Ecuador Solidifies Border Security Plan, Bolsters Troops

Ecuador's government has detailed its security policies to deal with tensions along the Colombian border, which include bolstering security with elite military and police groups.

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Ecuador Declares State of Emergency on Border, Boosts Security

In addition to heavier militarization, the plan also includes bolstering various social programs in order to "create economic incentives for commercial and productive activity," according to the Ministry of Defense.

Various groups of "special forces" will be deployed to the Esmeraldas region bordering Colombia.

Following several attacks on Ecuadorean security forces in the region, and the kidnapping and murder of three staff with local newspaper El Comercio, the government of President Lenin Moreno has called for increased security measures. The moves have been controversial, particularly after the government decided to meet with United States officials to "cooperate" on security.

Some voices in media and politics have even called for a return of the U.S. military base in Manta, which shut down after former President Rafael Correa declined to renew its contract.

In late April, Moreno declared a state of emergency in Esmeraldas, suspending various rights including the "inviolability of the home, inviolability of correspondence, freedom of transport, association and meeting."

New defense and interior ministers were also appointed to help implement the measures.

The tensions with Colombia also led Ecuador to withdraw its role as mediator in the peace talks between the leftist guerrilla group the National Liberation Army (ELN) and the Colombian government, which had been hosted in Quito. The dialogues have moved to Havana, Cuba.