Key Points
- Ecuador’s military says it is running permanent internal-security operations across coastal provinces and the Galápagos.
- The push targets ports, prisons, weapons flows, and energy infrastructure as organized crime fights for territory.
- Officials cite record violence in 2025 and fresh attacks in early 2026, while critics debate the strategy’s limits.
Ecuador’s armed forces have expanded internal-security operations across the country’s most volatile corridors, a sign the state is leaning harder on force to regain control.
In a January 17 update, the military said it is conducting permanent operations in Guayas, Esmeraldas, Manabí, El Oro, and the Galápagos.
The tally in that update included seven anti-terror and counter-terror operations. It also listed 19 weapons, ammunition, and explosives control operations, plus three riverine patrol operations on waterways.
Ecuador Sends Troops To Ports, Prisons, And Oil Sites As Killings Climb Again
The military said it also carried out four support operations with the National Police and the prison agency SNAI inside detention centers.
Beyond raids and checkpoints, the focus is strategic infrastructure. The armed forces cited patrols in port installations and other “strategic zones,” plus security actions tied to the hydrocarbons sector.
Those priorities track where Ecuador’s criminal economy meets global trade. Ports are the exit points for cocaine shipments and the choke points for extortion.
This week’s actions fit into a broader offensive announced on January 15, when authorities launched what they called a “total offensive” phase in Guayas, Los Ríos, and Manabí.
Reporting around the launch described a deployment of about 10,000 soldiers, with Guayaquil at the center. Local reporting also pointed to stepped-up controls around the city’s main port areas.
The government has been building the legal basis for military action since early 2024, when President Daniel Noboa declared an internal armed conflict and ordered operations against designated criminal groups.
States of exception have followed, including a new decree reported on January 1, 2026, covering multiple provinces and cantons, among them Guayas, Manabí, Los Ríos, El Oro, and Esmeraldas.
The pressure comes from grim math. Officially cited counts put 2025 as Ecuador’s deadliest year on record, with figures reported around 8,847 homicides by mid-December and more than 9,000 violent deaths by year-end. Different cut-off dates explain the gap, but not the trend.
Supporters argue the state must reassert authority in the hardest places first. Skeptics warn troop surges can look decisive while crime adapts, especially if prisons and port logistics stay compromised.
For neighbors and trade partners, Ecuador’s test matters because instability in a key Pacific corridor quickly spills into routes, costs, and regional security.