The head of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces, Admiral Jaime Vela, explained that the volume of joint military and police operations increased since the declaration and reached over 80 thousand.

According to Vela, the Armed Forces already have control of 10 of the country’s 35 prisons and continue searching for weapons and drugs in them.

The commander of the National Police César Zapata assured that “the reduction in violence is evident”, and to corroborate this he pointed out that at the beginning of January there were 27.8 violent deaths per day, and after the declaration of armed conflict the average dropped to 10.7 murders daily. In addition, he compared January 2023 with January 2024 and stated that homicides decreased by 12 percent.

Despite this, citizens remain fearful, as crimes persist, such as the murder, this Wednesday, of Diana Carnero, councilor of the Naranjal municipality, in Guayas.

Zapata explained that the operations are concentrated in the 18 districts with the highest crime rates, and highlighted the capture of “high-value targets” on drug gang leaders.

Several analysts have warned that militarization is insufficient by itself to solve the security crisis as long as social policies against poverty and inequality are not applied.

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