kidnapped

In the early hours of Saturday morning past an Englishman and his Colombian wife were kidnapped by masked intruders who invaded their private property in Los Rios, Guayaquil, Ecuador.

It is being talked about in the media as a crime-wave due to the Narco-Cartels, but I beg to differ. I hope here I will be able to explain below, without bias, why I think this is “Smoke and Mirrors”. I am not a fan of the Cartels invasion of my beloved Ecuador, trapped between the two largest cocaine producing countries in the world, but on this occasion, I do not believe they are the masterminds behind this, and many other similar atrocities.??????????

Soldiers’ wives are being kidnapped regularly from the barracks their husbands patrol from, or whilst going to the local shops for groceries as are medical staff and doctors, cleaners and cooks!

I will also comment to the many CPO’s I hope will read this post, as to the actions that would have been available to CPO’s protecting this couple, had they been employed, which it seems they were not.

The necessity of everyone to take responsibility for their own security, regardless of the rights they believe they should be given, to a safe and peaceful life, whilst continuing to reside in one of the most dangerous cities in a previously peaceful country, that now has one of the fastest growing homicide and violent crime rates in the world.

So to start, the victim is a millionaire, he’s an honoured title holder from the British Crown and was a diplomat and ambassador for Great Briton, he headed the GB consulate based in Ecuador’s second city, Guayaquil until 2016.

He has multinational clients and is for the biggest part into agricultural production and crop supplies. This alone could make him a victim of the cartels as they use these types of internationally transported goods to disguise their drug shipments around the world. Does this mean he is corrupt, in no way is that assumed or implied in this article although some tabloid news papers have jumped on that train. His refusal to play nicely with the cartels could make him equally at risk.

Taking either of the above options out of the equation that leaves good old fashioned “organized (but not drug related) crime”. It appears our victim had been targeted for at least a short while more likely a considerable amount of time. His wife was an active TikTok’er and had posted several security breaches online for some time. Documenting not only family movements but obvious wealth, and security failures.

Bear in mind we are talking about a country where you could easily be asked to work 60/70 hours a week for less than a hundred dollars. Where you might have to travel 2 hours to get to work and 2 more to get home, on top of your 70 hour week, and employment is scarce. Wealth doesn’t have to be so extortionate to make you stand out from the crowd. Add to that the fact that you are a foreigner and your chances, these days of becoming a person of interest to organised crime is really quite high.

Corruption is at an all time high in Ecuador, or at least its discovery and denouncement is. Let’s see if these figures, (31 government officials and attorneys arrested or have warrants issued for their arrest, in one case alone) convert into convictions!

https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/michael-w-895475237_nationalsecurity-peace-securityindustry-activity-7119614748068896768-YUV-?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

Currently the head of prisons and several leading High Court judges are under investigation based on revelations coming from the phone records of an organised crime gang leader recently murdered whilst serving, very comfortably, his considerable jail sentence. He, Leandro Norero, had managed to unite 3 of the most dangerous, blood thirsty, criminal gangs in Ecuador and was in allegiance with the Mexican CJNG. His illegally owned prison mobile phone had been used to contact various high ranking police officials, Judges private and home numbers, some voice and text messages both threatening and coercive. He also appears to have had the director of the countries prison service private number on speed dial!

https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/michael-w-895475237_six-suspects-in-the-assassination-of-fernando-activity-7116753429816881152-1NV7?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

We recently saw a new President elected after a violence filled election campaign, in which 8 candidates and elected officials were murdered. It certainly looks like that was the result of people not bowing to the cartels or stupidly taking the payments and not providing the goods.

One in particular Fernando Villavicencio, was named directly as someone to be “dealt with” by Noreros associates, was killed in a highly questionable security lapse whilst leaving a campaign speech.

https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/michael-w-895475237_fernandovillavicencio-rafaelcorreas-luisagonzalez-activity-7096874357750165504-fRPD?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

I’m sure there a plenty of juicy tit-bits yet to be uncovered.

Now my friends in the protection industry.

What would the IBG, the security driver, or a four-man residential security detail have done to prevent the above-mentioned Kidnapping and what should they being doing now to get him released. Could a four-man armed residential security detail prevent such an assault by 15 heavily armed assailants dressed in police uniforms, at 0300h, with convoy coverage and various escape routes. Would they have lived through the encounter; would they have surrendered their arms and probably been murdered after their surrender’ Lots of questions few answers.

