Every word worth the read. This is Pulitzer Prize level investigative journalism. I didn't think you guys could top the work you did on Pakistan, but this may be on par. Sad part is we (U.S.) are bad actors in both cases.
You joke, but they really did change the name so it would be harder for critics to brand it as what it was. Now it has a super long and obscure name. Same business
Just became a paid subscriber due to this article although I've been a silent supporter for a while now.
I have personal interest in this story as I am the spouse of an Ecuadorian, father to children born in Ecuador and recently had to divest from the country as it is no doubt, crumbling. My first time in the country was back in the Correa days.
"Social spending was slashed and power distributed to an oligarch faction linked to drug trafficking..."
- Can you provide more specifics here or point me to where I can drill down on these details? As you mentioned, Correa booted out the US military base and at the time I applauded that decision as it seemed unfair to the Ecuadorians. However, Correa also "legalized" gangs which had some benefits to the community but also had some negative affects. It strengthened those gangs as a normal part of the community and then later when Mexican and Albanian narco-gangs came to play it was pretty easy to establish the narco-network, locally. And as InsightCrime shows in their handy maps, tons of the trafficking is in and around the Manta area where the US military base used to be! So I just can't shake the thought that regardless of anything else, the strengthening of gangs and loss of the military base primed Ecuador for the absolute onslaught of organized narco crime that came next.
My family is fleeing Ecuador one by one, and is suffering greatly from Ecuadors downfall so I am personally invested in this story and look forward to your reply. I am in no way a blind supporter of the US agenda and meddling in LatAm but as a pragmatist I can't help but feel that Correa kinda effed things up too.
Anyone remember Costa Gavras’s film State of Siege? Over 50 years ago and the US is still subverting governments we believe are not in the interests of Corporate America. Charlmers Johnson described it in his book The Sorrows of Empire. That book and A People’s History of the United States by Zinn should be required reading in our schools. I grew up on the “America is the greatest country on earth” propaganda and it hasn’t changed a bit. We embody the definition of insanity.
You should have entitled this "If a Two-Bit, Right Wing US government Can Destroy Ecuador, Can it Destroy All of South America, and Even the Whole World?"
This is a fantastically written and beautifully sourced journalism I’ve really look forward to reading from drop site news. Fantastic work to drop site and the intercept brasil for this heavy hitting piece.
From South America to Haiti to the Middle East and beyond, we’ve seen the destructive end result of U.S. backed interference. It seems like the underlying Cold War stance has never truly left America’s roots: any progressive stance taken by a country is under immediate critique and intervention by the U.S. government.
The only silver lining in all of these cases is that people’s power is truly the enemy of the ones wielding the power, or else they wouldn’t so staunchly and viciously go after popular movements that inspire people and advocate for better living conditions for all.
A couple of short but excellent videos. One by RFK, the other by Bret Weinstein about the critical importance of defeating the democrats in this election. It could well be that the future of humanity depends on it.
“RFK Jr Explains Why He Could Never Support Kamala Harris.” (1 min)
Glenn Greenwald says “Buckle up everyone.” For sure. Democrats are insane yet a great many of our “fellow Americans” love them and are anxious to vote for the airhead puppet Kamala who’s every bit as befuddled as Sleepy Joe. Just imagine what men like Putin and Xi think of this. Just imagine what people globally think of this. Could this be yet another example of why so many countries are abandoning America in favor of the Russia/China led BRICS?
“What the democrats and the security state are willing to do to prevent Donald Trump from being reelected as president is literally unlimited.”
Here’s an article I saw on Yahoo News from USA Today this morning. Why do so many people believe the government was involved in the assassination attempt on Trump? Because the “investigation” of the shooter was shut down so quickly, because it’s so glaringly obvious the democrats hate Trump and because they were so disappointed that he wasn’t killed. They just finished their DNC in Chicago which was a 4 day anti-Trump hate fest. No one said it was fortunate for the country that Trump wasn’t killed. What else wasn’t said at the DNC?
No mention of the endless carnage, social breakdown, or the dreadful schools in Chicago and so many of our other cities. Why not? Because these are not important issues to the democrats. What’s important to them is the destruction of Trump/MAGA. I live in Chicago. A once beautiful city by the lake. Not anymore. May God curse the democrats for destroying my once beautiful city and our once great nation. Only God knows what fate has in store for us as our rotting society slides ever closer to the abyss.
‘They tried to kill him’ is now the bogus claim Vance uses to introduce Trump.
Every word worth the read. This is Pulitzer Prize level investigative journalism. I didn't think you guys could top the work you did on Pakistan, but this may be on par. Sad part is we (U.S.) are bad actors in both cases.
Seldom is the US Government the good actors. That's been our foreign policy since our founding.
Kudos all around for an excellent piece of reporting. Thank you,
Sanjee
"U.S. hostility to any social democratic government that attempts to chart an independent path, it turns out, is a central part of the answer."
...to current conflicts everywhere.
:(
Why change now, it used to be called “The school
Of the americas”, thats the tyranny training center where south american despots learn how to install their own Gitmo & Gestapo
You joke, but they really did change the name so it would be harder for critics to brand it as what it was. Now it has a super long and obscure name. Same business
Just became a paid subscriber due to this article although I've been a silent supporter for a while now.
I have personal interest in this story as I am the spouse of an Ecuadorian, father to children born in Ecuador and recently had to divest from the country as it is no doubt, crumbling. My first time in the country was back in the Correa days.
