Ecuador extends state of emergency in four coastal provinces as violence surges

Quito, Oct 7 Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has ordered the extension of the state of emergency in four coastal provinces and one canton for 30 days amid escalating violence linked to organized crime, the government announced.

The extension, issued under Executive Decree 175, applies to the provinces of Guayas, El Oro, Los Rios and Manabi, as well as the canton of Echeandia in the central province of Bolivar, Xinhua news agency reported.

The emergency, initially declared for 60 days in August, was imposed in response to what authorities described as "serious internal unrest."

Under the decree, constitutional protections against home searches and the privacy of correspondence are suspended.

Ecuador has been grappling with a severe security crisis since President Noboa declared an "internal armed conflict" in January 2024. In September alone, the country's emergency service recorded 6,210 violent crime incidents, including robberies, extortion, and drug-related offenses.

The National Association of Flower Producers and Exporters of Ecuador said on X that in the city of Cotacachi, farms were surrounded at dawn by dozens of protesters from rural farming organizations who blocked employees from entering, prevented them from working and forced them under threats to join the strike.

As of Monday, a preliminary estimate from the Chamber of Industries and Production put losses from the strike at more than $70 million -- mainly from lost sales and higher logistics costs -- with the flower, dairy and tourism sectors among the hardest hit.

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