The new most dangerous country in the world: The 'island of peace' nation that spiralled into uncontrolled bloodshed with drug cartels who cut out hearts and send severed heads to their enemies' wives

 It was just after midday at the riverside community of Playas del Cuyabeno when the mob attacked.

A British man was said to have been dragged out of a police station in Ecuador, taken out into the street and 'set on fire until he died'.

Police said Michael Hann had been arrested for his own safety earlier that day, on April 20, after being 'beaten by local residents' who accused him of a fatal shootingApple iPad Air 11-inch with M3 chip Built for Apple Intelligence, Liquid Retina Display, 256GB, 12MP Front/Back Camera, Wi-Fi 6E + 5G Cellular, Touch ID, All-Day Battery Life — Space Gray

Such stories have become commonplace in the country, which only a few years ago was one of the safest in Latin America. 

Authorities have lost their monopoly on violence, pitting the state against vicious gangs, cartels and, in some cases, even residents undeterred by threat of prison.

With violence spiralling, the government has borrowed from the playbook of Nayib Bukele, the strongman ruler of El Salvador whose brutal crackdowns on gangs have horrified global onlookers.

But Ecuador's gangs, strengthened by drug money from neighbouring Colombia, are far more resilient than those to the north, and even prison guards have their price in a country riddled with corruption.

In only a few short years, peace has made way for an imported normalisation of beheadings, car bombs, public hangings and hostage taking. On Valentine's Day, a man gunned down had his head cut off and sent to his wife, his heart cut out and sent to his parents, according to police

It was just