Instead, cocaine seizures have tripled, homicides have soared, and European ports now flag Posorja as a prime origin, exposing how gangs and corruption outpaced technology and ambition. Posorja became one of Ecuador’s busiest maritime hubs in 2024, welcoming Maersk and other global lines. Security by Design, Exploited in PracticePosorja was supposed to be the antidote to Guayaquil, Ecuador’s historically porous port. By 2024, customs in Rotterdam—the bellwether of Europe’s cocaine trade—logged Posorja as the top Latin American loading port for seizures, more than doubling Panama and even outpacing Guayaquil. In Posorja, gangs like Los Choneros and Los Lobos wage a shadow war to control logistics.