Daniel Noboa Azín

Force in Play

Governing under expanded state-of-emergency framework

Five years ago Ecuador had one of the lowest homicide rates in South America. On May 3, 2026, the country woke up to its second nationwide curfew of the year, with soldiers and police authorized to clear streets between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. across nine of 24 provinces — including Quito and Guayaquil, which together hold most of the population. Executive Decree 370 runs through May 18 and follows a four-province curfew in March that the government concedes did not break the criminal networks driving the violence.

Updated 2 hours ago