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.