Curfew in Ecuador: temporary measure without sustained impact on homicides
Ecuador implements its third night-time curfew of the year in four provinces, but experts warn that it does not durably reduce murders.
Ecuador's third curfew of the year fails to stem organised crime violence
Ecuador began a new period of night-time curfew on Thursday—from midnight to 05:00 local time—in four provinces, the third decreed so far in 2026, according to infobae.com. The measure is in force for fifteen days and seeks to contain the elevated levels of violence attributed to organised crime.
However, public security consultant Katherine Herrera warns that the effect is limited. "Temporarily there can be a drop that serves so that the Armed Forces or security and control authorities can carry out other actions, but that is not a sustainable solution and does not really affect organised crime, but above all does not help you reduce homicides," Herrera explained to EFE.
A strategy repeated since 2024
President Daniel Noboa resorted to states of exception and curfews for the first time in January 2024, when he declared "war" on crime and described criminal organisations as "terrorists". Since then he has issued successive decrees that restrict fundamental freedoms: the inviolability of the home, of communications and freedom of movement.
Homicide figures fell in 2024, but surged in 2025 with a record 9,283 murders, despite that year also seeing at least two periods of mobility restrictions imposed due to insecurity. The persistence of violence in 2026 led Noboa to apply the same measure in March, May and now in September, almost always concentrating on coastal provinces where the greatest narcotrafficking activity is recorded.
"Fleeting" results according to the expert
During the curfews, the Police and Armed Forces patrol the streets and carry out raids in zones termed "critical", where authorities claim members of criminal gangs are hiding. Although arrests of members and leaders of these groups are announced, a large portion of those detained are people who simply breach the time restriction.
Herrera points out that the results are "fleeting": during the restriction period there can be a drop, but criminal groups tend to relocate to other provinces or resume their activity when the curfew ends. The Government itself has acknowledged this phenomenon in the decrees signed by Noboa.
Interior Ministry figures illustrate the pattern. Following the May curfew—applied in nine provinces and four municipalities—homicides fell slightly in June, from 697 to 693, only to rise again in July to 704. Those June and July figures are even higher than those recorded in the same months of 2025.
"Tactical war, not strategic"
Herrera, also a university lecturer, argues that these measures cannot be executed in isolation. According to her, criminal and penitentiary intelligence, asset investigation, weapons control, territorial focus and other policies integrated into a coherent security strategy are required.
"If there is not that, basically we are going to continue like cat and mouse," she stated.
The expert stressed that reducing homicides durably implies dismantling criminal structures, addressing the needs of the citizenry, strengthening the efficient presence of the State and guaranteeing the enforcement of sentences. "To end organised crime, you also have to combat impunity and corruption," she stressed.
Herrera acknowledged that the Government has taken some steps in that direction, but that others remain as "intentions". Her final diagnosis of Noboa's strategy is forceful: "They are generating a tactical war, but not a strategic war".
Source: Google News EC — Crime