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Ecuador: Human Smuggler Sentenced to Eight Years!

Yesterday, I was in Maryland and had the chance to read The Washington Post. Chris Kraul brought in the interest of something that is happening with the poor citizen of latinamerica. Everyone should remember the huge wave crashed down of a vessel like 100 miles off the Colombian cost. On August 2005, ninety-eight Ecuadorans were drowned, leaving behind 170 orphans and many grieving relatives.

The 15% of Ecuadoran population have migrated to the U.S.( Total is about 2 million). Half of them since a devastating financial crisis in 1999. Most of migrants come from Azuay, Tungurahua y Loja. They have to pay between $8,000 to $10,000 to the smugglers or 'coyotes' in order to arrange a five-day, 1,000-mile voyage from Ecuador's cost to Guatemala.

Almost after a decade that Ecuador turned blinded to coyotes, the nation had taken a harder line with the human smugglers. Paul Vasquez is a special migration prosecutor with the province of Azuay and has said:'The coyotes deceive their victims from the beginning, promising visas, that they are friends of ambassadors or consuls, and that they will make it easy to get to the U.S...Once they have their money, the tricks become obvious and they take them on these highly dangerous trips'.

Milton Bautista Guzman has been sentenced to spend eight years in prison for his part in the scheme of August 13th voyage. He was one out of ten alleged coyotes in the business. In comparation with sentenced Tyron Willimans who was driving the truck that suffocated 19 illegal immigrants in Texas, it may sound too light sentence for Bautista, considering he was indicted for the death of 98 people!

We must be clear the 'coyote' is not only one person, it is a network said attorney Auquilla from Cuenca Lawyers Board. 'It's a network that includes lawyers, congresmen, bankers and police, who have been bribed or blackmailed and who remain hidden from view'.

Those among other reason of why the emigrants are losing to coyotes their houses and farms. Many Ecuadoran cannot make payments on the usurious loans they take. Let's say they borrow $10,000 they need to repay 8% monthly which makes nearly 100% of repay after a year! But hold up a second! Coyotes are not devils in everyone's eyes. If they do their job and the human cargo arrives happily to the U.S. the smugglers are seem with appreciation.

Lorena Escudero, a sociologist from University of Cuenca says that in some homes, there is a picture of the coyote next to that of the Virgen Mary. That's Ecuadoran culture. There are gratitude for those in business for decades who happen to be helped generations of families get to El Norte. Same history must be written about Ambato's people or Cariamanga y Macará ex-residents!

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