria-del-pueblo-ante-las-reiteradas-alertas-y-denuncias-de-tortura-y-malos-tratos-en-los-centros-de-privacion-de-libertad-exhorta-al-estado-a-ejecutar-acciones-urgentes-para-la-garantia-y-pro/.

159 Ibid.

160 Human Rights Watch, above note 125.

161 Reisman, Michael, “Compensating Collateral Damage in Elective International Conflict”, Intercultural Human Rights Law Review, Vol. 8, 2013, p. 18Google Scholar.