GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador: Ecuador on Friday deployed 10,000 soldiers in three coastal provinces to fight drug-trafficking gangs blamed for a surge in violence in the once-peaceful country.
President Daniel Noboa’s government has vowed an iron-fist approach as the South American nation hits record levels of murders and other violent crimes.
Hundreds of special forces soldiers were deployed Friday to “reinforce security operations” in the provinces of Guayas, Manabi and Los Rios, Air Force General Mario Bedoya told reporters.
Planes with military personnel were also sent to Manta, the country’s main fishing port.
Ecuador is located between the world’s two top exporters of cocaine – Colombia and Peru – and has seen a surge in violence by gangs linked to Mexican and Colombian cartels.
Killings and clashes in neighborhoods and public spaces have become commonplace, and the country closed 2025 with a rate of 52 homicides per 100,000 residents – one every hour, according to the Geneva-based Organized Crime Observatory.
“Prison or hell for anyone who jeopardizes security,” the defense ministry said in a statement Friday.
Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo has instructed the military high command to operate indefinitely out of the port city of Guayaquil, where troops are inspecting seaports strategic for drug trafficking.
Ecuador deploys 10,000 soldiers to fight drug violence
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Ecuador deploys 10,000 soldiers to fight drug violence
- President Daniel Noboa’s government has vowed an iron-fist approach as the South American nation hits record levels of murders and other violent crimes
Gabon suspends access to social media as critics accuse its leader of crackdown on dissent
- “The High Authority for Communication has decided to immediately suspend social media throughout Gabon until further notice,” Mendome said
- Social media platforms were severely impacted on Wednesday
LIBREVILLE: Gabon has suspended access to social media and digital platforms throughout the central African nation until further notice, the authorities said as critics accuse the country’s leader of crackdown on dissent.
The communications agency said it had observed on social media and digital platforms what it described as inappropriate, defamatory, hateful and insulting content that undermines human dignity, the country’s institutions and national security.
The agency’s statement added that this constitutes offenses punishable under national and international laws, as well as under policies on moderation adopted by major digital platforms.
“The High Authority for Communication has decided to immediately suspend social media throughout Gabon until further notice,” Jean Claude Franck Mendome, the spokesperson for the agency, known as High Authority for Communication, said in a statement that was read out on national media on Tuesday evening.
Social media platforms — including Meta and TikTok — were severely impacted on Wednesday. The two, along with WhatsApp, the messaging service owned by Meta, are the most widely used by Gabonese citizens. WhatsApp calls were also experiencing significant disruptions on Wednesday.
The country’s leader, Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema had toppled President Ali Bongo Ondimba, who was accused of irresponsible governance.
Last year, Oligui Nguema won the presidential election, raising hopes for a return to constitutional democracy. However, critics say he has been increasingly clamping down on critical voices, targeting independent media and trade unionists. A journalist and two trade unionists were imprisoned last year.
