Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo ordered the armed forces to operate indefinitely from Guayaquil, with aircraft delivering troops to Manta to reinforce another critical port.

Ecuador’s homicide rate reached about 52 per 100,000 people in 2025, underscoring the surge in violence that prompted the operation.

The Defense Ministry pledged a hard line against threats to public safety, promising decisive consequences for those endangering security.

The crackdown targets violence tied to drug cartels with ties to Colombian and Mexican networks, amid Ecuador’s emergence as a cocaine transit route between Colombia and Peru.

The Ecuadorian government announced a major security operation on January 16, 2026, deploying 10,000 military personnel to combat drug trafficking gangs.

Hundreds of special forces soldiers landed in Guayaquil, a key port city, to secure the coast and support the crackdown on trafficking networks.

The action under President Daniel Noboa signals alignment with U.S. policy in the region, following a U.S. temporary troop deployment announced in December 2025.