Ruling permits raids and communications monitoring as Noboa confronts criminal violence without imposing a curfew.

Ecuador’s Constitutional Court has upheld President Daniel Noboa’s latest state of emergency, authorizing an expanded military and police presence across 10 provinces and three cantons for 60 days as the government responds to continuing violence linked to organized crime.

The court ruled that the conditions cited by the government amounted to serious internal unrest and were sufficient to justify the extraordinary measures established under Executive Decree 423. Noboa signed the decree on June 16, and the court issued its decision 10 days later.

The emergency applies throughout Guayas, Manabí, Santa Elena, Los Ríos, El Oro, Pichincha, Esmeraldas, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Sucumbíos and Azuay. It also covers La Maná canton in Cotopaxi, Las Naves in Bolívar and La Troncal in Cañar.

Unlike several earlier emergency declarations, the latest measure does not impose a curfew. Residents may continue traveling and conducting their normal activities at any hour, although they could encounter military patrols, police checkpoints and security inspections.

Security forces receive broader authority

The ruling allows the Armed Forces and National Police to conduct immediate searches connected to security operations without following the procedures normally required when constitutional protections are fully in effect.

The decree temporarily limits the inviolability of the home and private correspondence in the affected areas. Those restrictions permit authorities to enter properties, intercept communications and gather evidence when operations are connected to the violent events and criminal structures cited by the government.

Security forces may also temporarily requisition legally obtained property or services when officials determine that they are strictly necessary to maintain police or military operations. Any seizure must be temporary and tied directly to the objectives of the emergency.

In approving the measures, the court said the government had demonstrated the actual occurrence of events capable of producing serious internal unrest. That finding was necessary because the Constitution requires the executive branch to establish that extraordinary circumstances exist before temporarily restricting constitutional rights.

The ruling does not give authorities unlimited power. Operations must remain connected to the causes of the emergency, and public institutions are still subject to constitutional oversight and legal responsibility for abuses.

Intelligence reports identify trafficking corridors

The government based its declaration partly on confidential reports prepared by the National Intelligence Center. Those assessments examined violent incidents and the activities of criminal organizations between May 1st and June 12th.

According to the decree, the affected jurisdictions include strategic corridors used for trafficking drugs, firearms, ammunition, explosives and other illegal materials. Authorities developed a risk classification system identifying provinces, cantons and police districts facing varying levels of criminal activity.

Several Quito districts, including La Delicia, Eloy Alfaro, Calderón and Quitumbe, were placed in the high-risk category. In Guayaquil, Nueva Prosperina, Sur and Pascuales were designated high risk, while Florida and Ceibos received medium-risk classifications.

The government also cited a series of recent killings that generated public alarm, including the murder of Manta prosecutor Alexandra Bravo. Officials have argued that attacks against prosecutors, police officers and other public officials demonstrate both the reach of organized crime and its willingness to confront state institutions directly.

The latest declaration follows another state of emergency that began April 2nd and expired May 31st. That measure covered nine provinces. By the end of May, Ecuador had spent nearly 900 days under emergency declarations since Noboa took office, reflecting the government’s repeated reliance on exceptional powers to address deteriorating security.

Separate decree remains under review

The Constitutional Court’s decision applies only to Decree 423. It has not yet ruled on a separate decree issued by Noboa two days later recognizing the existence of an internal armed conflict.

That second measure, Decree 424, was designed to facilitate foreign security assistance in Ecuador’s campaign against organized crime. It includes provisions involving pardons, amnesties and legal immunity for foreign personnel taking part in authorized support operations.

Those provisions have broader legal and diplomatic implications than the emergency declaration because they could affect how foreign military, police or intelligence personnel operate inside Ecuador and how they would be treated if their actions resulted in criminal or civil complaints.

Until the court issues a separate decision, the armed-conflict decree remains legally distinct from the emergency powers now approved for the 10 provinces and three cantons.

For residents in the affected jurisdictions, the most visible consequences are expected to be additional patrols, checkpoints and raids rather than restrictions on movement. Police and military commanders will determine where operations are conducted, relying on intelligence assessments and the government’s risk classifications to concentrate personnel in districts considered especially vulnerable to criminal violence and trafficking activity.