According to the sources consulted, the country's security situation is primarily affected by criminal violence perpetrated by organised armed criminal groups. The situation has deteriorated significantly in recent years, turning Ecuador from one of the safest countries in the region to the most insecure in 2023.
Ecuador is in a period of political turmoil, with strained relations within the government, a divided parliament and an upcoming election.
Overcrowding in prisons, lack of state control over detention facilities, increased corruption, relaxation of arms laws, increased violence towards authority figures, fragmentation of armed groups and diversification of their illegal activities all contributed to the deterioration of the security situation in recent years. The country's geographical location also played a role. Surrounded by the two largest coca producers Colombia and Peru, the country became a major transit route in the international drug trade and attracted a variety of large international drug cartels, which formed alliances with national and local crime organisations.
In 2023, under pressure from corruption allegations, President Guillermo Lasso organised early presidential elections. On 9 August 2023, presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated by an armed man during a campaign rally in Quito. This event was taken as an indication that violence had reached a critical level and penetrated the political sphere. In early 2024, shortly after President Daniel Noboa took office, Ecuador faced a wave of criminal violence. In January 2024, several prison riots took place, involving the hostage-taking of prison staff, the murder of police officers, the escape of criminal leaders and the hostage-taking of television staff, which was broadcast live. These events led to the imposition of a national emergency, with Noboa declaring that Ecuador was in ‘internal armed conflict’. He designated 22 criminal organisations as terrorist groups and deployed the army to restore order.
Since then, the state of emergency has been extended several times, although it has no longer been imposed to the whole territory, but only to some specific provinces. The state of emergency is also no longer justified by armed conflict, as the Constitutional Court did not accept this qualification. The most recent extension of the state of emergency, on 3 October 2024, covers the provinces of Guayas, Los Ríos, Manabí, Orellana, Santa Elena and El Oro, as well as the cantons of Quito and Camilo Ponce Enríquez (Azuay). The curfew remains in force. According to the Noboa government, a total of 4,959 homicides took place between January and October 2024, down 18% from the same period in 2023. Although this is considered an improvement, 2024 remains the second deadliest year in Ecuador's history, with higher figures than in 2022. Moreover, other forms of crime, such as kidnapping and extortion, have increased. Recruitment of minors also increased in recent years.
According to the sources consulted, the geographical distribution of criminal violence in Ecuador shows a clear concentration of violent crimes in the coastal areas, particularly in the provinces of Guayas, Esmeraldas, Los Ríos, El Oro, Santa Elena and Manabí and in the northern provinces of Orellana and Sucumbíos on the border with Colombia and Peru.
The violence mainly targets rival gang members, with young men being the main victims. However, local politicians, presidential candidates, mayors, prosecutors, police officers and prison staff are also frequent victims of violence. The director of the Observatorio Ecuatoriano de Crimen Organizado (OECO), Renato Rivera, stated in October 2024 that Ecuador is in the early stages of a ‘criminal insurgency’, with criminal groups actively destabilising the state to gain territorial control. Indigenous communities, human rights activists and journalists are also increasingly being targeted by criminal armed groups. A Gallup survey shows that Ecuadorians experience the highest sense of insecurity in the region.
Policy
The policy implemented by the Commissioner General is based on a thorough analysis of accurate and up-to-date information on the general situation in the country of origin. This information is collated in a professional manner from various, objective sources, including the EUAA, the UNHCR, relevant international human rights organisations, non-governmental organisations, professional literature and coverage in the media. When determining policy, the Commissioner General does not only examine the COI Focuses written by Cedoca and published on this website, as these deal with just one aspect of the general situation in the country of origin. The fact that a COI Focus could be out-of-date does not mean that the policy that is being implemented by the Commissioner General is no longer up-to-date.
When assessing an application for asylum, the Commissioner General not only considers the actual situation in the country of origin at the moment of decision-making, he also takes into account the individual situation and personal circumstances of the applicant for international protection. Every asylum application is examined individually. An applicant must comprehensively demonstrate that he has a well-founded fear of persecution or that there is a clear personal risk of serious harm. He cannot, therefore, simply refer back to the general conditions in his country, but must also present concrete, credible and personal facts.
There is no policy paper for this country available on the website.