Abstract

PINO-URIBE, Juan Federico; JARAMILLO RAMON, Juan Pablo  and  PIEDRAHITA-BUSTAMANTE, Pedro. Homicides without borders: the subnational transnationality of drug trafficking in Ecuador and Colombia (2015-2022). Rev. Crim. [online]. 2025, vol.67, n.1, pp.59-77.  Epub Apr 18, 2025. ISSN 1794-3108.  https://doi.org/10.47741/17943108.637.

This paper explores subnational patterns of transnational organised crime related to drug trafficking and homicidal violence between southern Colombia and Ecuador over the period 2015-2022. Using random-effects and double fixed-effects regression models, we analyse how the expansion of drug trafficking, as measured by drug seizures, influences the increase in homicidal violence in 29 territorial units. The results reveal that drug trafficking follows a pattern of subnational transnationality, concentrating violence in Ecuadorian areas such as Esmeraldas, Manabi, Guayas and El Oro, which are drug trafficking routes. These regions, with their port infrastructure and relative proximity to Colombia, are critical points where territorial disputes between criminal gangs intensify, exacerbating homicidal violence. The research demonstrates that ransnational crime dynamics generate an uneven expansion of violence at the subnational level, related to geography and drug trafficking routes.

Keywords : Drug trafficking; transnational organised crime; homicidal violence; subnational transnationality; Colombia-Ecuador border.

        · abstract in Spanish | Portuguese     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )