Ecuador has declared a state of emergency in nearly a third of its provinces after a wave of violence amid the government’s ongoing “war” against drug gangs.
The measure, which allows the deployment of soldiers on the streets, was announced for a period of 60 days in seven of the 24 provinces of the South American country, according to a government decree.
The states of Guayas, El Oro, Santa Elena, Manabi, Los Rios, Sucumbios and Orellana have witnessed a recent increase in “systematic acts of violence perpetrated by organized violent groups, terrorist organizations and non-state belligerent individuals,” the report said. measure.
President Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency in January after a dangerous drug kingpin – Jose Adolfo Macias, alias “Fito” – escaped from a maximum security prison. As gangsters detonated car bombs, kidnapped police members and killed several people in response to Noboa’s promised crackdown, the president said the country was in a state of “internal armed conflict” and ordered the army to “neutralize” 22 criminal groups. The state of emergency expired last month. Human Rights Watch urged Noboa to cancel the ongoing state of “internal armed conflict”, saying this opened the door to human rights abuses.
Long a peaceful haven sandwiched between major cocaine exporting countries – Colombia and Peru -, Ecuador has seen violence erupt in recent years as rival gangs linked to Mexican and Colombian cartels vie for control. The gang wars have largely taken place in the country’s prisons, where criminal leaders like Fito wield immense control. Since 2021, battles have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of detainees, whose bodies have often been found dismembered, decapitated or incinerated.
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