Ecuador Security Decree Targets Areas With 2,648 Homicides in Four Months

Ecuador's new security decree targets ten provinces and three cantons that accounted for 2,648 of 2,778 intentional homicides reported nationally from January through April 2026.

That represents 95.3% of the national total for the period.

Geographic Concentration

The measure was issued through Decree 423 and applies for a maximum of 60 days.

Operating-Risk Relevance

The decree is justified by grave internal commotion linked to transnational structures and illicit economies connected to narcotrafficking and extortion.

For business readers, the relevance is not only public safety. The covered map includes Ecuador's main coastal logistics and industrial axis, including Guayas, El Oro, Manabi, Los Rios, Esmeraldas and Santa Elena, plus Pichincha and Azuay.

The Armed Forces are authorized to support public-space control and order restoration rather than leaving security response solely to the National Police.

Policy Context

Interior Minister John Reimberg had recently cited a 17% reduction in criminal indicators, but the decree points to homicide concentration as the basis for renewed extraordinary measures.

Guayas remains the largest single operating-risk node in the data, with 1,223 violent deaths in four months.

What To Watch

• Whether military operations reduce extortion and logistics disruption in Guayas and El Oro
• Whether the decree affects port, road, retail or industrial-site operations
• Whether the government extends or narrows the 60-day measure
• Whether insurance, private security and transport costs react to the new deployment
• Whether homicide and extortion data improve before the decree expires