Ecuador declares emergency over drug violence, orders troops onto streets

As Ecuador reels from its worst prison massacre, President, Guillermo Lasso, has proclaimed a state of emergency in the country, which is dealing with an increase in drug-related violence, and has ordered the mobilisation of police and military forces on the streets.

"On Ecuador's streets, there is only one enemy: drug trafficking," claimed the right-wing leader, adding that "in recent years, Ecuador has gone from being a drug-trafficking country to one that also consumes narcotics."

"Starting immediately, our Armed Forces and police will be felt with force in the streets because we are decreeing a state of emergency throughout the national territory," said the president in a speech broadcast by the state channel EcuadorTV.

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Lasso appointed a new defence minister earlier Monday, as the country grapples with a huge jail issue.

The most recent prison tragedy in Ecuador claimed the lives of 119 prisoners.

Meanwhile, a recent run of narcotics seizures, fueled in part by enhanced enforcement, supports police concerns that Ecuador is a hub for South American arms trafficking.

During a cocaine bust in Guayaquil in August, police recovered 10 heavy-caliber guns.

(With inputs from agencies)