The wildly popular leader’s heavy-handed and – perhaps – successful suppression of street gangs has made him a rock-star influencer among Latin American politicians who hope to achieve some of his sparkle by enacting punitive measures of their own. Noboa’s approach in Ecuador appears partially inspired by the iron-fisted crackdown carried out by El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, against gangs in that country. Simply put, governments in the region have failed to mount an effective response to organised crime, which is ultimately responsible for much of Latin America’s murders. Burgeoning security issues are a significant factor in Latin America’s growing disenchantment with democracy.

Latin America’s political systems are in the midst of what the NGO Latinobarómetro has described as a “democratic recession”, as voters increasingly feel indifference to the type of regime that governs them, with less support for democracy and more attitudes favouring authoritarianism. How drug gangs brought bloodshed to Ecuador – video explainerĮcuador’s militarised crackdown could set a new precedent for a region where security concerns seem to increasingly overshadow commitments to democratic principles. Commentators and critics have noted the lack of any clear exit strategy by the government. By applying the laws of war to organised criminals as if they were terrorists or insurgents, the move may contravene international law, Human Rights Watch’s deputy Americas director, Juan Pappier, told the Washington Post. Its president, Daniel Noboa, innovated last week with the unprecedented declaration of a state of “ internal armed conflict”. States of emergency, which establish curfews and permit military action in prisons, have been frequent in Ecuador in recent years. The murder rate in the South American country has risen from five per 100,000 inhabitants in 2017 to 46 per 100,000 in 2023.

Ecuador has become one of the most murderous countries in what is already the world’s most homicidal region. A wave of attacks carried out by criminal organisations last week in Ecuador – epitomised by gunmen storming a television station live on air – has brought international attention to a security crisis that has been building for years.

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