Ecuador's Daniel Noboa sworn in for full term, promising a crackdown on gangs

Al Jazeera

24-05-2025

Daniel Noboa, Ecuador's youngest-ever president and heir to a prominent banana-exporting fortune, has been sworn in for his first full term in office, pledging to intensify his government's battle against powerful drug gangs while reviving the struggling economy.
In a ceremony at the National Assembly in Quito on Saturday, the right-wing president was sworn in by Assembly President Niels Olsen Peet, who draped the presidential sash across his shoulders before the two raised clasped hands in a symbolic gesture of unity.
Noboa, 37, won the election in April's, securing a new term after completing the final 18 months of his predecessor's tenure, defeating left-wing candidate, Luisa Gonzalez, despite her allegations of electoral fraud.
Speaking to lawmakers, Noboa pledged to make a sharp reduction in violent crime a cornerstone of his administration.
'The progressive reduction of homicides will be a non-negotiable goal,' Noboa declared. 'We will maintain our fight against drug trafficking, seize illegal weapons, ammunition, and explosives, and exercise greater control at the country's ports.'
Ecuador, once considered one of the more stable countries in the region, has in recent years faced a sharp rise in violence, with drug cartels, including the powerful from Mexico, exploiting porous borders and weak institutions to expand their influence.
Noboa has responded with militarised crackdowns, deploying the armed forces onto the streets and tightening security at key infrastructure hubs.
The president's security strategy has drawn comparisons to El Salvador's controversial anti-gang measures, which have been praised by some for reducing crime but condemned by rights groups over mass detentions and alleged abuses.
Noboa has cited El Salvador, as well as the United States and Israel, as strategic partners in Ecuador's security overhaul.
His administration has also hired Erik Prince, founder of private military contractor Blackwater, to advise Ecuadorian security forces, a move that has raised alarm among opposition politicians and human rights advocates, who warn of creeping militarisation and lack of oversight.
While Noboa has claimed a 15 percent drop in violent deaths during 2024, government figures show a 58 percent increase in killings during the first four months of 2025 compared with the same period last year, with 3,094 recorded deaths.