Ecuador declares 60-day state of emergency as cartel violence surges

Ecuador declared a new 60-day state of emergency across 10 provinces on Wednesday, intensifying its crackdown on drug cartel violence that has left 879 people dead in just six weeks. President Daniel Noboa signed the decree on 17 June 2026, suspending home inviolability and designating the country’s primary narcotics trafficking corridors as high-risk zones . The measure follows a surge in homicides between 1 May and 12 June, a period during which cartels executed targeted killings, prison riots, and urban gunfights that overwhelmed security forces.

The emergency powers grant the military and police sweeping authority to conduct warrantless searches, detain suspects without immediate judicial review, and deploy in conflict hotspots such as Guayas, Esmeraldas, and Manabí provinces. Noboa framed the decision as a necessary escalation to restore order, stating that “the state must act decisively against organised crime that threatens our democracy.” Analysts warn, however, that prolonged emergency measures risk eroding civil liberties and could provoke further retaliation from gangs such as Los Choneros and Los Lobos, which have expanded their operations into Ecuador’s coastal cities and Amazonian coca-growing regions.

The crisis has also exposed deepening instability in Bolivia, where food shortages triggered scuffles outside a supermarket in La Paz on 17 June 2026 . Videos circulating on social media showed crowds clashing with store staff over dwindling supplies of staples such as rice and cooking oil, underscoring the economic strain from reduced imports and currency devaluation. The unrest comes as Bolivia’s government signed an anti-drug accord with the United States on the same day, aiming to curb cocaine trafficking that fuels regional violence .

Regional observers note that the twin emergencies in Ecuador and Bolivia highlight the ballooning influence of Mexican and Colombian cartels, which have turned the Andes into a transit hub for cocaine bound for Europe and the United States. Ecuador’s emergency decree maps trafficking routes that stretch from the Pacific coast through the Andes to Bolivia’s informal mining towns, where illicit gold markets launder cartel profits. With both countries now under heightened security protocols, the coming weeks will test whether militarised responses can stabilise urban centres or merely displace violence to neighbouring territories.