This cannot be boiled down into gun control vs. no gun control. This is more a question of controlling the reach of criminal gangs. Also, it's noted that this took place in Ecuador where the law would likely be Napoleanic, meaning that a person accused of a crime would bear the burden of proving themselves innocent. Not like here in the U.S. where we are _supposed_ to be assumed innocent until the state can prove us guilty. The big problem here is getting the criminal element away from its influence on the local Policia.