El Oro
Colonial gold camps became banana monoculture (41% of Ecuador's growers), but 2024 narco violence exploits container logistics while illegal mining resurges. By 2026, Cangrejos formal mining decision tests gang displacement.
A province named for gold but rebuilt on bananas—El Oro demonstrates how monoculture can both create wealth and compound vulnerability. Colonial-era Zaruma-Portovelo gold camps established the extraction mindset; when mines depleted by 1950, the lowlands pivoted to banana cultivation. Today El Oro hosts 41% of Ecuador's banana growers, shipping from Puerto Bolívar to become the world's largest exporter.
But bananas created their own fragility. The 2024 gang violence wave exploited banana container logistics for cocaine transit—narcotraffickers discovered that 40-pound banana boxes provide perfect concealment. Puerto Bolívar became a key node in Pacific cocaine routes, with cartels fighting for control of export infrastructure. Meanwhile, artisanal gold mining resurged as global prices hit $2,000/oz, but under gang control: middlemen transport ore to processing plants in Portovelo, where criminal networks extract the value.
By 2024, El Oro faces dual extraction crises: 35% of Ecuador's gold exports originate from illegal operations, and the province's banana monoculture proves vulnerable to both climate (Q4 2024 droughts cut supply) and criminal capture. The Cangrejos gold deposit remains in evaluation, promising large-scale formal mining that could redirect employment from illegal operations.
2026 trajectory: Cangrejos project decision point—if approved, formal mining competes directly with illegal networks. Banana logistics will remain contested as Noboa administration anti-gang operations intensify.