Moreno credits national police for making Ecuador one of the safest countries in the hemisphere

In a Thursday ceremony honoring six police officers, President Lenin Moreno praised Ecuador’s national police for making the country safer.

Moreno at police academy ceremony Wednesday.

“Today, Ecuador has the second lowest rate for murder and violent crime in Latin America, and the fourth lowest in the western hemisphere,” he said. “I give the credit to the forward-looking policies of the previous government but also to the men and women who serve this country in uniform.”

Moreno added that Ecuador also has one of Latin America’s highest rates of solving serious crime. “The government has supplied the tools for police to do their job,” he said.

According to international crime statistics at the beginning of the year, Ecuador has a murder rate of 5.7 per 100,000 population and a crime solution rate of 84%.

During the ceremony, held at the National Police Academy in Parcayacu, the president said that the major law enforcement challenges faced today are drug micro trafficking, especially to young people, and keeping drug cartels out of Ecuador. “We are faced with growing drug threats from both within and without, and we must apply the resources and energy to maintain national security and national health,” he said. “Our first priority is to keep drugs out of our schools and teach students and young people about the dangers. We must also provide rehabilitation services where they are needed to help the addicted.”

At the conclusion of his comments, Moreno said he has “total confidence” in Ecuador’s police and military to provide his personal protection. “You are all the security that I need and I thank you from my heart for your loyal service.”