Ecuador declared a state of emergency on Saturday in several areas plagued by drug trafficking and crime, such as the port of Guayaquil (southwest), where this measure that allows the military to be mobilized on the streets has been issued three times during 2022.
“We decreed the state of emergency in zone 8, which includes (the towns of) Guayaquil, Durán and Samborondón, and in the (coastal) provinces of Santa Elena and Los Ríos,” President Guillermo Lasso said in a radio address. and television.
He added that the state of exception will come into force this Sunday and that it will include a curfew between 01:00 and 05:00 local time (06:00 and 10:00 GMT).
The president, who last year decreed a state of emergency three times for Guayaquil and other areas to deal with high crime rates, did not specify the duration of the new measure.
Since March and for 60 days, the coastal province of Esmeraldas (northwest and bordering Colombia) has also been in emergency.
“We have a common enemy: crime, drug trafficking and organized crime,” said Lasso, a former right-wing banker in power since May 2021.