Ecuador’s president touts US-backed crime-fighting efforts and vows to keep hunting down criminals
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa used his State of the Union address Sunday to announce that his government is backed by the United States. crime fighting strategies as well as improvements in some economic indicators.
Speaking at the National Assembly in the capital Quito, Noboa cited the extradition of a dozen crime bosses to the United States and the seizure of nearly 300 tons of drugs as examples of what he described as a determined and effective approach to combating organized crime, which has been Ecuadorians’ main concern this decade.
After arguing that the South American country cannot develop if “families live in fear” due to organized crime, Noboa said about the wanted criminals: “We will search for them, we will find them and we will extradite them.”
Ecuador has struggled to control drug violence since 2021 as rival cartels teamed up with local gangs. fight for control routes and coastal ports used for cocaine smuggling. The country is sandwiched between Colombia and Peru, the world’s top cocaine-producing countries.
Last year Ecuador recorded its highest murder rate in decades 50 murders per 100,000 people, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
In response, noboaThe Prime Minister, who was re-elected to a four-year term last year, used the state of derogation to allow the military to implement a variety of crime-fighting strategies, including joint patrols with police officers and warrantless searches of property. Earlier this year, the Ecuadorian army also carried out an operation. Joint operation with US forces The area is being attacked with drones, helicopters and boats against a training camp allegedly used by Colombian drug traffickers.
Noboa has faced criticism from civil society groups who say his iron-fisted methods have failed to reduce crime. while endangering civilians.
Glaedys González, an Andean analyst at the International Crisis Group, said Sunday that Noboa may have been optimistic in his speech about the country’s security, but “progress on violence is far from being made.”
“It is clear that the situation in Ecuador has reached unprecedented levels,” González said.
Noboa also supported economic progress on Sunday, telling MPs that poverty would fall from 26 percent to 21.4 percent in 2025, while extreme poverty would fall from 10.4 percent to 8.4 percent.
Noboa was first elected in 2023 during early elections triggered by then-President Guillermo Lasso dissolving the National Assembly and shortening his term.
