Ecuador president’s war on crime gets a boost with early referendum results and gang member’s arrest

The government looks on track to win support for its key security proposals, while police say they have arrested a notorious alleged gang leader.

Early results from Ecuador’s referendum suggest President Daniel Noboa has won public backing for security measures aimed at boosting his war on crime. His government looks on track to win support for nine of the 11 proposals it put forward in Sunday’s vote, including for four of its key security measures, according to data from the National Electoral Council (CNE). And the good news for Noboa was compounded Monday when police announced they had arrested a notorious alleged gang leader. Early results from the referendum suggest 72% of the public approve of allowing the military to patrol with police to combat organized crime (something that can presently only happen under a state of emergency) and 65% back allowing the extradition of Ecuadorians under certain conditions (among them, guarantees of humane treatment and no use of the death penalty). Both those proposals would require modifying Ecuador’s Constitution, which currently forbids the extradition of Ecuadorians under any circumstances. If the final results of the vote continue to show public backing for these measures, they will go into effect as soon as they are published in the official registry. It is unclear exactly when this would happen. Two other security-related proposals – harsher prison sentences for some violent crimes and the establishment of a permanent armed forces presence in prisons to prevent weapons smuggling – also look on track to receive wide approval margins. These two proposals would not require changing the Constitution and will need the agreement of the National Assembly before they can go into effect.