Ecuadorians head to polls to toughen fight against gangs behind wave of violence
Posted 4/20/24
Ecuadorians head to the polls in a referendum touted by the country’s fledgling leader as a way to crack down on criminal gangs behind a spiraling wave of violence. The majority of 11 questions …
You must be a member to read this story.
Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.
Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here
Otherwise, follow the link below to join.
To Our Valued Readers –
Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.
For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.
Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.
Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.
Need to set up your free e-Newspaper all-access account? click here.
Non-subscribers
Click here to see your options for becoming a subscriber.
Register to comment
Click here create a free account for posting comments.
Note that free accounts do not include access to premium content on this site.
I am anchor
Ecuadorians head to polls to toughen fight against gangs behind wave of violence
FILE - Ecuador President Daniel Noboa attends a ceremony to deliver equipment to police, at the Gral. Alberto Enriquez Gallo police school in Quito, Ecuador, Jan. 22, 2024. Ecuadorians head to the polls Sunday, April 21, 2024, in a referendum touted by Noboa as a way to crack down on criminal gangs behind a spiraling wave of violence. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa, File)
Posted
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuadorians head to the polls Sunday in a referendum touted by the country's fledgling leader as a way to crack down on criminal gangs behind a spiraling wave of violence.
The majority of 11 questions posed to voters focus on tightening security measures. Proposals include deploying the army in the fight against the gangs, loosening obstacles to extradition of accused criminals and lengthening prison sentences for convicted drug traffickers.
Ecuador, traditionally one of South America's most peaceful countries, has been rocked in recent year by a wave of violence, much of it spilling over from neighboring Colombia, the world's largest producer of cocaine. Last year, the country's homicide rate shot up to 40 deaths per 100,000, one of the highest in the region.
President Daniel Noboa has rallied popular support by confronting the gangs head on. That task became more urgent in January when masked gunmen, some on orders from imprisoned drug traffickers, terrorized residents and took control of a TV station while it was live on the air in an unprecedented show of force.
Following the rampage, the 36-year-old leader decreed an “internal armed conflict,” enabling him to use emergency powers to deploy the army in pursuit of some 20 gangs now classified as “terrorists.”
The referendum seeks to extend those powers and put them on firmer legal ground.
But in recalling the law-and-order policies of El Salvador's wildly popular President Nayib Bukele, a fellow millenial, they could also boost Noboa politically as he prepares to run for re-election next year.
Noboa, the scion of a wealthy banana exporting family, is serving the final 18 months of a presidential term left vacant when fellow conservative Guillermo Lasso resigned amid an investigation into alleged corruption by congress. He was elected following a shortened but bloody campaign that saw one of his top rivals brazenly assassinated while campaigning.