Mayor of Antwerp Bart De Wever and two fellow European mayors are visiting Ecuador this week as part of their ongoing battle against drug crime. “Your problem is also our problem,” he told the Ecuadorean president.
Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever is visiting Ecuador with the mayors of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb, and Hamburg, Peter Tschentscher. The three port cities are each struggling with the impact of drug crime and the mayors want to stem the flow of cocaine to their cities, largely from Latin America.
“Your problem is also our problem,” De Wever, of Flemish nationalist party N-VA, said in a speech in English. “The drug consumption is in Europe so we are at the root of criminality that is here, so we stand as humble mayors before you offering also our support in solutions.”
Aboutaleb added: “The international community, the neighbouring United States and the European community, must do more to create more prosperity. I think that a good division of prosperity in the world will lead to a better and stable world.”
Last year, officers intercepted 116 tons of cocaine at the Port of Antwerp. Much of it comes from Latin America, and increasingly West Africa as cartels look for new routes.
President Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency in Ecuador in early January, declaring war on 22 criminal gangs involved in the drug trade.