Noboa grants immunity to foreign personnel collaborating in ‘war’ on gangs in Ecuador

Quito (EFE).- Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa signed a decree on Thursday granting immunity to foreign personnel participating in operations within the «internal armed conflict» declared against organized crime in the country, in accordance with international agreements signed by the Andean nation.

In the decree, Noboa notes that the state will receive international cooperation to bolster efforts to neutralize threats fueling the «war» he declared on mafia groups in January 2024, amid rising criminality driven by gangs involved in drug trafficking, illegal mining, and extortion.

Ecuador already receives security support from the United States, the European Union, and others, with the US providing notable intelligence assistance.

The decree explicitly states that «foreign personnel from cooperating states participating in actions carried out within the framework of the internal armed conflict shall enjoy immunity in accordance with applicable international instruments and agreements» signed by Ecuador.

It notes that state actions within this conflict are aimed at neutralizing «all structures that pose a threat to national sovereignty, the state’s comprehensive security, public order, social peace, citizen security, and the protection of the population.»

The decree adds that the president, as provided by the Constitution, «will grant pardons, reduce or commute sentences for military, police, and civilian personnel participating in actions aimed at facing the internal armed conflict in defense of the State, in accordance with the Constitution, the law, and the current legal system.»

Furthermore, it calls on the National Assembly (Parliament) to grant amnesties to military, police, or civilian personnel who acted in defense of the state.

Since declaring the «internal armed conflict,» Noboa has enacted a series of states of exception to combat insecurity. The most recent was activated this week, lasting sixty days, in ten provinces and three municipalities.

Human rights organizations have reported alleged abuses by the military within the context of the «internal armed conflict.» According to Amnesty International, the Prosecutor’s Office has recorded about 43 cases of alleged forced disappearances since 2023. Noboa’s first term began in November of that year.

One such case involves four Afro-descendant minors who were detained irregularly in Guayaquil by two military patrols in December 2024. They were later found burned and with gunshot wounds near a military base.

The justice system convicted the military personnel involved in the detention of the minors (aged between 11 and 15) of forced disappearance, with sentences ranging from 30 months to 34 years and eight months in prison.

Despite the declaration of the «internal armed conflict» and successive states of exception extending for nearly two and a half years, the Andean nation registered a record 9,281 murders in 2025, equivalent to a rate of more than 50 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, one of the highest rates in Latin America. EFE

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