Noboa grants preemptive pardons to police and soldiers following Guayaquil massacre of 22

President Daniel Noboa has granted preemptive pardons to police and soldiers responding to an armed attack that killed at least 22 in Guayaquil on Thursday. “We must act decisively and without fear of reprisal,” Noboa wrote in a post on X on Friday morning. “I will defend the country. I will defend you.”

Women gather on a sidewalk in the Nueva Prosperina neighborhood in Guayaquil Thursday night following a gang attack that left 22 dead.

It’s not the first time Noboa has offered pardons to police and military personnel fighting crime, even before they have been deployed or accused of wrongdoing.

The attack in Guayaquil occurred in two neighborhoods, Socio Vivienda 2 and Nueva Prosperina, Thursday afternoon and left at least 22 people dead and six injured, authorities said.

It was the highest death toll from a single criminal act in recent Ecuador history, Ecuador’s Defense Ministry says.

Following the attacks, police carried out more than 200 raids that resulted in 21 arrests and the seizure of large quantities of firearms, ammunition and drugs. In addition to Socio Vivienda 2 and Nueva Prosperina, police conducted raids the La Casuarina and Entrada neighborhoods.

According to police, the attack was the result of a profit-sharing dispute between factions of the Los Tiguerones criminal gang. “Among the deceased and injured, several have a history of robbery, drug trafficking, and weapons possession,” Guayaquil Police Commander Pablo Dávila.

He added that the arrest in January of the leader of the Los Lobos gang probably contributed to the attack. “Los Lobos has ties to Los Tiguerones and the arrest created a power vacuum that has led to a number of violent events.”

Residents in Vivienda 2 and Nueva Prosperina claim the police only enter their neighborhoods following violent events. “They have abandoned us during normal times and only show up when there are murders,” one woman said. “These streets are run by the gangs, and they don’t care unless there is blood running in the gutters and there are headlines in the newspapers, Then they come in and tear up our houses and arrest innocent boys,” she said.

Noboa has attempted to crack down on Ecuador’s spiraling security crisis since becoming president in 2023, declaring recurring states of emergency and designating 22 criminal organizations as terrorist groups, moves that have prompted criticism from some rights groups domestically and abroad. Although government efforts resulted in a small reduction of crime in 2024, the number of murders has surged in the first two months of 2025.

Instability in Ecuador, fueled by the international drug trade, has been the backdrop of Noboa’s campaign for a second presidential term this year. He fell short of securing an outright majority in February’s general election and faces an April 13 runoff against Citizens Revolution candidate Luisa González.