Kalamazoo family escapes Ecuador after surge in gang violence
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — A Kalamazoo family’s trip to Ecuador was cut short by a wave of gang violence surging across that country.
Kacey and George Wright III, West Michigan natives who live in Kalamazoo, started to travel later in life, and they wanted their kids to be exposed to different cultures as early as possible. That’s why they took their two children, 2-year-old Enola and a 15-month-old who is also named George, to Ecuador in December for a planned three-month visit.
The couple runs a travel blog called The Wright Destination, where they document their adventures. They even have sweatshirts with their blog’s logo on them.
“We felt like there’s always a story to tell when we go to these different places,” George Wright told News 8 on Thursday.
They arrived in Ecuador on Dec. 3 and said their first month went perfectly, exploring communities like Cuenca, a city of nearly 600,000.
“Ecuador is one of the most beautiful countries in the world,” George Wright said. “The people were very welcoming. As soon as got off the plane, we felt at home.”
George and Kacey Wright and their children. (Courtesy) George Wright and his children. (Courtesy) George and Kacey Wright and their children. (Courtesy) George Wright with one of his children. (Courtesy) Kacey Wright and one of her children. (Courtesy) George Wright. (Courtesy)
After spending over a month there, Kacey Wright said Ecuador was like a hidden gem.
“It’s got so many different landscapes: it has the Amazon Rainforest, the mountains, the Galápagos Islands,” she said.
Everything changed Jan. 9. Shortly after walking through a park, they found out violence — either a shooting or a bomb threat — broke out there after they left.
“Everyone was fleeing from that park we had just walked through an hour ago,” George Wright said.
On Jan. 7, police said that Adolfo Macias, the leader of a criminal gang, disappeared from a prison where he was serving a decades-long sentence. By Jan. 9, violence broke out across the country, which the government blamed on cocaine trafficking gangs. Prisons across Ecuador were overrun with inmates escaping, and more than 200 prison staff were taken as hostages.
Explosions went off in several cities. Police officers were kidnapped. By the time January ended, Ecuador had reportedly seen at least 391 violent deaths that month.
“They stormed a TV station during a live broadcast with guns and knives and held them captive,” George Wright said. “We also saw some of other rumblings of bombs exploding, cars being set ablaze.”
President Daniel Noboa issued a 60-day state of emergency. A military crackdown on gangs resulted in a national nighttime curfew stretching between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Ecuador hunkers down for a government war on drug gangs after attack during live TV newscast
The Wrights said that public transportation had stopped, and they were told they couldn’t leave their Airbnb until they were instructed to do so.
“The town of Cuenca was like a ghost town,” George Wright said. “So we really couldn’t even go anywhere.”
The couple knew they had to get their young children out, and they decided to leave less than 24 hours after the violence broke out.
“We (were) just waiting on these prison riots to hit the streets and these acts of terror where we don’t know where they’re coming from,” George Wright said.
They looked for airplane tickets to head home immediately, but the internet was running slow. Every time the page refreshed, they say the price increased by $400 to $500.
“We were looking at each other like, ‘This is four times what we paid to get down here,’” George Wright said.
They ended up paying $6,000 to get home. As they left, they saw buses running through downtown that had no one inside them. The streets, which they said were bustling before, were now empty.
“It really broke my heart for the Ecuadorian people because they had been so kind to us while were were there,” Kacey Wright said.
They had two different layovers in Colombia. They later stopped in New York City and Chicago before finally returning to Kalamazoo.
Despite everything that happened, they say their spirit to travel isn’t broken and their family is only stronger. They plan on traveling to Malaysia later this year.
George Wright urged other families to travel if they can and bring their children.
“Once you get out there and experience other cultures and see how other people live day to day, it’s exhilarating,” he said. “I just challenge everybody to get your passports.“
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