Ecuador Deploys Troops, Curfews Amid Drug Violence

Ecuador has deployed 75,000 soldiers and police officers to four crime-ridden provinces, implementing a nightly curfew from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. This action comes as Ecuador grapples with a quintupled homicide rate since the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by rival cartels battling for control of coastal ports used to smuggle cocaine to the United States. President Daniel Noboa has extended a state of exception, allowing the military to conduct joint patrols and enter homes without warrants. Noboa has also blamed neighboring Colombia for not curbing cartel activities along the border and imposed tariffs on Colombian imports. Ecuador's military, in a joint operation with the United States, attacked a training camp belonging to Comandos de la Frontera, a group that split from Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Noboa's methods have faced criticism from civil society groups.