Ecuador President Guillermo Lasso announced on Friday that a 60-day state of emergency had been declared in three provinces of the country, where a wave of violence linked to drug trafficking had broken out.
“I have declared a state of emergency in the provinces of Waia, Manabi and Esmeralda,” President Lasso was quoted as saying by state media.
A total of 4,000 police and 5,000 soldiers will be deployed in the provinces, and traffic will be banned between 23:00 and 05:00 in some cities near Guayaquil, the country’s financial capital.
Violence linked to drug gangs in Ecuador has claimed the lives of 1,255 people since the beginning of the year, according to official figures. 350 people have been killed in clashes between gangs inside prisons.
In 2021, Ecuador seized a record 210 tonnes of drugs, mainly cocaine, and so far this year, drug seizures have reached 75 tonnes, President Guillermo Lasso said on Tuesday.
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