"Social spending was slashed and power distributed to an oligarch faction linked to drug trafficking..."
- Can you provide more specifics here or point me to where I can drill down on these details? As you mentioned, Correa booted out the US military base and at the time I applauded that decision as it seemed unfair to the Ecuadorians. However, Correa also "legalized" gangs which had some benefits to the community but also had some negative affects. It strengthened those gangs as a normal part of the community and then later when Mexican and Albanian narco-gangs came to play it was pretty easy to establish the narco-network, locally. And as InsightCrime shows in their handy maps, tons of the trafficking is in and around the Manta area where the US military base used to be! So I just can't shake the thought that regardless of anything else, the strengthening of gangs and loss of the military base primed Ecuador for the absolute onslaught of organized narco crime that came next.
My family is fleeing Ecuador one by one, and is suffering greatly from Ecuadors downfall so I am personally invested in this story and look forward to your reply. I am in no way a blind supporter of the US agenda and meddling in LatAm but as a pragmatist I can't help but feel that Correa kinda effed things up too.
Anyone remember Costa Gavras’s film State of Siege? Over 50 years ago and the US is still subverting governments we believe are not in the interests of Corporate America. Charlmers Johnson described it in his book The Sorrows of Empire. That book and A People’s History of the United States by Zinn should be required reading in our schools. I grew up on the “America is the greatest country on earth” propaganda and it hasn’t changed a bit. We embody the definition of insanity.
Agreed 👍 award winning reporting!
American meddling in other nations' electoral processes? Let's call it gunvote diplomacy.
You should have entitled this "If a Two-Bit, Right Wing US government Can Destroy Ecuador, Can it Destroy All of South America, and Even the Whole World?"
This is a fantastically written and beautifully sourced journalism I’ve really look forward to reading from drop site news. Fantastic work to drop site and the intercept brasil for this heavy hitting piece.
From South America to Haiti to the Middle East and beyond, we’ve seen the destructive end result of U.S. backed interference. It seems like the underlying Cold War stance has never truly left America’s roots: any progressive stance taken by a country is under immediate critique and intervention by the U.S. government.
The only silver lining in all of these cases is that people’s power is truly the enemy of the ones wielding the power, or else they wouldn’t so staunchly and viciously go after popular movements that inspire people and advocate for better living conditions for all.
A couple of short but excellent videos. One by RFK, the other by Bret Weinstein about the critical importance of defeating the democrats in this election. It could well be that the future of humanity depends on it.
“RFK Jr Explains Why He Could Never Support Kamala Harris.” (1 min)
RFK Jr: Kamal Harris Will Cause WW3
Shorts. TCNetwork. Aug 28, 2024
https://youtube.com/shorts/FKIDs5IG3Os?si=A7XVdqFS-nxvgFqP
“Priority in this election is to defeat the blue team.” (1 min)
Dr Bret Weinstein. Aug 28, 2024
https://youtube.com/shorts/njMeOt1bsUI?si=Wgms5gMYykGS6PlV
Glenn Greenwald says “Buckle up everyone.” For sure. Democrats are insane yet a great many of our “fellow Americans” love them and are anxious to vote for the airhead puppet Kamala who’s every bit as befuddled as Sleepy Joe. Just imagine what men like Putin and Xi think of this. Just imagine what people globally think of this. Could this be yet another example of why so many countries are abandoning America in favor of the Russia/China led BRICS?
“What the democrats and the security state are willing to do to prevent Donald Trump from being reelected as president is literally unlimited.”
“Buckle up everyone.” (1 min)
Glenn Greenwald. Aug 28, 2024
https://youtube.com/shorts/gPgQo0BOPIc?si=qfKOeS1vOscI7Sox
“America has no respect for the sovereignty of foreign nations.”
“BRICS Pay System: Final Development Stage of Blockchain Technology Reached Ahead of the 2024 Summit.” (8 min)
Lena Petrova. Aug 26, 2024
https://youtu.be/tI3ONK6dc5A?si=BO1GO30JFUj-5jKA
Corruption: A Made in USA product exported elsewhere via free trade agreements. As a species we seem to excel in this business.
It would be interesting to interview Mike Benz and ask him his opinion about your findings
eye opening
Here’s an article I saw on Yahoo News from USA Today this morning. Why do so many people believe the government was involved in the assassination attempt on Trump? Because the “investigation” of the shooter was shut down so quickly, because it’s so glaringly obvious the democrats hate Trump and because they were so disappointed that he wasn’t killed. They just finished their DNC in Chicago which was a 4 day anti-Trump hate fest. No one said it was fortunate for the country that Trump wasn’t killed. What else wasn’t said at the DNC?
No mention of the endless carnage, social breakdown, or the dreadful schools in Chicago and so many of our other cities. Why not? Because these are not important issues to the democrats. What’s important to them is the destruction of Trump/MAGA. I live in Chicago. A once beautiful city by the lake. Not anymore. May God curse the democrats for destroying my once beautiful city and our once great nation. Only God knows what fate has in store for us as our rotting society slides ever closer to the abyss.
‘They tried to kill him’ is now the bogus claim Vance uses to introduce Trump.
Yahoo News. USA Today. Aug 29, 2024
https://www.yahoo.com/news/tried-kill-him-now-bogus-080821139.html
“The Chicago public school where no student can read or do math.” (2 min)
Illinois Policy. Aug 22, 2024
https://youtu.be/BP5yR0p7UzE?si=I7DG4Klw-llbu1Qo