QUITO, April 1 (Reuters) – Ecuador’s government said on Wednesday that intentional homicides fell 28% nationwide in March, attributing the decline to military operations carried out during a two-week nightly curfew in four provinces.
President Daniel Noboa declared the curfew in the provinces of Guayas, Los Rios, El Oro and Santo Domingo — which authorities describe as key drug trafficking corridors — intensifying security force operations in those areas.
• The 28% decline compares March 2025 with March 2026, Interior Minister John Reimberg said.
• About 4,300 people were arrested during the operations against crime, including a ringleader, Reimberg said.
• “Control is not negotiated, it is exercised. And we will not stop. Ecuador is regaining control,” said Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo.
• The Ecuadorian government claims that operations against crime in the country, which were supported by the United States, targeted four criminal groups, including Los Lobos, a gang that was designated as a terrorist group by Washington last year.
• Ecuador recorded around 9,200 violent deaths in 2025, a 31% increase over the prior year, according to official data.
(Reporting by Alejandra Valencia; Editing by Iñigo Alexander)
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