Ecuador’s President Declares ‘Internal Armed Conflict’, Granting Immunity to Foreign and Domestic Fighters
President Daniel Noboa has formally declared an internal armed conflict in Ecuador, authorizing international cooperation and promising pardons for soldiers, police and even civilians who join operations against powerful criminal groups. The move jolts a country where shootouts now reach airports and lawmakers warn the decree is a stark X‑ray of a security crisis long downplayed.
Ecuador’s government has crossed a political and legal threshold that many in the country had feared but few expected to see spelled out so bluntly. With Executive Decree 424, President Daniel Noboa has declared that Ecuador is living through an “internal armed conflict,” opening the door to expanded military powers, foreign security assistance and even pardons for civilians who take up arms against criminal organizations.
The decree, issued on 18 June, ratifies the existence of an internal armed conflict and explicitly authorizes international cooperation to bolster state security operations. It also provides for pardons and legal protections for members of the armed forces, police and civilians who participate in operations targeting armed structures deemed a threat to national security. In practical terms, it blurs the lines between law enforcement and wartime rules, granting authorities wider latitude to use lethal force while signaling that private citizens who side with the state may be shielded from prosecution.
Noboa’s move did not land in a vacuum. In recent months, Ecuador has seen a sharp escalation in violence linked to drug‑trafficking and organized crime, including attacks in major cities and high‑profile prison riots. One of the most alarming incidents was a recent armed attack at Guayaquil’s airport, where gunmen targeted Carlos Suástegui, identified by authorities as a leader of the Los Águilas criminal group. The assault wounded several people and led to the detention of two teenage suspects, underscoring how deeply young people are being pulled into the conflict.
For ordinary Ecuadorians, the decree is both a recognition of the danger they feel and a warning that the worst may not be over. Residents of neighborhoods caught between security forces and gangs face the risk that more aggressive operations will bring urban combat closer to homes, schools and markets. At the same time, communities living under the shadow of groups like Los Águilas or the remnants of Los Choneros may see in the new powers a chance for the state to finally roll back criminal control — if the campaign is sustained and disciplined.
The opposition’s reaction has been scathing. Franklin Samaniego, a legislator from the Revolución Ciudadana bloc, argued that Noboa’s decree is “not a victory of the government” but a “radiography” of how far the security situation has deteriorated. He accused the administration of having tried for months to “make up” the crisis through publicity and repeated states of emergency, only to now concede in legal language that Ecuador faces an armed conflict on its own soil. That public acknowledgment will weigh on investor confidence, tourism, and regional perceptions of Ecuador as a stable partner.
Strategically, Decree 424 positions Ecuador to seek and receive more robust foreign support, including training, intelligence and potentially the presence or immunity of foreign personnel engaged in security assistance. The text grants immunity to foreign staff involved in anti‑crime operations, a sensitive step in a country with fresh memories of sovereignty debates and a strong tradition of resisting foreign military footprints. For external partners, especially the United States and neighboring Colombia and Peru, the change offers a clearer legal basis for deeper involvement against transnational criminal networks that crisscross their borders.
The risk is that a war footing without tight oversight can normalize abuses. By promising pardons in advance, the government is betting that security forces and deputized civilians will act within bounds even as rules are loosened. For human rights groups and communities in marginal areas, the fear is that the same decree that targets gang leaders could also shield extrajudicial killings and collective punishments in areas assumed to be under criminal influence.
The most telling line in the current debate is Samaniego’s description of the decree as an x‑ray, not a triumph. It captures a reality many Ecuadorians already feel: that everyday urban life has become entangled with the logic of war. The next signals to watch include which foreign partners step in under the new framework, how quickly security forces move to retake gang‑controlled zones, whether civilian militias emerge under the promise of pardons, and whether Congress or the courts move to narrow or challenge the scope of Noboa’s sweeping declaration.
Sources
- OSINT