Noboa declares his 25th state of emergency but critics say they have little impact on crime

President Daniel Noboa on Tuesday declared the 25th state of emergency of his presidency, this one applying to eight provinces and three cantons. Unlike the previous two emergencies when all of Azuay Province was included, only one canton is named in the new order. The emergency will last 60 days.

The government’s latest emergency declaration went into effect Thursday and continues for 60 days.

The provinces included in the new emergency are El Oro, Esmeraldas, Guayas, Los Ríos, Manabí, Pichincha, Santa Helena and Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas Provinces. The cantons are La Maná, in Cotopaxi Province, Las Naves, in Bolívar, and Camilo Ponce Enríquez in Azuay.

The declaration also formalizes nighttime curfews in Guayas, Manabí, Los Ríos and El Oro Provinces announced last week by Interior Minister John Reimberg. The curfews began September 17 and will continue to September 30, from midnight to 5 a.m.

Both the new emergency declaration and the curfews follow a series of mass murders in coastal provinces in recent weeks.

According to a growing number of security and law enforcement experts, the government’s ongoing strategy of imposing emergency conditions and curfews is not working. Former Secretary of Public Security, Wagner Bravo, says the repeated declarations often lack planning and accurate intelligence information. “Some of these actions may be necessary but they must be implemented with careful planning and a narrow focus,” he says. “The government must also understand that they are playing a long game and repeated 60-day police and military actions alone will not achieve success.”

Bravo also claims that the strategy has not been properly explained to the public “Many people are personally and professionally affected by these restrictions but there is no request for public engagement and feedback,” he says. “People see no real progress in the overall fight against the criminal groups and question government policies.”

Retired criminology professor Renaldo Miller says the numbers prove the failure of the government’s strategy against organized as well as common crime. “The latest curfews and emergency declaration follow probably the bloodiest month in the country’s history,” he says. “The government was bragging it had reduced murders by 8% compared to 2025 and then we get this terrible surge.”

Like other critics, Miller insists that the government’s “heavy hand” strategy will not stop crime. “We aren’t we looking at the social conditions that make Ecuador fertile territory for criminality?” he asks. “Why aren’t we asking why so many young people in Machala and Guayaquil and Manta are dropping out of high school and joining the gangs? Why are resources not being applied to improving the education system and providing opportunities for young men? Why are resources not being applied to upgrade infrastructure in the high crime neighborhoods where people live in squalor?”

Former regional National Police Commander Carlos Córdova says the government’s “top down” strategy must change if progress is to be achieved in combatting crime. “Everything is about putting more boots on the ground, restricting rights and movement, but we have learned repeatedly this is not working,” he says, pointing to a lack of “inside information” about the activities of criminal gangs.

Córdova adds that the government’s partnership with the U.S. has shown little benefit. “At the end of the day, this is Ecuador’s problem that must be addressed internally. It is true we are facing transnational criminal structures but until we address the social and cultural problems in our own cities and neighborhoods this fight cannot be won.”