Ecuador Ends 10-Day Curfew in Five Provinces: More Than 2,600 Detained, About 2.5 Tons of Drugs Seized
Ecuador's 10-day nighttime curfew ended at 5 a.m. on November 10. An official tally released by President Daniel Noboa the same day showed that security forces detained more than 2,600 people in five provinces during the curfew (2,627 in the consolidated count), seized about 2.5 tons of drugs, and carried out more than 2,900 operations and over 50 raids.
The curfew, imposed under Executive Decree 519, ran from November 1 in the five coastal provinces of Guayas, Manabí, Los Ríos, El Oro and Esmeraldas, restricting movement between midnight and 5 a.m. It was the fourth curfew ordered in Ecuador this year, aimed at organized crime and drug trafficking.
According to the Interior and Defense ministries, police operations in the first nine nights alone detained 1,963 people and military operations another 540. Across the whole period, forces seized 242 firearms and 2,443 rounds of ammunition and retained or recovered more than 750 vehicles along with large numbers of motorcycles. Ecuador's state of exception remains in force after the curfew, and the military will continue joint patrols with the police.
Ecuador holds local elections on November 29. On the curfew's final night, gunmen attacked a campaign rally in the border city of Huaquillas in El Oro province, killing mayoral candidate Ronald Farfán, council candidate Cristhian Rugel and one other woman.
Related: Two Ecuador Local-Election Candidates Shot Dead at Campaign Rally
Source: Ecuador Ministry of the Interior
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：厄瓜多尔最大城市 Guayaquil 市景（资料图）。CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Skyline of Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city (file photo). CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
