Key Factors
- Ecuador’s army says it’s operating everlasting internal-security operations throughout coastal provinces and the Galápagos.
- The push targets ports, prisons, weapons flows, and power infrastructure as organized crime fights for territory.
- Officers cite file violence in 2025 and contemporary assaults in early 2026, whereas critics debate the technique’s limits.
Ecuador’s armed forces have expanded internal-security operations throughout the nation’s most risky corridors, an indication the state is leaning tougher on drive to regain management.
In a January 17 replace, the army mentioned it’s conducting everlasting operations in Guayas, Esmeraldas, Manabí, El Oro, and the Galápagos.
The tally in that replace included seven anti-terror and counter-terror operations. It additionally listed 19 weapons, ammunition, and explosives management operations, plus three riverine patrol operations on waterways.
Ecuador Sends Troops To Ports, Prisons, And Oil Websites As Killings Climb Once more
The army mentioned it additionally carried out 4 assist operations with the Nationwide Police and the jail company SNAI inside detention facilities.
Past raids and checkpoints, the main focus is strategic infrastructure. The armed forces cited patrols in port installations and different “strategic zones,” plus safety actions tied to the hydrocarbons sector.
These priorities observe the place Ecuador’s legal economic system meets international commerce. Ports are the exit factors for cocaine shipments and the choke factors for extortion.
This week’s actions match right into a broader offensive introduced on January 15, when authorities launched what they known as a “complete offensive” part in Guayas, Los Ríos, and Manabí.
Reporting across the launch described a deployment of about 10,000 troopers, with Guayaquil on the heart. Native reporting additionally pointed to stepped-up controls across the metropolis’s primary port areas.
The federal government has been constructing the authorized foundation for army motion since early 2024, when President Daniel Noboa declared an inner armed battle and ordered operations in opposition to designated legal teams.
States of exception have adopted, together with a brand new decree reported on January 1, 2026, masking a number of provinces and cantons, amongst them Guayas, Manabí, Los Ríos, El Oro, and Esmeraldas.
The stress comes from grim math. Formally cited counts put 2025 as Ecuador’s deadliest 12 months on file, with figures reported round 8,847 homicides by mid-December and greater than 9,000 violent deaths by year-end. Completely different deadlines clarify the hole, however not the development.
Supporters argue the state should reassert authority within the hardest locations first. Skeptics warn troop surges can look decisive whereas crime adapts, particularly if prisons and port logistics keep compromised.
For neighbors and commerce companions, Ecuador’s take a look at issues as a result of instability in a key Pacific hall rapidly spills into routes, prices, and regional safety.
