Ecuador declares new state of emergency for 60 days following rise in violent deaths
File photo.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa on Wednesday (May 22) declared a fresh state of emergency in seven provinces out of the total 24, citing an increasein violent deaths and other crimes in those jurisdictions. As per a decree signed by President Noboa, the state of emergency, which will last for 60 days,has been imposedin Guayas, El Oro, Santa Elena, Manabi, Sucumbios, Orellana and Los Rios provinces, as well as one area of the Azuay province.
The government said thatthe decree would be submittedto the Constitutional Court. Under this state of emergency, security forceswill be able toenterhomes and intercept correspondence in the targeted provinces without prior authorisation, Noboa said on Wednesday.
The second state of emergency this year
The president had earlier imposed a similar measure in January, after notorious gangsterJose Adolfo Macias, alias "Fito" --escaped from maximum security detention. This state of emergency ended in April.
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Noboa has blamed the violenceon drug gangs which move cocaine from Colombia and Peru throughEcuador.He has previously used state of emergency declarations to increase police and military operations meant to fight thousands of murders and other crimes.
An appeal to Noboa by Human Rights Watch
As Noboa declared the state of emergency on Wednesday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the Ecuadorian president to reverse his declaration of a state of "internal armed conflict" in the gang-violence-torn country, saying it had opened the door to rights abuses.
In a letter addressed to Noboa, the HRW said that the president's effortsto reduce violence blamed on an escalating war between rival gangs, the security situation "continues to be dire."
Not only that but there have been "multiple instances of serious human rights violations committed by security forces," the HRW added.
The letter further added that"many people" detained since January "were apparently never taken before a prosecutor or judge," some of them beaten by soldiers and police.
(With inputs from agencies)