Historically, CP that have opened fire but failed to deter the aggressors have been murdered at the scene or kidnapped and murdered at a later date. Some, when they had fired at the aggressors, killing or wounding them, have been taken away and their families brought in front of them to either watch their husband, son, father be tortured and killed, or in deed the protectors watch their families, children, parents’ wives tortured and murder before they along withthere familys' are killed. It’s certainly a hard choice to make.

On the other hand un-armed CP are seldom harmed deliberately, but then again, are they capable of protecting the client? More CPOs doesn’t seem to be the option either as the bad guys have numbers. If they can’t get what they want with four men they bring eight or fifteen or thirty, heavily armed men, we are talking military grade weapons. Does your CP team pack that punch?

Whilst persuading the young, attractive wife of our VIP not to go on TikTok giving away all the family secrets may not be an option; we will definitely try to make our point and to brief our clients on the responsibilities they have in their own personal protection and participation in “practice drill sessions” are always scheduled with our clients, something I find much easier when working with clients that didn’t select you because they need a new fashion accessory, but actually accept your risk assessment and take you and all your team seriously as security professionals, whether you carry the shopping or not!

That is why when teaching our students in Latin America, Ecuador and Colombia in particular, we lean heavily on counter surveillance, whilst at the same time, our fire-arms training is a no joke, pass or fail. If you can’t make the grade mentally and physically you will not be getting selected. Protection is after all our main function and you have to be alive to do that.

Drivers go through rigorous skills and drills and practice is weekly not annually. I have used the skills of my drivers many more times to evade criminal intent in Latin America than I have used my firearms skills to combat it. And with that said, working in these types of situations I have used practical physical skills more than the firearm too. Whilst always remembering that avoidance is our first choice and an attitude adjustment and ego regulation means that a smile and a friendly voice can get you further than puffed out chest or a bulge under your jacket.

In Los Rios, or the “the Quevedo road axis” most transport has to pay duties at improvised illegal roadblocks or face the consequences. Police and military convoys are often attacked by machine gun wielding marauders and relinquish their arms to get out alive, knowing they are in enemy territory and out gunned, what are a couple of CPOs going to do with their Glocks in a criminal, possibly cartel-controlled roadblock?

What we do, more often than not, is avoid these road blocks with advance security details, maybe just one man on a motorbike, or escape when the opportunity arises, seldom even drawing our weapons. Something to think about! What we have also done is driven into the road block with all the other traffic, so as not to draw too much attention (and gunfire) and without ever showing out the wealth or fame of our clients, negotiated a fair “toll” payment for safe passage, and passed through without incident, whilst always mindful that this may go physical.

Mental preparedness is the number one focus, I would say, when dealing with known and conceivably unstoppable threats. Second when given the choice would be camouflage skills. That’s to say making our client less likely to be selected. Not putting him in fancy dress, but also not surrounding him with “the men in black” or the typical armoured surburban.

Team work is trained and ingrained, comms although used are not the pigtail show out. We want to be invisible until we are not and then formidable in all evasive and combative techniques whilst remembering that the use of firearms, by the good-guys is still very much frowned upon. Interpersonal and covert communication, a nod and a wink, perfected during team drills, reading what is not written, it’s a must when everyone could be the enemy and your security budgets are limited in comparison to the enemies.

Again, skills and drills. We don’t teach, learn and then hope for the best, training is constant and compulsory and is included in our work schedule. For me it is the only way to work in these hostile environments. Our job is to avoid and evade, without ever forgetting that above all it is to PROTECT.

https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/insight-crime_ecuador-activity-7143691833024430080-YlGw?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

We provide Governmental, professional and civilian security training in Spain and Latin America. Options are available to those who wish to increase their personal safety, the safety of their loved ones or clients, or who wish to advance their careers in Close protection with professional no nonsense skillsets.

I teach private online classes, and I teach in person; private, family and group classes in Cádiz province in Spain. The subject matter I cover includes but is not limited to: My D.A.D.A. program. Detect, Avoid, Distract, Attack (CQC). Situational awareness and avoiding problematic situations; People profiling for your personal safety; Situational control and tactical conversation; Physical solutions for violent situations; Home security and protection solutions.

In person classes include in-depth physical combative training in the use of physical violence for your safety and security.

If you would like information on any of the above subjects feel free to DM me and we can have an informal "chat" old school style!

Alternatively contact me at: www.insafehands.net

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