The President of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, has ordered this Tuesday a new state of exception that will affect ten of the country's 24 provinces and three cantons, with an initial duration of 60 days, extendable by another 30 if the conditions of insecurity that justify it are maintained, within the offensive of the Ecuadorian government against organized crime.
In detail, the provision will be applied in the provinces of Pichincha --where the capital, Quito, is located--, Guayas --which includes the city of Guayaquil--, Manabí, Santa Elena, Los Ríos, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchicas, Sucumbíos, and Azuay. It will also cover the cantons La Maná, in Cotopaxi, Las Naves, in Bolívar, and La Troncal, in Cañar.
During the validity of this state of exception, the rights to the inviolability of the home and correspondence will be suspended. Thus, the Police and the Armed Forces will be empowered to intercept communications and carry out searches without prior judicial authorization in properties where there are indications of the presence of "members of organized armed groups," as well as possible weapons or "substances subject to control."
Although the decree does not contemplate the imposition of a curfew, it does authorize the temporary seizure of assets of illicit origin that are "strictly necessary to guarantee the continuity of security force operations," according to the newspaper 'El Comercio'.
The previous state of exception in Ecuador, which covered nine provinces, began on April 2, 2026, and concluded on May 31, 2026. With this, the country has accumulated nearly 900 days under this type of extraordinary measures, according to data released by 'Primicias'.