I found "…to escape justice into Ecuador. This would be a catalyst for many more like him to rise up in his place." more awkward. I also thought the lack of con

I found "…to escape justice into Ecuador. This would be a catalyst for many more like him to rise up in his place." more awkward. I also thought the lack of contractions was unusual as well given the general lack of formality otherwise. But I think the writing sample size is too small to be very confident. Not that it matters too much, unless someone's trying to catch them.