Overview
- President Daniel Noboa signed Executive Decree 423 in mid‑June to reinstate a 60‑day state of exception covering Pichincha, Guayas, Manabí, Santa Elena, Los Ríos, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Sucumbíos, Azuay and the cantons La Maná, Las Naves and La Troncal.
- The decree suspends the inviolability of the home and correspondence, allows searches without prior judicial warrants when there are indicia, permits interception of communications and authorizes temporary requisition of illicit goods for security operations.
- Government documents cited in the decree report 879 homicides in the affected territories between May 1 and June 12 as the main justification for the measure and link the surge to fractured narcotrafficking groups fighting over coastal ports and border corridors.
- The measure enables deployment of the Armed Forces to support police on the streets but human‑rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns about past abuses under emergency rules and demand strict oversight of operations.
- Since Noboa took office in November 2023 the country has used successive extraordinary security regimes, totaling roughly 900 days under special measures and signaling the government’s continued reliance on emergency powers to manage organized crime.