The Public and State Security Council (Cosepe) of Ecuador, the government’s highest advisory body in emergencies, declared terrorism as a “threat” to the State in the context of increased violence and criminality in the Andean country.
The Cosepe adopted the declaration after a meeting led by the President, Guillermo Lasso, in which authorities from all State functions participated, at the Government Palace in Quito, informed in a press release by the General Secretariat of Communication of the Presidency.
The meeting analyzed the citizen security crisis in the country and new strategies for the fight against organized crime and delinquency.
The Cosepe resolved “to declare terrorism as a threat that threatens the structural elements of the State and therefore its integral security, as it is conceived in international regulations and Ecuadorian legislation,” the statement said.
It also declared that the terrorist threat would be firmly confronted, with the participation of all the functions and institutions of the State, by the provisions of Article 226 of the Constitution.
The Cosepe also recommended President Lasso issue an executive decree establishing “coercive, urgent and effective measures that include using lethal weapons to combat this serious threat that affects the Ecuadorian people”.
These decisions are taken when Ecuador is experiencing an escalation of insecurity that the Government attributed to the actions of criminal gangs linked to drug trafficking, involved in violent acts such as bombings, armed attacks, extortion, and other crimes.
These events, which the Government describes as “terrorist”, have caused social alarm and generated fear in the population.
As a result, on April 1, the Government authorized possessing and carrying civilian weapons for personal defense and using pepper spray to deal with insecurity.
In addition, President Lasso added two former military members to his government team in crucial security posts on Wednesday to define new plans to deal forcefully with a crime.