2026 Ecuador Extraordinary Session

2026 Ecuador State of Emergency is a state of emergency declared in 10 provinces and 3 cantons of Ecuador under the grounds of “grave internal disturbance” (grave conmoción interna), pursuant to Executive Decree No. 423 (Decreto Ejecutivo No. 423) signed by Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Azin on 16 June 2026.^【1】 The decree was signed at the National Palace (Palacio Nacional) in Quito and will remain in effect for 60 days from the date of signing.^【2】

The decree grants security forces the authority to intervene in the designated areas to ensure internal security, reestablish, maintain, and control public order and citizen safety. It has been decided to suspend the rights to inviolability of the home and inviolability of communications.^【3】

The state of emergency applies to 10 of the country’s 24 provinces and three cantons. The provinces subject to the measure are Guayas, Manabí, Santa Elena, Los Ríos, El Oro, Pichincha (including Quito), Esmeraldas, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Sucumbíos and Azuay. The included cantons are La Maná (Cotopaxi), Las Naves (Bolívar) and La Troncal (Cañar).^【4】

The decree states that the designated areas are strategic judicial zones linked to drug trafficking and arms, ammunition, and explosives routes, and that their land and maritime connections facilitate illicit activities by criminal organizations.^【5】

Under Decree No. 423, the rights to inviolability of the home and inviolability of communications have been suspended in the affected areas.^【6】

The suspension of the right to inviolability of the home grants the Armed Forces and the National Police the authority to conduct direct searches (allanamiento) without a judicial warrant. The decree specifies that such searches may only be carried out when there are “objective and reasonable” indications that individuals affiliated with organized crime groups are hiding within a property, or that weapons, ammunition, explosives, controlled substances, or other objects constituting criminal activity are present.^【7】

The suspension of the right to inviolability of communications is intended to enable the identification, analysis, and collection of relevant and indispensable information to prevent or neutralize threats. According to the official document, this process will be conducted on an individualized basis and only upon the basis of a reasoned report by the competent authority.

Article 4 of the decree regulates the deployment of the Armed Forces in coordination with the National Police to reestablish, maintain, and control internal security, public order, and citizen safety. Article 5 anticipates the temporary seizure (requisición temporal) of legal goods and services strictly necessary to ensure the continuity of security operations. It is specified that non-consumable seized items shall be returned once the need has been addressed or upon the termination of the state of emergency, and that every seizure shall be compensated at fair market value.

The decree does not impose a curfew; therefore, no restrictions on movement are in effect within the designated areas. According to El Comercio, while a curfew restricting movement between 23:00 and 05:00 was enforced during the previous state of emergency, the new decree introduces only exceptional security measures without limiting personal mobility.

Constitution and decree grant the following powers to police and military personnel:

• Conduct searches of homes and workplaces without a judicial warrant, and enter properties when there are objective and reasonable indications that individuals affiliated with criminal groups, weapons, ammunition, explosives, or drugs are concealed.
• Monitor and examine communications, including letters, packages, suitcases, bags, and other physical deliveries, and access messages, calls, and electronic mail based on reasoned intelligence reports.
• Temporarily seize vehicles, maritime vessels, machinery, or other specialized resources required for security operations; this measure shall be subject to applicable procedures and compensation.
• Establish checkpoints, conduct patrols, and set up fixed or mobile control points within the emergency zones.
• Use legitimate force in response to armed attacks by criminal groups, in accordance with applicable protocols and legislation, when imminent threats arise.

Decree No. 423 specifies that police and military personnel shall be held administratively, legally, and criminally accountable for any acts exceeding their authority or violating the Constitution or Ecuadorian laws.^【8】

The decree is grounded in a classified intelligence report (STIE-DOAIE-SD_IE-26-007) prepared by the National Intelligence Center (Centro Nacional de Inteligencia) and a legal report (INFORME-CNI-CGJ-S-007-2026), as well as reports from the Ministry of the Interior, the National Police, the Ministry of National Defense, the Joint Command of the Armed Forces, the ECU-911 Integrated Security Service, and the presidential communications unit.^【9】 These reports indicate that the criminal phenomenon has dynamically restructured nationwide, with high levels of violence persisting due to actions by organized crime and armed groups.

According to official data in the decree, between 1 May and 12 June 2026, a total of 888 intentional homicides were recorded in the affected areas, with the highest numbers occurring in Guayas (384), followed by Manabí (161) and El Oro (110). Of the 879 crimes classified by type during the same period, 853 were classified as homicide (asesinato), 21 as manslaughter (homicidio), and 5 as femicide (femicidio). According to ECU-911 data, a total of 142,847 emergency calls were coordinated during the same period.^【10】

The decree also references recent violent incidents that drew public attention, including the killing of prosecutor Alexandra Bravo in Manta. Additionally, the government has appended to the decree a color-coded risk assessment (TAMEX) indicating the level of threat linked to drug and arms trafficking routes in the designated areas.

The decree is based on Articles 164, 165 and 166 of the Constitution. It is stated that the measure complies with the principles of necessity, proportionality, legality, temporality, regional specificity, and reasonableness, and is subject to formal and substantive review by the Constitutional Court. Pursuant to Article 6 and general provisions of the decree, the measure must be notified to the National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional), the Constitutional Court (Corte Constitucional), the United Nations, and the Organization of American States within the following 48 hours.