Circle the area on this map
B. Ecuador had been a relatively safe and stable country, but crime has shot up in recent years as drug cartels from both its northern neighbor, Columbia, and Mexico infiltrated local criminal gangs. Ecuador is wedged between the world’s largest cocaine producers - Columbia and Peru, which is east and south of Ecuador.
C. Plagued by extreme poverty, natural disasters and a history of political repression, Haiti has descended into a state of near anarchy since the killing of President Jovenel Moise. Warring gangs now control much of the country,
A. While Belgium hosts the top European Union’s top councils, the country also has become the site where the largest quantities of cocaine have been seized in the political and economic union. Europe is also reporting increased drug violence. Last year, more than 200 tons of cocaine was seized in Ecuador, most of it at the southern port of Guayaquil.
D. Thirteen journalists were slain in Mexico in 2022, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Seven journalists were reported killed in Haiti. Of the 67 journalists killed around the world last year, nearly half were slain in Latin America, a region “nominally at peace.”