The Ecuadorian government has announced 'concrete results' in its fight against organized crime, as part of a joint anti-cartel military offensive with the United States. The administration of President Daniel Noboa declared that intentional homicides in March decreased by 28 percent compared to the same month last year. Interior Minister John Reimberg added that 4,300 people had been arrested nationwide during the recent crime crackdown, and 2,200 search warrants had been executed.

In a social media post, Reimberg credited Noboa's leadership and the work of the Security Bloc—a blended task force of national police and military members—for the arrests. He wrote, "President Daniel Noboa's firm decisions to confront organized crime—combined with the sustained deployment of the Security Bloc, featuring effective territorial control and a genuine presence in the country's most critical zones—are yielding clear and measurable results," pledging to continue the effort. Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo echoed Reimberg's remarks, applauding the work so far, writing, "They are cornered—let that be clear—and this is just the beginning."

However, the crackdown has already spurred questions about potential human rights abuses, as Ecuador, the US, and other countries embark on a more aggressive campaign against cartels throughout Latin America. Noboa had run for re-election last year on a pledge to combat violent crime in the country, which surged after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, Ecuador has seen an influx of criminal networks seeking to capitalize on its weakened economy and strategic position on the Pacific Ocean, between major cocaine producers like Colombia and Peru.

The country's reputation as an 'island of peace' in South America has largely been overshadowed by a spiraling homicide rate, now among the highest in the region. Yet Noboa has struggled to bring that rate down. Last year, as he began his first full term as president, the country witnessed a more than 30-percent leap in homicides, with 9,216 cases recorded in 2025 compared to 7,063 in 2024. Previously, Noboa served an abbreviated 18-month term after being elected to replace outgoing President Guillermo Lasso, who dissolved his own government in 2023. At just 35 years old at the time, he was the youngest elected president in Ecuadorian history.

A rising star on the political right, he has largely embraced the 'mano dura' or 'iron fist' security policies of other regional leaders, including El Salvador's Nayib Bukele and the US's Donald Trump, a close ally. Noboa recently joined Bukele and other right-wing Latin American leaders at a security summit Trump hosted in early March at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. And like Trump, he has compared Ecuador's struggles with criminal violence to a war to justify a military-style response.

In an interview with the newspaper El Mercurio in Cuenca, Noboa reprised that theme while discussing a recent bombing campaign along Ecuador's borders. He told reporters, "It's a war, a total conflict in which we're fighting against mafias that move tens of billions of dollars through illegal mining." On March 3, Noboa and Trump launched a joint military operation in Ecuador to confront what the US regime described as 'designated terrorist organizations.' The US has largely provided intelligence and logistics to support the campaign, carried out on the ground by Ecuadorian forces.

Then, starting on March 15, Noboa imposed a two-week-long curfew in four Ecuadorian provinces—El Oro, Guayas, Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas, and Los Rios—as his government led an offensive against the 'criminal economy.' In Wednesday's statements, Ecuadorian officials warned they would continue to use 'all necessary measures,' including curfews, to stamp out crime.

But reports have emerged that the hardline campaign may have threatened civilian safety. For example, on March 17, Colombia's President Gustavo Petro alleged on social media that bombs had landed near civilian farms along the Ecuador-Colombia border, noting that unidentified bodies had been recovered. Petro wrote, "There are 27 charred bodies, and the explanation provided is not credible. Bombs lie on the ground in close proximity to families—many of whom have peacefully chosen to replace their coca leaf crops with legal crops." Then, on March 24, The New York Times issued a report alleging that Ecuadorian soldiers had set fire to and then bombed a dairy farm near the border, according to local workers.

These allegations have prompted domestic scrutiny of Noboa's campaign. Jahiren Noriega Donoso, a lawmaker in Ecuador's National Assembly, questioned last week whether the attacks were truly accomplishing Noboa's objectives. She wrote on social media, "Unequivocally, the war that Daniel Noboa has launched is not a war against crime. It is a war against the poorest among us."

Source: www.aljazeera.com