Noboa sends bill to Assembly seeking authority to establish special security zones and seize property

President Daniel Noboa has sent urgent legislation to the National Assembly for authorization to establish special security zones in high-crime areas and to expand the government’s power to confiscate property, including cash, in the possession of suspected criminals.

Ecuador’s National Assembly

In addition, the bill would allow tougher penalties to be imposed on those convicted of both violent and economic crimes and provide preferential economic treatment to residents and businesses in areas suffering from high crime rates.

“The intent of this bill is to dismantle the criminal economies linked to the internal armed conflict in Ecuador,” Assembly President Niels Olsen said Sunday. “We know how important it is for the country to firmly confront these criminal groups. We will treat this legislation with the urgency the president has requested.”

In a memorandum accompanying the bill, Noboa named 11 criminal organizations that operate with “military force” in coastal and Amazon areas of the country and says the financial resources of the groups must be targeted and confiscated.”

“Criminal economies are not an isolated phenomena but the financial engine that drives the operational capacity of organized criminal groups,” Noboa memo continues. “These measures take direct aim at the financial structure of these organizations and, at the same time, provide relief for those affected by criminal activity.”