Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa authorized the deployment of foreign military personnel with criminal and civil immunity under the pretext of combating organized crime in Ecuador’s most violent provinces, while also empowering himself to grant pardons and reduce sentences for national police, military, and civilians involved in such operations, according to a government decree issued Thursday.

The new measure provides legal protection and forgiveness for state security forces and establishes that cooperating troops will participate in operations under the so‑called internal armed conflict.

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Noboa said the decision resulted from direct coordination with the Pentagon, which had previously been limited to intelligence work without troop presence on Ecuadorian soil. The decree also urges the National Assembly to grant amnesties to further shield security forces. The controversial provision coincides with a new 60‑day state of emergency in 10 provinces.

Despite militarization since January 2024, Ecuador recorded a historic high of 9,281 homicides in 2025, a rate exceeding 50 murders per 100,000 inhabitants, making the Andean nation one of Latin America’s most violent.

Human rights organizations have documented constant abuses under the emergency regime. Documented cases include the forced disappearance of four Afro‑descendant minors in Guayaquil, who were arrested by military patrols in December 2024 and later found dead near a military base. Local courts recently convicted the responsible soldiers to up to 34 years in prison.

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