President of Ecuador Daniel Noboa announced on Monday, March 2, a new curfew in four coastal provinces of Ecuador, in effect from March 15 to 30 between 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. local time, framing it as “a next phase in the fight against organized crime.”

The measure, which allows for militarization in the country, will affect the provinces of Guayas, Los Rios, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, and El Oro.

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“We will put an end to those who preferred anarchy and a failed state over a sovereign state,” asserted the president against the backdrop of the 9,216 violent deaths recorded in 2025.

Figures from the ACLED Conflict Index (Armed Conflict Location and Event Data) show that Ecuador ranked as the country with the sixth-highest level of violence on the planet last year. According to analysts, the militarization strategy in the country has failed to curb violence and has instead worsened the situation.

This reality is starkly illustrated at the urban level. The Citizens’ Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice—a Mexican organization that tracks crime in cities with over 300,000 residents—recently reported that six Ecuadorian cities rank among the ten most violent in the world.

Between January 1 and November 28, 2025, gang violence claimed more than 3,600 lives across Ecuador. During that period, ACLED documented a 42% increase in gang-related fatalities compared to the first 11 months of 2024.

Additionally, the organization reported at least 115 violent deaths within prisons—more than triple the figure recorded in 2024 and the highest since ACLED began monitoring gang violence in Ecuador in 2023.

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