Noboa includes Azuay Province in new state of emergency as local officials question his motives

President Daniel Noboa has declared a new state of emergency in ten provinces, including Azuay. The measure, which will be in force for 60 days, does not include a nighttime curfew.

President Daniel Noboa has decreed a new 60-day state of emergency in 10 provinces, including Azuay.

Several provincial and legal experts questioned Azuay’s inclusion in the emergency declaration, noting that the rate of violent crime and murder in the province is less than one-tenth that of other provinces under the order.

In addition to Azuay, Guayas, Manabí, Santa Elena, Los Ríos, El Oro, Pichincha, Esmeraldas, Santo Domingo and Sucumbíos Provinces are included in the emergency based on what the government calls “serious internal commotion.”

The cantons of La Maná in Cotopaxi Province, Las Naves in Bolívar Province, and La Troncal in Cañar Province are also included in the order.

Under the emergency declaration, the constitutional right to the inviolability of domicile is suspended, allowing police and military personnel to enter private homes without a judge’s order. Government forces are also allowed to temporarily seize property if they believe it is involved in illegal activity or if it poses a danger to their operations.

According to the emergency declaration, Azuay was included in the order due to illegal mining activity, arms trafficking, a rising crime rate, increased drug sales and territorial disputes among drug traffickers. The government cited “confidential reports and information” to support its claims.

Retired University of Cuenca law professor Cristian Gonzalez believes that putting Azuay Province and Cuenca under emergency conditions has “political motivations” and is not justified by levels of crime. “It reflects the president’s anger that 115,000 protesters forced him to abandon his Loma Larga mine project and the fact that the mayor and prefect oppose some of his policies,” Gonzalez says. “He took the rejection of the gold mine personally.”

Gonzalez said that an emergency “might be warranted” for illegal mining in the Camilo Ponce Enríquez and Molleturo communities, but said recent police and military operations have reduced the activity. He questioned, however, the claim that drug sales have increased in Cuenca. “These are the same street sales that have gone on for years,” he says. “Police arrest the pushers on a regular basis and I doubt the army will have much of an impact on the situation.”

Gonzalez added that despite four additional murders in the first six months of 2026 compared to 2025, Azuay Province maintains one of the lowest murder and violent crime rates in Ecuador. “Statistically, fifteen murders in a population of 800,000 does not warrant an emergency,” he says.

University of San Francisco criminologist Michelle Maffei called the new emergency declaration “questionable” given the fact that previous emergencies have not reduced crime. “As before, we will probably see a temporary reduction in crime, but in 60 days there will be the balloon effect as criminals resume their activities,” she said. “We have seen this with every state of emergency.”

According to Maffei, the government’s narrative of attacking criminal leaders is misleading because of the ease with which they are replaced when they are arrested or killed. “The government continues to ignore the financial structures that support international drug trafficking, which is the root of the country’s crime problem,” she says. “The structures include important people in the business, banking and exporting sectors.”