On Ecuador's lawless southwest coast, drug gangs operate with impunity and terrified residents ask if their president's "iron fist" security policies are just words.

In a darkened military command center near the Peruvian border, eight Ecuadoran marines armed with rusting M4 rifles prepare for a patrol.

For their safety, all are heavily masked. Name tags and rank insignia are removed.

They are about to enter cartel country, where the state has no monopoly on the use of force.

Like much of once-tranquil Ecuador, Puerto Bolivar has become a battleground for rival cartels fighting to bring record amounts of cocaine from Colombia and Peru to Europe, North America and Asia.

Last year, the marines found about 30 bodies in waters near the port, some decapitated, others otherwise mutilated.

A recent bomb targeting a local gang leader killed two people and levelled several homes.

"There is no security," said one resident who asked not to be named for fear of being killed. "The country has been completely abandoned."

The marines tear away from the quay in two boats, racing through a mud-brown maze of canals and estuaries flanked by mangroves, docks and fishing villages.

Most of their four-hour patrol is unremarkable. They search a few........

© International Business Times