Ecuador’s President Declares 60-day State of Emergency Over Rising Crime

Ecuador’s President Declares 60-day State of Emergency Over Rising Crime
Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso addresses the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York, on Sept. 21, 2021. Mary Altaffer/Pool via Reuters
|Updated:

QUITO—Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso late on Monday declared a state of emergency in the Andean country as part of a crackdown on the consumption and trafficking of drugs.

Lasso, a conservative who took office in May, said the move was a response to rising homicide figures nationwide and other crimes related to narcotic seizures, which total 147 tonnes so far this year.